Horsesteps Mine

Overview

The fifth of the five lead mines -- alongside Magpie, Dirty Red Soil, Great Red Soil and Maypit -- sharing a single scheduled walled enclosure near Sheldon, together forming one of the most complete surviving examples of a Derbyshire lead-mining site.

History

Horsesteps Mine is the least individually documented of the five workings -- Magpie, Dirty Red Soil, Great Red Soil, Maypit and Horsesteps -- enclosed within a single walled Scheduled Monument some 700 metres south of Sheldon, on a limestone plateau at around 310 metres above sea level. Lead mining at the site as a whole is recorded back to at least the 17th century, with the Shuttlebark vein officially opened in 1682, and lead mining flourished around Sheldon through the 18th and 19th centuries; the combined preservation and documented history of the enclosure's mines is considered to illustrate the development of Derbyshire lead mining generally, including 19th-century Cornish mining influence, but nothing on record separates out a distinct history for Horsesteps from that of its four neighbours.

Geology

Lead of the Derbyshire orefield, within the walled enclosure it shares with Magpie, Dirty Red Soil, Great Red Soil and Maypit; the Shuttlebark vein was officially opened in 1682.

Workings

The mine lies within a walled enclosure shared with four neighbouring workings; its own workings are not separately recorded.

Closure

The closure date is not known.

What remains

Surface remains lie within the same protected walled enclosure as Magpie, Dirty Red Soil, Great Red Soil and Maypit, managed together as a Scheduled Monument.

Surface remains lie within the walled enclosure shared with its neighbours.

Related mines

• Dirty Red Soil Mine — Shares the scheduled walled enclosure south of Sheldon.
• Great Red Soil Mine — Shares the scheduled walled enclosure south of Sheldon.
• Magpie Mine — Shares the scheduled walled enclosure south of Sheldon.
• Maypit Mine — Shares the scheduled walled enclosure south of Sheldon.

Recorded claims

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

• Horsesteps is one of five lead mines -- Magpie, Dirty Red Soil, Great Red Soil, Maypit and Horsesteps -- enclosed within a single Scheduled Monument near Sheldon. ¹
• Lead mining at the Sheldon site is recorded from at least the 17th century, with the Shuttlebark vein officially opened in 1682. ²
• The walled enclosure of the five mines, Magpie, Dirty Red Soil, Great Red Soil, Maypit and Horsesteps, was designated a Scheduled Monument on 15 January 1974. ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Magpie, Dirty Red Soil, Maypit, Horsesteps and Great Red Soil lead mines and a limekiln (List Entry 1019490) — Historic England
2. (secondary) Derbyshire lead mining history — Wikipedia
3. (secondary) Magpie Mine — Wikipedia
4. (secondary) Magpie Mine History — Peak District Mines Historical Society

Record created: 31 August 2026 · Last researched: 24 September 2026