Longtor Mines

Overview

A complex of old lead workings on the east side of the Matlock gorge, running through the hillside on several levels between North Parade and Long Tor Quarry, with a number of separate entrances. Part of the workings was opened as a show cave and is now partly ruined. They are among the Peak District sites where firesetting with coal has been identified, the method used to break ground before gunpowder took over from about 1730.

History

The limestones on both sides of the Matlock gorge were worked extensively for lead, zinc and fluorspar, Masson Hill on the west and High Tor on the east. Longtor belongs to the eastern side, and sits in a group of workings that includes the Nestus Pipes, the Bacon and Coalpit Rakes and Newthole Vein. The Derbyshire Historic Environment Record dates the lead mine, its adit and the associated quarry to the post-medieval period, between 1540 and 1900. The clearest evidence of how the ground was got is the firesetting. Examples of firesetting with coal have been identified at the Nestus Pipes, at Longtor and at Newthole Vein: fires were built against the rock and the heated face quenched with water to crack it, the standard method for breaking new ground before gunpowder supplanted it from about 1730. Part of Longtor later had a second career above ground as a show cave, and the workings sit within the buffer zone of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. The whole Matlock group has been identified as a high priority site in a survey of lead mining remains in the Peak District.

Geology

Carboniferous limestone of the Derbyshire orefield, worked here for lead with zinc and fluorspar alongside. The site is noted for spectacular faulting and mineral deposits, and its interest is as much structural as economic: the ground is cut by rakes and by the pipe workings that make this stretch of the Derwent valley distinctive, ore filling cavities the limestone already had rather than standing in a single sheet.

Geological setting: Veins and Lodes (well documented example)

Workings

A complex series of workings on different levels of the hillside between North Parade and Long Tor Quarry, entered by several openings in the vicinity of the quarry, with an adit recorded among them. Ground was broken by firesetting with coal, the face heated and then quenched so that it cracked, which is the technique that dates the older parts of the working to before about 1730.

Closure

No closure date has been established. The Historic Environment Record puts the working within the post-medieval period ending in 1900, and part of the site was later opened as a show cave, which is the last recorded use.

What remains

A partly ruined former show cave with very interesting geology, spectacular faulting and mineral deposits, partly mined. Several entrances survive around Long Tor Quarry. The site lies within the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site buffer zone.

Related mines

• Masson Hill Mine — The two face each other across the Matlock gorge, Masson Hill on the west side and Longtor on the east, and belong to one lead field worked through the same rakes, pipes and veins; Longtor is named on the Masson Hill record.

Nearby mines

• Masson Hill Mine — 0.5 km W
• Bonsall Leys Mines — 0.6 km E
• Snake Mine — 1.2 km SW
• Cawdor Quarry — 1.8 km N
• Dovegang Mine — 1.8 km S

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.

• Long Tor Mine is a complex series of old lead mine workings on different levels of the hillside between North Parade and Long Tor Quarry, with several entrances in the vicinity of the quarry. ¹
• The Derbyshire Historic Environment Record classes the site as lead mine, adit and quarry, all post-medieval, between 1540 and 1900. ¹
• Examples of firesetting with coal have been identified at Longtor as at the Nestus Pipes and Newthole Vein — the method of breaking new ground that gunpowder supplanted from about 1730. ¹
• The site is a partly ruined former show cave with spectacular faulting and mineral deposits, partly mined, and lies within the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site buffer zone. ^1,2

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Long Tor Mine and Cavern, Matlock Dale — Derbyshire Historic Environment Record MDR3134 — Derbyshire County Council
2. (observational) Long Tor Top Mine, Derwent South — Peak District Caving

Record created: 9 September 2026 · Last researched: 9 September 2026