Knotlow Mine

Overview

A lead mine hand-worked through solid limestone near Monyash, combining the shallow Whalf Pipe vein near its entrance with the deeper Crimbo vein, and now part of a well-known caving system.

History

Knotlow is documented working lead from at least 1702 through to the latter half of the 19th century, worked first along the Whalf Pipe vein near the entrance and later into the deeper Crimbo vein. Both horse-powered whims and steam engines were used at different periods to raise ore and water from the workings, with dedicated engine houses built to house the machinery. Long low 'coffin levels' were driven to extract ore from confined seams, alongside hand-picked climbing shafts and larger engine shafts.

Geology

The mine follows lead-bearing veins and pipe deposits through solid Carboniferous limestone, combining natural cavern passages with worked veins across several interconnected levels.

Workings

Access includes hand-picked climbing shafts, engine shafts, and a series of coffin levels — long, narrow, low passages suited to confined seams — connecting the shallower Whalf Pipe workings to the deeper Crimbo vein.

What remains

Now part of the wider Knotlow/Hillocks cave and mine system, still actively visited by caving clubs; conditions can include polluted water and localised bad air, with carbon dioxide build-up reported in the lower workings on occasion.

Two surviving gin circles (horse-whim hoisting platforms), a ruined protective wall, possible coe (miners' hut) remains, and the ruins of two steam engine houses with a chimney base survive at one shaft location.

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.

• The system is known among cavers for occasional polluted water and bad air, with carbon dioxide build-up reported in the lower workings severe enough to curtail trips. ¹

Sources

1. (observational) Knotlow/Crimbo Mine — Technical Speleological Group
2. (primary) Knotlow Mine Plan (BGS, MP26746) — British Geological Survey / Peak District Mines Historical Society
3. (primary) MDR1249 - Knotlow Mine — Derbyshire Historic Environment Record
4. (secondary) Knotlow Mine

Record created: 22 August 2026 · Last researched: 22 August 2026