Constructed in 1770 to serve a lead-smelting cupola furnace, this is the oldest free-standing industrial chimney in Britain. Lead was not mined on site, but was imported from the nearby mining areas around Matlock to take advantage of the draught generated on the hilltop site. The remains of the other buildings at the site are buried under vegetation but there is evidence of various types of lead-smelting slag. This slag was often re-smelted in a slag mill. This required an air blast provided by water-powered bellows. The storage ponds for…
