Hough Level

Overview

Nearly a mile of hand-picked and later railway-widened tunnel, the Hough Level linked four separate Alderley Edge mines into a single drainage and haulage system -- surveyed with such care that its two separately dug headings met almost exactly halfway between Brynlow and Engine Vein.

History

The Hough Level is a connecting tunnel running for about 1,570 yards (1,430 metres) from Dickens Wood in the east to the treatment works site in the west, used throughout its working life for drainage and for hauling ore out of the Alderley Edge mines. Its first section, from Dickens Wood to Engine Vein, was probably dug in the 1760s by Charles Roe's company to drain Engine Vein; hand pick-marks are clearly visible throughout this hand-picked 'coffin level', which reaches Square Shaft at about 280 yards from the entrance and Blue Shaft at 520 yards, with a short dead-end branch surviving at Square Shaft from its original construction. The section between Engine Vein and the Edge was enlarged throughout during the mining period that began in 1857, with bends straightened so that a railway could be laid along its full length, and a large waste heap created outside the Dickens Wood entrance. By 1865 the level -- known at the time as Oakes' Level -- was being driven onward from the treatment works, its depth set to match that of Engine Vein and designed to slope gently downhill to ease the movement of loaded ore tubs; this required careful surveying across the surface between the various mine entrances. The extension was driven in two stages: first westward to Brynlow (about 570 yards), reaching the mine some 10 yards below its original adit and both draining it and exposing a useful body of copper ore; then from Brynlow to Engine Vein (480 yards), probably driven as two separate headings that met roughly halfway, with a final survey error of only about two feet vertically and six feet horizontally. Completing the level meant ore from both Brynlow and Engine Vein could be hauled easily to the surface, and other mines were soon linked in too -- including a branch into Wood Mine -- giving at least ten separate points along its length where ore could be tipped into trucks. Loaded trucks were pushed by hand down the level's gentle slope to its western end, where they were fixed to a rope or chain and hauled up a short incline to the surface using a steam engine. The full length of the level, excluding its various branches, runs to about 1,570 yards; a full traverse today involves waist-deep water, mud and a long walk, so visitors are normally limited to the section between Dickens Wood and Engine Vein.

Geology

A connecting drainage and ore-haulage tunnel linking Engine Vein, Brynlow Mine, Wood Mine and the Alderley Edge treatment works.

Workings

A hand-picked 18th-century coffin level from Dickens Wood to Engine Vein, extended and railway-widened in the 19th century westward to Brynlow and Wood Mine, with at least ten ore-tipping points along its length.

Closure

Used for haulage and drainage throughout the Alderley Edge Mining Company's working period, which ended with the mines' closure in 1877.

What remains

Owned by the National Trust; the whole length is leased by the Derbyshire Caving Club, with guided access to the eastern section only, by prior arrangement.

A hand-picked coffin-level tunnel section, Square Shaft (about 180 feet deep), Blue Shaft with a ladderway, ore chutes, a waste heap at the Dickens Wood entrance, and sections of original wrought-iron tram rail survive.

Related mines

• Alderley Edge Mines — The main drainage and ore-haulage tunnel connecting several named workings within the wider Alderley Edge Mines complex.
• Brynlow Mine — 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.
• Engine Vein — Directly connected underground; the Hough Level's first section, dug in the 1760s, ran from Dickens Wood specifically to drain Engine Vein.

Nearby mines

• Alderley Edge Mines — 0.1 km SW
• Brynlow Mine — 0.2 km SW
• Doc Mine — 0.2 km W
• Engine Vein — 0.3 km W
• Saddlebole Mine — 0.4 km SW

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.

• The first part of the tunnel that was dug was the section from Dickens Wood to Engine Vein and it is probable that this was mined in the 1760s by Charles Roe's company to provide drainage from Engine Vein; the whole passage was mined as a coffin level with pickmarks clearly visible on the walls. ¹
• The extension was driven in two sections, firstly from the west to Brynlow (about 570 yards), reaching the Brynlow mine some 10 yards below the original adit entrance, draining the mine and exposing a fair body of copper ore; from Brynlow to Engine Vein, 480 yards, it is probable that two headings were driven at the same time as they meet roughly half way between the two mines, with a survey error of about two feet vertically and six feet horizontally. ¹
• The Hough Level is a connecting tunnel that links the works outside the West Mine with Wood Mine, Brynlow Mine and Engine Vein; at the extreme east end of the level, it emerges at the surface near Dickens Wood, and it is 1,500 metres long. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Derbyshire Caving Club: The Hough Level (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: 17 September 2026 · Last researched: 17 September 2026