"The Speedwell Mine, on the old Buxton Road, is somewhat
awe-inspiring"[1]
(1915).
* * * *
The following very early description of the Speedwell Cavern
has been extracted from David Peter Davies' "History
of Derbyshire", published in 1811.
"The
only remaining object worthy of inspection in the neighbourhood
of Castleton, is the Speedwell Level, or Navigation
Mine, which is situated at the foot of the Winnets, in
the mountainous range called the Long Cliff. - This level was
originally driven in search of lead ore, by a company, of speculators
from Staffordshire, who commenced their undertaking about five
and thirty years ago, but with such little success, that after
expending £14,000 and
eleven years ceaseless and unavailing labor, were obliged to
relinquish it. Being provided with lights, the guide leads
the visitor beneath an arched vault, by a flight of 106 steps,
to the sough or level, where a boat is ready for his reception,
and which is put in motion, by pushing against some pegs
driven into the wall for that purpose. The depth of the water
is about three feet; the channel through which it proceeds
was blasted through the heart of the hardest rock. As the
boat proceeds, several veins of lead ore may be observed
in the rock, but not thick enough to defray the expence of
working them.
After proceeding about 600 yards, through various
caverns, " the
level bursts into a tremendous gulph, whose roof and bottom
are completely invisible; but across which the navigation has
been carried, by flinging a strong arch over a part of the
fissure where the rocks are least separated. Here, leaving
the boat, and ascending a stage erected above the level, the
attention of the visitor is directed to the dark recess of
the abyss beneath his feet; and firm indeed, must be his resolution,
if he can contemplate its depth unmoved, or hear them described,
without an involuntary shudder. To the depth of ninety feet,
all is vacuity and gloom;
but beyond that, commences a pool of stygian waters, not unaptly
named the Bottomless Pit; whose prodigious range may
in some measure be conceived, from the circumstance of its
having swallowed up, more than 40,000 tons of rubbish made
in blasting the rock, without any apparent diminution either
in its depth or extent. The guide indeed, informs you, that
the former has not been ascertained; yet we have reason to
believe that this is incorrect, and that its actual depth in
standing water is about 320 feet. There cannot, however, be
a doubt, but that this abyss has communications with others,
still more deeply situated in the bowels of the mountain, and
into which the precipitated rubbish has found a passage. The
superfluous water of the level, falls through a water-gate
into this profound cauldron, with a noise like a rushing torrent.
"This fissure is calculated at being nearly 280 yards
below the surface .of the mountain ; and so great is its reach
upwards, that rockets of sufficient strength to ascend 450
feet, have been fired without rendering the roof visible. The
effect of a Bengal light discharged in this stupendous cavity,
is extremely magnificent and interesting. Beyond the fissure,
the level, has been driven to a similar length to that part
which precedes it , but in this division of its course little
occurs to excite admiration."[2]
* * * *
The
road through the Winnats |
Sneath's photograph, above, was taken a short distance past the
cavern entrance. The road was then a narrow track way lined
with telegraph poles, though is now (2018) a tarmacadamed road
known as Arthur's Way. There is a cattle grid just past
the cavern and its the car park. The highways department will
not have realised that they placed a modern cattle grid warning
sign at almost exactly the same spot where the sheep had congregated,
below a small outcrop of rock!
 |
In 1926 Thomas Tudor described the Winnats Pass as a
"deep limestone gorge winding steeply and sometimes
swept by furious winds. 'Windgates' seems to be the ancient
name, and if you have been here in the right conditions
you will have no need to ask why. You can hear the wind
screaming along the cliff and it buffets you with a solid
force like the blows of a hammer. I have been in this pass
when it has scarcely been safe to cross the road. A dreadful
tragedy once took place here when a newly married pair
were murdered by miners".
He added that "the Winnats road has a terrible gradient
and to avoid it the modern road makes a two-mile round
along the slopes of Mam Tor"[3]. |
|
References:
[1] From: Cox, John Charles, (1915,
2nd edition, revised), "Derbyshire" - Illustrated
by J. Charles Wall, Methuen & Co., London. First edition
published in 1903.
[2] Davies, David Peter (1811) "History
of Derbyshire" pub. S. Mason, Belper.
[3] Thomas Linthwaite Tudor (1926) "The
High Peak to Sherwood, The hills and dales of old Mercia",
published London by Robert Scott. Tudor's account of the murder |
Derbyshire's
Parishes, 1811, Parishes C