ABSTRACT
The chapter focuses on the ‘uncertain’ and competitive underground spaces of Derbyshire’s lead mining landscapes. Mining in these districts reworked local topography, modified drainage systems, land use and vegetation patterns, (re) modelled the landscape and contributed to competition and conflict. Here, we are specifically interested in subterranean lead mining soughs – subterranean drainage channels, constructed to drain water out of lead ore fields. We draw on in-depth archival research to examine the historical geographies of the soughs and their role in legal disputes over water.
