Rainslow Scrins

Overview

Rainslow Scrins, on a hilltop south of Elton, is one of only two places in Derbyshire -- and the only place in the country where it occurs in such concentration -- where mineralised joints in limestone form deep, narrow 'scrins' rather than the wider rakes typical of the district.

History

Rainslow Scrins takes its name from a 'scrin' -- a mineralised joint or fault fracture in limestone, narrower and deeper than the more familiar rake -- and the site preserves around ten of them, roughly parallel, 10 to 13 metres deep and only 0.6 to 1 metre wide, extending up to 350 metres in places. It is one of only two examples of this geological condition in Derbyshire, and the only place in the country where it occurs in such concentration. Lead miners may have been working the ground by 1541, and many ventures were underway nearby by the mid-17th century, with Farey's 1811 survey of Derbyshire recording the site in detail. The surviving earthworks, on and around a hilltop on either side of a minor road 0.8km south of Elton, show a clear sequence of working: shaft mounds overlie spoil from earlier opencuts, and shafts were sunk directly into opencuts, demonstrating that opencut working here was succeeded by small vertical shafts exploiting the same veins. The shaft mounds are modest, typically 1.5 metres high and 8 metres wide, with no earthwork evidence of horse-powered or other mechanised winding or drainage -- a low level of mechanisation typical of Derbyshire, where shallow veins in hilly limestone often made powered systems difficult to install or uneconomic to run before a vein was exhausted. The northern part of the site also preserves a well-preserved array of embanked dressing floors, where ore was separated from waste using water, and heaps of dressing waste. Two stone structures survive in the south-east: a circular drystone-walled enclosure around a shaft, and a small ruined coe (storage building) with thick bonded walls. Scheduled as a nationally important monument in 1998, the site was the subject of two interpretive panels installed by the Elton Local History Group in the 2020s, funded by the Peak District National Park's Sustainable Development Fund, to help visitors understand what a scrin is and why the site matters.

Geology

A rare concentration of scrins -- deep, narrow mineralised limestone joint fractures -- one of only two such sites in Derbyshire and the only one of this concentration nationally.

Workings

Around ten parallel opencut scrins later reworked by small vertical shafts, with well-preserved embanked ore-dressing floors, a walled shaft enclosure and a ruined coe.

Closure

No reliable closure date has yet been located.

What remains

Scheduled since 1998 as a nationally important monument; earthworks are well preserved, and two interpretive panels now help visitors understand the site.

Ten or more parallel scrins, small shaft mounds, embanked dressing floors, dressing-waste heaps, a walled shaft enclosure and a ruined coe survive.

Nearby mines

• Gratton Dale Lead Mines — 1.0 km NW
• Wills Founder Mine — 1.6 km NE
• Winster Mines — 2.1 km E
• Winster Pitts and Drummer's Venture — 2.5 km E
• Gorseydale Lead Mines — 3.1 km E

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.

• Rainslow Scrins comprises around ten parallel scrins, 10-13m deep and 0.6-1m wide, one of only two examples of this geological condition in Derbyshire and the only place in the country where it occurs in such concentration; lead miners may have been working here by 1541. ¹
• The site shows a clear working sequence, with shaft mounds overlying earlier opencut spoil and shafts sunk directly into opencuts, and preserves well-preserved embanked ore-dressing floors and two stone structures -- a walled shaft enclosure and a ruined coe. ¹
• Rainslow Scrins is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a nationally-important lead-mining site; two interpretive panels were installed nearby by the Elton Local History Group, with funding from the Peak District National Park's Sustainable Development Fund, to help visitors understand the site. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Derbyshire HER: Rainslow Scrins, 470m south-west of Leadmines Farm, Elton (MDR6892) — Derbyshire Historic Environment Record
2. (secondary) Discovering Elton's historic landscape — Great British Life (Roly Smith)

Record created: 16 September 2026 · Last researched: 16 September 2026