Twin Shafts

Overview

Twin Shafts, an opencast working on the Stormy Point Fault, drops through two shafts into the deeper reaches of neighbouring Reeking Mine -- probable evidence of exploration here across three separate centuries.

History

Twin Shafts is an opencast working on the Stormy Point Fault at Alderley Edge, consisting of two short levels and two shafts that drop down into the further, deeper reaches of the neighbouring Reeking Mine. Field evidence suggests possible working here across three distinct periods: probable early surface workings, possible activity during the cobalt boom of the early 19th century, and further probable working later in the 19th century as part of a wider re-examination of the Stormy Point area's earlier mines. The site is named, like its neighbours on Stormy Point, for a distinctive physical feature -- in this case its two shafts, dropping side by side into the workings below. Its direct underground connection to Reeking Mine ties the two sites together both physically and, probably, historically, with the surface opencut at Twin Shafts likely representing renewed interest in a vein already explored from below at various points across the 18th and 19th centuries.

Geology

A copper working on the Stormy Point Fault, connected underground to neighbouring Reeking Mine.

Workings

An opencast working with two short levels and two shafts dropping into the deeper reaches of Reeking Mine.

Closure

No reliable closure date has yet been located; field evidence suggests possible working across the 18th, early 19th and mid-19th centuries.

What remains

Owned by the National Trust; part of the wider Stormy Point mine group, not open to casual visitors.

An opencast working with two shafts and two short levels survives at the surface, connected underground to Reeking Mine.

Related mines

• Alderley Edge Mines — One of the named workings within the wider Alderley Edge Mines complex, at Stormy Point.

Nearby mines

• Doc Mine — 0.0 km N
• Engine Vein — 0.0 km SW
• Pillar Mine — 0.0 km NE
• Alderley Edge Mines — 0.2 km SE
• Brynlow Mine — 0.2 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.

• Twin Shafts: an opencast working on the Stormy Point Fault with two short levels and two shafts dropping into the further reaches of Reeking Mine; there is evidence of exploration in the 18th century, early 19th century (probably for cobalt) and mid 19th century. ¹
• Opencast mines on Stormy Point, the Twin Shafts are around 10 metres deep, and are at an elevation of 170 metres. ²
• The Derbyshire Caving Club's own period-attribution table for the site records Twin Shafts as showing possible early surface workings, possible activity in the early 19th century, and probable activity later in the 19th century -- consistent with a vein reworked at several distinct points across its history rather than in one continuous campaign. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Derbyshire Caving Club: Other Mines (Doc Mine entry, Alderley Edge mines pages) — Derbyshire Caving Club (leaseholders and surveyors of the Alderley Edge mines for the National Trust)
2. (secondary) Alderley Edge Mines — Wikipedia

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