Magpie Mine near Sheldon, OS ref SK 173-682.
Aerial of the Magpie Mine.
[Paste 53.210269, -1.742961 into Google Earth]
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Murder at Red Soil Mine
The Magpie Mine is one of the most famous and spectacular lead mines
in the Peak District, but it had its dark side.
In 1834 eighteen of the Magpie miners were charged with wilful murder
of three Red Soil miners. Following a year in prison and a lengthy
court case,
the Magpie miners were acquitted of the charge of murder
owing to conflicting evidence and the lack of intent. The Red Soil
widows supposedly put a curse on the mine. The mine was dogged by
troubles throughout the rest of the 19th century.
The Magpie Mine, just South of Sheldon, is the only one with a significant part of its building still standing, having been taken into the care of the Peak District Mines Historical Society in 1962. The mine buildings can be seen from the Bakewell - Chelmorton road.The mine is at the junction of the Magpie vein, the Bole vein and the Butts vein, and was only one of several mines exploiting these veins - the Red Soil Mine and the Maypitts mine lay within only a few hundred metres of the Magpie. The mine is first recorded in 1795, though the workings are probably much older. It finally ceased operations in 1958, though the working in the 1950s mined little actual lead. The heyday of the mine was in the mid 19th Century. The proximity of other mines often led to disputes, and the Magpie Mine and the Red Soil mine disputed the working of the Bole Vein on which they both lay. Because of a particular quirk of nature, the best lead bearing ore is situated more than 730ft underground, which happens to be 150ft below the water level. Consequently drainage has always been a problem, and so instead of digging down, the mine began to spread sideways in efforts to find richer, drier deposits. Unfortunately, these excavations eventaully led to the Magpie excavations reaching and connecting with those of a neigbouring Red Soil Mine further down the valley. The matter was made worse by the fact that whereas the Red Soil was being worked by local men, the Magpie was at this time being mined by labour imported from Cornwall. This combiantion of factors led to many confrontations, leading to several underground battles between rival teams of miners. The Red Soil Miners set fire to straw 400 feet below ground. The Magpie Miners retaliated by burning straw, sulphur and oil resulting in a panic when three of the Red Soil Miners suffocated. In 1834 eighteen of the Magpie miners were charged with wilful murder of three Red Soil miners. Following a year in prison and a lengthy court case, the Magpie miners were acquitted of the charge of murder owing to conflicting evidence and the lack of intent. The Red Soil widows supposedly put a curse on the mine. The mine was dogged by troubles throughout the rest of the 19th century. |
Miners from Magpie Mine tried for Murder at Derby Assize, but acquitted |
