Tideslow Rake

Overview

Tideslow Rake, worked between the 12th and 18th centuries and drained by five soughs dug between 1648 and 1685, kept its own on-site 'pudding' kiln for burning quicklime -- a cheaper alternative to gunpowder for blasting the rock.

History

Tideslow Rake, on the north-western uplands of Derbyshire's limestone plateau, was exploited at various times between the 12th and 18th centuries before falling out of use around 1800; parts were reworked in modern times, though those reworked sections lie outside the scheduled area. The 18th-century workings appear to be concentrated on the high ground around Tides Low, though it is likely earlier workings were reworked at the same period. A unique series of legal agreements documents no fewer than five separate drainage soughs dug at Tideslow Rake between 1648 and 1685 -- an unusually well-recorded drainage history for a Derbyshire lead rake of this date. On the rake's south side, east of Tideswell, a very small climbing shaft survives some 90 metres north-east of the Tides Low bowl barrow. The rake forms a complex linear working comprising both mine workings and ore-processing sites, centred on a large opencut that extends intermittently along the vein's length, flanked throughout by shafts, spoil and dressing waste, numerous dressing and washing floors, and platforms for winding gear. Towards its western end survives a complex of well-preserved shaft mounds, each incorporating an integral winding-gear platform; one, close to a shaft capped with railway sleepers, retains metalwork from its winding mechanism. Nearby stand the footings of several small rectangular coes used for storage and ore-breaking, at least two of them built directly over mine shafts, one covered by a collapsed beehive cap. A large flat-topped earthwork to the north incorporates a gin circle, next to a narrow leat feeding a buddle and a group of settling tanks -- their position near the gin circle suggesting the horse-powered winding gear may also have been used to raise water for ore washing. At the junction of two site tracks stand the collapsed remains of a 'pudding' or 'pie' lime kiln, its thick walls and small internal area confirming it was built purely for burning quicklime -- used on lead-mining sites as a cheaper alternative to gunpowder for blasting -- rather than for occupation; a smaller structure opposite it may have been a quicklime store.

Geology

A complex linear lead vein forming Tideslow Rake, drained in the 17th century by five separate soughs dug between 1648 and 1685.

Workings

A large opencut flanked by shafts, winding-gear platforms, coes, a gin circle, a buddle and settling tanks, with an on-site 'pudding' lime kiln for burning blasting quicklime.

Closure

Fell out of use around 1800; the modern reworked sections that followed lie outside the scheduled area.

What remains

Scheduled as a nationally important monument, described as a rare survival of a lead rake not reworked in recent times.

Shaft mounds with winding-gear platforms, coes (one with a collapsed beehive shaft cap), a gin circle, a leat, a buddle, settling tanks, and the collapsed remains of a 'pudding' lime kiln and its probable quicklime store survive.

Nearby mines

• Milldam Mine — 2.2 km E
• Hill's Venture Lead Mine — 3.2 km NW
• High Rake Mine — 3.3 km NE
• Oxlow Rake Lead Mines — 3.4 km NW
• Hazard Mine — 3.6 km NW

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.

• Tideslow Rake was exploited at various times between the 12th and 18th centuries, going out of use around 1800; a unique series of legal agreements shows five separate drainage soughs were dug here between 1648 and 1685. ¹
• A very small climbing shaft survives on the south side of the main rake, east of Tideswell, about 90 metres north-east of the Tides Low bowl barrow. ²
• At the junction of two site tracks are the collapsed remains of a 'pudding' or 'pie' lime kiln, its thick walls and small internal area confirming it was built for burning quicklime -- used as a cheaper alternative to gunpowder for blasting -- rather than for occupation. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Tideslow Rake lead rake and lime kiln, Tideswell, Derbyshire — AncientMonuments.uk (mirroring the Historic England scheduling record)
2. (primary) Derbyshire HER: Climbing shaft, Tideslow Rake, 90m north-east of Tides Low bowl barrow, Tideswell (MDR6941) — Derbyshire Historic Environment Record

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