Brynlow Mine

Overview

At Brynlow, a Bronze Age surface pit sits directly above an 18th-century 'coffin level' carved by one of Charles Roe's own miners -- who left his initials and the date 1764 scratched into the rock wall he was cutting through.

History

Brynlow Mine, in Brynlow Dell north of Artists Lane at Alderley Edge, is marked on an 1878 abandonment plan as an 'ancient level', though physical evidence within the mine suggests most of what survives was actually the work of Charles Roe's company in the 18th century. On one wall of a narrow, curved-sided 'coffin level' in the main workings, someone -- probably Jonathan Wagstaff, one of Roe's men -- carved their initials 'JW' and the date 1764; nearby, a second inscription reads 'GL' (possibly George Leeman) beside the date 1866. Older evidence still survives beneath this 18th-century work: a number of shallow pits, believed Bronze Age in date, are intersected by the later mining at shallow depth, showing the site was worked in phases across thousands of years. A shaft rediscovered during cable-laying by Norweb contractors, now known as Norweb Shaft, and an 18th-century adit leading to contemporary fault-line workings, are followed in turn by a 19th-century level -- possibly once called Oakes' Level -- that undercuts and drains the older workings from below, part of the wider Hough Level drainage system. The mine's entrance is a narrow cutting in the dell leading to a metal door; before its rediscovery by the Derbyshire Caving Club, the entrance had been entirely lost, its adit nearly filled with leaf mould and water. Inside, the narrow, curved-walled coffin level -- wider at shoulder height, which gives this type of tunnel its name -- runs for a few hundred feet before meeting the Brynlow fault and turning into the main workings; a smaller side branch continues straight ahead to a blank end. In the main workings, six levels are linked by a sloping shaft and several climbing ways (one still retaining its original ladder), spanning a vertical range of some 100 feet from close to the road at Artists Lane down below water level; everything below adit level was excavated during the 19th century. Except for some flooded sections, Brynlow's lowest level forms part of the Hough Level, the main drainage and haulage tunnel connecting the Alderley Edge mines; since the Derbyshire Caving Club began working in the area, access has been restored westward to Wood Mine and eastward, via Bear Pit, to Engine Vein.

Geology

A copper-bearing fault/vein at Alderley Edge, worked in shallow Bronze Age pits, an 18th-century coffin-level adit, and 19th-century workings undercut by the Hough Level.

Workings

A coffin-level adit, six connected levels spanning about 100 feet vertically, a sloping shaft, climbing ways, and a lower level forming part of the Hough Level drainage/haulage system.

Closure

No reliable overall closure date has yet been located; the mine was linked into the wider Alderley Edge complex's 19th-century working via the Hough Level.

What remains

Owned by the National Trust; leased and surveyed by the Derbyshire Caving Club, not open to casual visitors owing to the nature of the workings.

A narrow entrance cutting with a secured metal door, a coffin-level adit with dated 18th- and 19th-century graffiti, six connected underground levels, and a sloping shaft with a surviving ladder survive.

Related mines

• Alderley Edge Mines — One of the named workings within the wider Alderley Edge Mines complex, documented in detail on the Derbyshire Caving Club's dedicated Brynlow page.
• Engine Vein — Directly connected underground via the Hough Level drainage and haulage tunnel, per the Derbyshire Caving Club's own survey.
• Hough Level — Directly connected underground; the Hough Level's western extension reached Brynlow Mine about 10 yards below its original adit, draining it and providing a haulage route.

Nearby mines

• Alderley Edge Mines — 0.1 km NE
• Doc Mine — 0.2 km N
• Engine Vein — 0.2 km NW
• Hough Level — 0.2 km NE
• Saddlebole Mine — 0.2 km W

Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.

Recorded claims

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

• Brynlow is marked on the 1878 plan as an ancient level but evidence from within the mine suggests that most of it was probably the work of Charles Roe in the 18th century; on one wall of a coffin level in the main workings, someone has carved the initials JW (probably Jonathan Wagstaff, one of Charles Roe's men) and the date 1764. ¹
• In the main workings, there are six levels from close to the road in Artists Lane to below water level, a vertical range of some 100 feet, connected by a sloping shaft and some climbing ways, one with the ladder still in place; below adit level, the mine was excavated in the 19th century. ¹
• Brynlow Mine is around 300 metres long and 25 metres deep, at an elevation of 155 metres; it is one of the earlier mines, with hand-picked tunnels, that connects to the Hough Level. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Derbyshire Caving Club: Brynlow Mine (Alderley Edge mines pages) — Derbyshire Caving Club (leaseholders and surveyors of the Alderley Edge mines for the National Trust)
2. (secondary) Alderley Edge Mines — Wikipedia

Record created: 31 August 2026 · Last researched: 17 September 2026