Park

aka Park New Shaft


Lead and Zinc Mine

Worked from early 19C to 1890

Jan 1st, 2024 from Cambrian by Buddle-Bot

Feb 21st, 2025 by BertyBasset



North Wales
Esclusham Mountain
53.0496216, -3.103425
SJ 2613 5083
Open Access
430m
#677


The deep Engine Shaft is substantially capped at SJ 2613 5084. A substantial trackway runs uphill from Hill Shaft for a quarter of a mile before reaching the entrance to New Shaft. The size and construction of the track suggest that it was originally used for transporting ore via horse and cart.

The remains of the housing for a horizontal winding engine can still be found at SJ 2610 2585, with some engine mountings and wheelpit bolts still in place. Adjacent to the engine house, the foundations of the boiler house remain visible on the southern side. To the southeast of the shaft, the remnants of a second engine house associated with ore processing can be seen at SJ 2616 5830.

In terms of water features, the pond illustrated on early maps at SJ 2601 5086 still holds water, and another pool can be found north of the entrance track at SJ 2050 5089. The processing area west of New Shaft at SJ 2615 5083 is characterized by large jigger tailings, surrounded by substantial spoil mounds to the north and west. The engine house here may have once housed a crusher, and a reservoir or pool at SJ 2606 5081 likely supplied water for ore washing and separation. A row of ore bins is identifiable to the west of the shaft.

Additional remains include the stone foundations of a building at SJ 2608 5830, which may have served as a store or smithy.



New Shaft was sunk in 1865 to a depth of 225 yards at the eastern end of the Park Vein. The Park mines remained in operation until the 1890s. The mines were drained by an extension of the Minera Upper Day Level from Speedwells Shaft, which lay approximately 700 feet below New Shaft.

A plan of the site dated around 1867, held in CRO, Hawarden, does not show the second engine house that stands to the southeast of the shaft, indicating that it was constructed at a later date. Another plan, D/GR/434, marks an engine house enclosed to the east of the shaft. In 1899, two engines were recorded at the site, confirming the presence of extensive mining operations. Additionally, a schedule of buildings from the same year lists two engine houses—one for winding and another for compression—alongside a cabin, smithy, and shed, all noted to be in good condition at the time.



Publications (3)

  • (1921); BGS - Mineral Resources of GB (c1920s) Vol XIX - Lead and Zinc: in Carboniferous of North Wales; 169 pages
  • Bennett, J. (1995); Minera Lead Mines and Quarries
  • Jones, Nigel and Walters, Mark and Frost, Pat (2004); Mountains and Orefields; 208 pages





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