Bincliff Lead Mines

Overview

A lead mine on the steep slopes of the Manifold Valley near Wetton, owned throughout by the Duke of Devonshire and worked in close association with his nearby Ecton copper mines, reorganised as the North Staffs Consols Mining Co in 1853 before exporting its last lead in 1885.

History

Early workings on the Bincliff vein, on the steep slopes of the Manifold Valley about two kilometres west of Stanshope, date to the 17th century; the mine first appears named on Yates's 1775 map of Staffordshire. Owned throughout by the Duke of Devonshire -- the same landowner behind the nearby Ecton copper mines -- Bincliff was worked in close association with Ecton, with men regularly transferred between the two as trade in copper and lead each rose and fell. Records from 1812 show only a single working mine at Bincliff at that date, with very low annual production of just 18 tons. The mine's fortunes changed in 1853, when a new company, the North Staffs Consols Mining Co, was formed with £21,000 of capital issued in £1 shares; the main shaft, Oversetts, reached 45 fathoms (82 metres) deep. Production in the company's first full year, 1855, ran to 35-50 tons of lead ore, raised by a workforce that included ore dressers earning 75p a week and, at the top of the pay scale, an engine driver on £1.60. The company initially drained its workings using a bucket wound up on a windlass, before connecting the shafts to an adit for natural drainage; a proposed waterwheel power scheme was never built, since the Manifold Valley's minimal water flow made the idea impractical. The mine is made up of a series of eleven adits across three substantial levels, including Adit 7, Hurts Deep Level, running 332 metres into the hillside and today gated by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust to protect its bat roosts. Lead continued to be exported from Bincliff until 1885.

Workings

A series of eleven adits across three substantial levels, including the 332-metre Hurts Deep Level (Adit 7); the main shaft, Oversetts, reached 45 fathoms (82 metres) deep, initially drained by a windlass-wound bucket before the workings were connected to an adit for natural drainage.

Closure

Lead was exported from Bincliff until 1885.

What remains

The mine's adits survive in the steep Manifold Valley hillside; Hurts Deep Level is gated by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust to protect its bat roosts, and visible hand-mining pick marks survive in several adits.

Eleven adit entrances across the hillside, one gated for bat conservation.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Early workings at Bincliff date to the 17th century, with the mine first appearing named on Yates's 1775 map; owned throughout by the Duke of Devonshire, it was worked in close association with his nearby Ecton copper mines, with men regularly transferred between the two. ¹
• In 1853 the North Staffs Consols Mining Co was formed with £21,000 of capital in £1 shares, sinking the 45-fathom Oversetts shaft and raising 35-50 tons of lead ore in 1855, its first full year of production. ²
• In 1855, ore dressers at Bincliff earned 75p a week, with the highest-paid worker, an engine driver, earning £1.60 a week. ²
• The mine is made up of eleven adits across three substantial levels, including the 332-metre Hurts Deep Level, today gated to protect bat roosts; lead continued to be exported from Bincliff until 1885. ²

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this mine.

Sources

1. (secondary) The Copper & Lead Mines Around the Manifold Valley, North Staffordshire — Lindsey Porter and John Robey
2. (observational) Bincliff Lead Mines, Manifold Valley, September 2020 — 28DaysLater Urban Exploring Forums

Record created: 30 August 2026 · Last researched: 31 August 2026