Bondog Hole Mine

Overview

Bondog Hole Mine, on Middleton Moor, was one of the larger workings on the mid-16th to mid-19th-century Doghole Rake; it survives as a compact, well-preserved terraced complex with a rare surviving powder house.

History

Bondog Hole Mine occupies a central section of Doghole Rake, which runs almost east to west across the northern flank of Middleton Moor from the west side of Middleton village to the site of the former Hoptonwood Quarry. Its own name combines 'doghole', referring to the lead vein it worked, with 'bon', the surname of a local family. Described by the Derbyshire Historic Environment Record as 'a very good compact site, in good condition', it includes a gin circle, coe, ore house, winding shaft and a possible powder house -- a feature rare enough, if correctly identified, that most comparable mines have left no trace of one.

Surviving features stand on top of a large hillock: a terraced and walled belland yard and dressing floor, with room for the documented gin circle, and the ruined powder house (or, more cautiously, simply a coe). Further east, low standing remains of two more coes survive along the rake. Bondog Hole forms part of a wider scheduled monument, Black Rakes, Welshmans Venture and Bondog Hole Mines, and Merry Tom and Thumper Sitch Levels, whose documentary evidence -- court records and a 17th-century list of mines recording shares held by Sir Philip Gell and Francis Gell -- places mining on Middleton Moor from at least the mid-16th century to the mid-19th. The wider mining field survived unusually well because its hillocks are largely limestone rather than gangue waste, so later reworking for residual lead or fluorspar -- which erases earlier evidence on many similar sites -- did not take place here.

A 2022 exploration report quotes an account that the London Lead Company worked the mine from at least 1765 to 1774, sold its Peak District concessions in 1778 when the price of lead had fallen, and that no mining took place afterwards. The same report notes that the name of the mine comes from the vein it worked, with 'bon' the surname of a local family, and that it is sometimes, probably wrongly, called Bondog Hole Mine.

Geology

A lead-bearing vein (Doghole Rake) on the limestone plateau of Middleton Moor, at the southern end of the White Peak lead field.

Workings

A terraced belland yard and dressing floor with a gin circle, coe, ore house, winding shaft and a probable powder house, on a large hillock.

Closure

The mine's own closure date is not recorded. One account has the London Lead Company working it from at least 1765 to 1774 and selling its Derbyshire concessions in 1778, with no mining after that; the wider mining field was worked from at least the mid-16th century to the mid-19th.

What remains

Protected as part of a Scheduled Monument; survives as a compact, well-preserved terraced complex. A 2022 exploration report describes the surface remains as large piles of stones and a couple of capped shafts, and the workings below ground as left much as they were abandoned, with narrow-gauge track, the remains of small tubs and iron pins holding back walls of deads.

A terraced and walled belland yard, dressing floor, the site of a gin circle, a ruined powder house or coe, and two further ruined coes to the east survive.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• An account quoted in a 2022 exploration report has the London Lead Company working the mine from at least 1765 to 1774 and selling its Peak District concessions in 1778, with no mining afterwards. (uncertain) ³

Recorded claims

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

• Bondog Hole Mine on Middleton Moor is a very good compact site, in good condition, including a gin circle, coe, ore house, winding shaft and possible powder house; it was one of the larger mines on the upper part of the slope, with a terraced and walled belland yard and dressing floor. ¹
• Bondog Hole Mine occupies a central section of Doghole Rake, its name combining 'doghole' (the vein worked) with 'bon' (a local family surname); it forms part of a wider scheduled monument whose documentary evidence includes a 17th-century list of mines recording shares held by Sir Philip Gell and Francis Gell. ²
• The wider Middleton Moor mining field survived unusually well because its hillocks are largely limestone rather than gangue waste, so later reworking for residual lead or fluorspar did not erase the earlier evidence as it did on many comparable sites. ²
• An account quoted in a 2022 exploration report has the London Lead Company working the mine from at least 1765 to 1774 and selling its Peak District concessions in 1778, with no mining afterwards. (uncertain) ³
• A 2022 exploration report describes the workings as left much as they were at abandonment, with narrow-gauge track, the remains of small tubs and iron pins holding back walls of deads. ³
• The mine is named for the vein it worked, 'doghole', with 'bon' the surname of a local family. ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Derbyshire HER: Bondog Hole Mine, Middleton (MDR11628) — Derbyshire Historic Environment Record
2. (primary) Black Rakes, Welshmans Venture and Bondog Hole Mines, and Merry Tom and Thumper Sitch Levels, Middleton, Derbyshire — AncientMonuments.uk (mirroring the Historic England scheduling record)
3. (observational) Report - Bon Doghole Lead Mine, Middleton, Derbyshire - February 2022 (28DaysLater) — 28DaysLater

Record created: 16 September 2026 · Last researched: 30 September 2026