Peakshill or Oden Sough

Overview

Driven in 1728 to both drain and prospect for Odin Mine's northern reaches, Peakshill Sough never found the ore it was hunting for -- the vein it sought dips away beneath Rushup Edge just short of where the tunnel ends.

History

On gently sloping ground below the steep ridge of Rushup Edge lies Peakshill or Oden Sough, a drainage tunnel driven to serve the nearby Odin (or Oden) Mine -- one of the oldest lead mines in the region, possibly worked as early as the 13th century, and one repeatedly plagued by drainage problems caused by local geology. As in other Peak District mines, the area's hilly terrain made driving soughs a practical and relatively economical solution, and Odin Mine had several driven over its long working life. Peakshill Sough itself was driven between 1726 and 1729, during a period of particularly high productivity for the mine; while a fine example of a drainage tunnel in its own right, it is thought also to have been intended as an exploratory level to locate the northern reaches of Odin's lead-bearing vein. In this second purpose it failed: the workable vein dips beneath the cover of Rushup Edge immediately north of where the sough ends, and was never reached. The sough's route is traced today by a linear series of well-preserved shaft mounds, spaced 10 to 30 metres apart, marking the line of ventilation shafts sunk to supply air to the men driving the tunnel below. These mounds range from 8 to 15 metres across and stand 1 to 3 metres high, with the largest examples at the sough's northern and southern ends and smaller ones concentrated towards its centre, where closely spaced mounds create the appearance of an undulating bank punctuated by shallow depressions. Close pairs of hillocks near the tail of the sough are thought to indicate an undocumented later re-driving of the tunnel, likely undertaken before Odin Mine's eventual closure in 1869. Scheduled as a nationally important monument in February 1998, Peakshill or Oden Sough is valued as an unusual dual-function mining feature -- combining drainage and prospecting in a single excavation -- and as a well-preserved example of how Derbyshire lead miners responded to the drainage and geological challenges of working deep veins in the early 18th century.

Geology

A drainage and prospecting sough driven towards the northern reaches of Odin Mine's lead-bearing vein, which it never reached, dipping away beneath Rushup Edge.

Workings

A linear series of well-preserved ventilation shaft mounds, 8-15m across and 1-3m high, spaced 10-30m apart along the sough's route, with closely paired mounds near its tail suggesting an undocumented later re-driving.

Closure

No reliable closure date has yet been located for the sough itself; the mine it served, Odin Mine, closed in 1869.

What remains

Scheduled as a nationally important monument since February 1998; the shaft-mound series survives well.

A linear series of ventilation shaft mounds along the sough's route survives, with larger mounds at its northern and southern ends.

Related mines

• Odin Mine — Named directly in both sources as the mine this sough was driven in 1726-1729 to drain and to prospect from, though it never reached Odin's vein.

Nearby mines

• Treak Cliff Cavern — 1.3 km E
• Odin Mine — 1.7 km E
• Slitherstone and Linacre Lead Mines — 1.7 km SE
• Eldon Hill Crushing Circle — 1.8 km S
• New Rake Lead Mines — 2.2 km SE

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 Peakshill sough was driven between 1726 and 1729, a time of particularly high productivity for Odin Mine; whilst a fine example of a drainage tunnel, it is thought also to have been intended as an exploratory level to locate northern reaches of the Oden lead-bearing vein, but it did not reach lead-bearing strata, since the workable vein dips beneath the cover of Rushup Edge immediately north of the sough. ¹
• The sough is visible as a linear series of well preserved shaft mounds, the remains of ventilation shafts 10m-30m apart, ranging between 8m and 15m across and 1m-3m in height, with the larger mounds located at the north and south ends of the sough and smaller ones generally in the centre. ¹
• The sough was originally driven in 1728-1729 but failed to find Odin Vein; the date of the reopening of the level is undocumented although it is likely to be before 1869, as Odin Mine closed at this date, and pairs of hillocks near the tail indicate an undocumented re-driving. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Peakshill or Oden sough, Edale, Derbyshire — AncientMonuments.uk (mirroring the Historic England scheduling record)
2. (primary) Derbyshire HER: Peakshill or Oden Sough, Peakshill Farm, Castleton and Peak Forest (MDR2294) — Derbyshire Historic Environment Record

Record created: 17 September 2026 · Last researched: 17 September 2026