Uses of Lead In the Anglo-Saxon period the Abbess of Repton sent a coffin of Derbyshire lead to St Guthlac, the founder of Crowland Abbey. Lead was also used to hold the different pieces of coloured glass in the glorious stained glass windows of mediaeval churches. Peakland lead was in great demand for roofing the great monasteries and churches of mediaeval Britain as well on the near continent. Its main uses were for roofs, water and drainpipes. The plumber who comes to mend your leaking pipes is so called from the Latin word for lead, “plumbum”. Lead was mixed with tin to form pewter and was almost universally used for domestic purposes such as plates and drinking vessels. Lead products such as red lead and white lead were used as pigments and for paint-making. However they are little used today except for special purposes because lead is poisonous. Lead has many other modern uses. It is extensively used in the nuclear industry as a radiation shield, in the form of bricks or specialised isotope carriers. In hospital X-ray departments it acts as a protective shield for the radiologists. Oxides of lead are used in the glass industry to produce a soft glass that can be cut with a wheel to produce ‘lead crystal’ glass. Lead is essential for specialised batteries, such as car, lorry and heavy duty batteries for industry. (Enthoven’s works in Darley Dale, on the site of Millclose Mine, recovers and recycles lead from scrap car batteries.) More Pictures Lead Mining Peak District Mining Museum