1. The History
The Bonsall Leys are small-scale lead workings situated in Derbyshire where lead mining first took place back in the 1540s when it was called Whitelow mines. Extraction of the lead ore, called galena, was done through the use of pickaxes, and then brought to the surface for processing. This continued right up until the 19th century and the workings on Bonsall Moor are characterised by a small scale and the low-technology approach to extract the extremely shallow ore bodies.
The underground mining at Bonsall Leys (or Lees) created an extensive number of mineshaft and below-ground workings. Other remains include ruined structures, earthworks, and buried remains of the lead mining area, along with two rusting cranes from the more recent fluorspar mining activity at the site. The opencast approach has created shallow pits and opencuts with at least ten parallel rakes or “scrims” (shallow opencut workings following a vein close to the surface) still easily identifiable. The rakes are approximately 1-2m deep, 2m wide and up to 40m long. They were most likely worked by early smallholder-miners working the area in teams, reinforced by the scarcity of “coes” (small storage buildings). A few older large vertical shafts also remain, some up to 30m in depth cutting earlier opencut features and now capped off with old concrete railway sleepers.
Historic England designated it a Scheduled monument in October 1986. In 2014, it was the scene of a temporary 5-day light art installation by George S Jaramillo, named Miners’ Lamp (more info HERE).
A note on the cranes: manufactured by R. H. Neal & Co. Based in the Lincolnshire market town of Grantham, the company was originally founded in Ealing in 1918. In Grantham they were based on Dysart Road, close by to where I spent the first three years of my life! Going public in 1952, they were then taken over by Henry J Coles in 1959.
The larger crane with its boom on the ground is a NEAL Rapid Mobilecrane (with JAP engine) and dates back to the 1920s, representing one of the company’s early models. The smaller crane with boom still in the air also dates back to the 1920s and is a NEAL AM Crane Hoist.
2. The Explore
I didn’t really have much expectation about this place beyond that it had two very photogenic rusting cranes in a field. In the end, it turned out to be a really interesting place with a few remnants from its past if you looked carefully. The shafts were all capped off so no underground exploration, but a relaxing way to wend away half an hour or so.
3. The Pictures
Firstly, on to the smaller of the two cranes:
Maker plate with some of the original green paint of it:
Back axle:
Looking down one of the many sleeper-covered shafts. This one is quite deep:
And another:
This one was pretty shallow:
And some pictures of the many rakes or “scrims”:
On to the larger crane:
And its back plate:
Random crane bucket:
And piece of rail:
And finally, one last classic shot the smaller crane next to the last rake it worked:
And a side profile of the larger one:
C-R-A-N-E-T-A-S-T-I-C-!-!-!
The Bonsall Leys are small-scale lead workings situated in Derbyshire where lead mining first took place back in the 1540s when it was called Whitelow mines. Extraction of the lead ore, called galena, was done through the use of pickaxes, and then brought to the surface for processing. This continued right up until the 19th century and the workings on Bonsall Moor are characterised by a small scale and the low-technology approach to extract the extremely shallow ore bodies.
The underground mining at Bonsall Leys (or Lees) created an extensive number of mineshaft and below-ground workings. Other remains include ruined structures, earthworks, and buried remains of the lead mining area, along with two rusting cranes from the more recent fluorspar mining activity at the site. The opencast approach has created shallow pits and opencuts with at least ten parallel rakes or “scrims” (shallow opencut workings following a vein close to the surface) still easily identifiable. The rakes are approximately 1-2m deep, 2m wide and up to 40m long. They were most likely worked by early smallholder-miners working the area in teams, reinforced by the scarcity of “coes” (small storage buildings). A few older large vertical shafts also remain, some up to 30m in depth cutting earlier opencut features and now capped off with old concrete railway sleepers.
Historic England designated it a Scheduled monument in October 1986. In 2014, it was the scene of a temporary 5-day light art installation by George S Jaramillo, named Miners’ Lamp (more info HERE).
A note on the cranes: manufactured by R. H. Neal & Co. Based in the Lincolnshire market town of Grantham, the company was originally founded in Ealing in 1918. In Grantham they were based on Dysart Road, close by to where I spent the first three years of my life! Going public in 1952, they were then taken over by Henry J Coles in 1959.
The larger crane with its boom on the ground is a NEAL Rapid Mobilecrane (with JAP engine) and dates back to the 1920s, representing one of the company’s early models. The smaller crane with boom still in the air also dates back to the 1920s and is a NEAL AM Crane Hoist.
2. The Explore
I didn’t really have much expectation about this place beyond that it had two very photogenic rusting cranes in a field. In the end, it turned out to be a really interesting place with a few remnants from its past if you looked carefully. The shafts were all capped off so no underground exploration, but a relaxing way to wend away half an hour or so.
3. The Pictures
Firstly, on to the smaller of the two cranes:
Maker plate with some of the original green paint of it:
Back axle:
Looking down one of the many sleeper-covered shafts. This one is quite deep:
And another:
This one was pretty shallow:
And some pictures of the many rakes or “scrims”:
On to the larger crane:
And its back plate:
Random crane bucket:
And piece of rail:
And finally, one last classic shot the smaller crane next to the last rake it worked:
And a side profile of the larger one:
C-R-A-N-E-T-A-S-T-I-C-!-!-!
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