Masson Hill Mine

Overview

A lead-mining complex riddling Masson Hill above Matlock Bath, combining Great Rake shaft-and-rake workings with an unusually extensive system of natural caves enlarged by medieval and later miners — among them the Nestus Pipes, whose distinctive 'woodpecker' pick-marks are documented as early as 1470. Two of its caverns, Rutland Cavern and Great Masson Cavern, have operated as show caves since the 19th century as part of the Heights of Abraham.

History

Lead has been worked on Masson Hill since at least the medieval period: the Nestus Pipes, part of the wider complex, preserve distinctive narrow 'woodpecker' pick-marks characteristic of hand working and are documented by 1470, making this arguably the most extensive medieval mine system in Britain still accessible today. The complex also includes Longtor Mines and the Bacon and Coalpit Rakes, worked by Great Rake methods — small shafts sunk close together along the vein, with associated ore-dressing buddles — as well as evidence of fire-setting with coal and wood to break rock before blasting became standard practice. From around 1730 onward, gunpowder blasting became the usual method of extraction, and 'coffin levels' and hand-picked shafts continued to be driven into the 20th century. Two of the hill's natural cave systems, enlarged and connected by the mining, were later developed as show caves. What became known as Rutland Cavern was first opened to paying visitors in 1810-12 under the name Nestor Mine, later renamed for the Duke of Rutland. Great Masson Cavern followed as a show cave in the Victorian period, having likewise first been mined, for fluorspar as well as lead; its walls are coated in a clay-like deposit that has prevented the usual stalactite and stalagmite formation seen in typical limestone caves. Both caverns now form part of the Heights of Abraham visitor attraction, reached by cable car, alongside other named parts of the wider Masson Cavern system such as Temple Pipe, Jug Holes and Devonshire Cavern.

Geology

The hill is built on a gentle anticline of Carboniferous limestone, interrupted by two basalt lava flows (the Matlock Lower and Upper Lavas) with roughly 40 metres of limestone containing the main cave systems sandwiched between them. Cave development occurred in two distinct phases: an earlier phase of hydrothermal mineralisation in the late Carboniferous, followed by enlargement and creation of new passages by ordinary meteoric groundwater as the limestone was exposed through erosion in the late Tertiary and Pleistocene. Magnetostratigraphic dating of fluvioglacial sediment within the system indicates some passages are more than 780,000 years old, making Masson Hill one of the best sites in Britain for studying the relationship between vein mineralisation and cave development.

Workings

Great Rake-style workings — small shafts sunk close together along the vein with associated ore-dressing buddles — combine with an extensive natural cave system that pre- and post-dates the mineralisation, so that mining passages and natural phreatic caverns interconnect into a single complex exceeding 2,000 metres of mapped passage, spanning nearly 200 metres vertically.

What remains

Two named parts of the system, Rutland Cavern and Great Masson Cavern, are developed as show caves within the Heights of Abraham attraction, reached by cable car. The wider hill is designated as a Geological Conservation Review site for its exceptional record of vein-guided cave development, and as a Registered Park or Garden and World Heritage Site buffer zone.

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 Nestus Pipes preserve distinctive 'woodpecker' pick-marks characteristic of medieval hand working, documented by 1470. ¹
• The complex shows evidence of fire-setting with coal and wood predating standard use of gunpowder blasting from around 1730, plus later coffin levels and hand-picked shafts into the 20th century. ¹
• Rutland Cavern opened to the public in 1810 (as Nestor Mine); Great Masson Cavern opened as a show cave in the 1870s. ¹
• The interconnected Masson Cavern system totals over 2,000 metres of mapped natural passage, spanning nearly 200 metres vertically. ²
• Magnetostratigraphic dating of fluvioglacial sediment in the system indicates an age in excess of 780,000 years for some passages. ²

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this mine.

Sources

1. (primary) MDR3139: Masson Hill Lead Mining Complex — Derbyshire Historic Environment Record
2. (primary) Masson Hill caves (GCR site) — Scottish Geology Trust / Geological Conservation Review

Record created: 26 August 2026 · Last researched: 26 August 2026