Merlin Mine

Overview

A former lead mine on the slopes of Eyam Dale, shown to paying visitors as a show cave from at least 1793 and among the most extensive workings in the area, its passages linking underground into the wider Carlswark Cavern system explored by modern cavers.

History

Merlin Mine is one of the more extensive former lead workings on the slopes of Eyam Dale, near Stoney Middleton. Its main entrance level crosses two small veins, known locally as 'scrins' -- Stubbs and Sycamore -- with workings continuing for some distance along both, and includes several cross-cuts, small stopes and an internal shaft at the Stubbs scrin giving access to the Carlswark waterfall system. By 1793 the mine was already being shown to visitors as a show cave, a role it continued to serve through the 1800s, though by a modern account it 'must have been a rather severe show cave'. In the modern era the mine has become a significant recreational caving destination: the Merlin Stream, at the mine's lowest level, was first reached by cavers in 1973, and a shaft excavated during that decade connected Merlin's workings through to the neighbouring Carlswark Cavern, though this particular connection has since collapsed.

Geology

Two small veins — 'scrins' in the Derbyshire miners' word — called Stubbs and Sycamore, crossed by the mine's entrance level.

Workings

An entrance level crossing the Stubbs and Sycamore scrins (small veins), with cross-cuts, small stopes and an internal shaft at Stubbs giving access to the Carlswark waterfall system; natural cave passages are intermixed with the worked sections throughout.

Closure

Unknown.

What remains

Actively explored by recreational cavers; a rigged internal shaft at Stubbs scrin still connects Merlin's workings to the Carlswark cave system, per a directly-read 2022 exploration report -- the passages are tight throughout, with a handful of small chambers and stopes rather than large open ground.

No surface structures are recorded as surviving; the site is worked and accessed as an underground cave-and-mine system.

Related mines

• Nickergrove Mine — Nickergrove's natural passages connect to the stream cave between Streaks Pot and Merlin's Mine.

Recorded claims

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

• Merlin Mine's entrance level crosses two small veins, Stubbs and Sycamore, and was already being shown to paying visitors as a show cave by 1793, continuing in that role through the 1800s. ¹
• The Merlin Stream at the mine's lowest level was first reached by cavers in 1973, when a shaft was also excavated connecting the mine's workings through to the neighbouring Carlswark Cavern -- a connection that has since collapsed. ¹
• A 2022 observational report on the mine describes it as a significant recreational exploration destination, consistent with its continued use as a modern caving site. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Mines of Stoney Middleton — Stoney Middleton Heritage
2. (observational) Merlin Lead Mine, Stoney Middleton, Derbyshire, May 2022 — 28DaysLater Urban Exploring Forums

Record created: 30 August 2026 · Last researched: 31 August 2026