Bushell’s Adit is now obscured but shown on old OS Maps. A deep gully may indicate the position of an air shaft.
Remains of Taylor’s and Bryse’s shaft and prominent chimney stack. Also dressing floor and opencuts. The locations of Waller’s upper adits are unknown.
Described by Lewis Morris as ‘the richest in Lead and SIlver of any in his Majesty’s Dominions’.
| Year | Activity |
|---|---|
| late 1500s | Worked by German miners. |
| 1620s | Leased by Sir Hugh Myddleton for £400 pa. For several years workings to the east (Blaen Cwmsymlog) made £25,000 anually from silver, the ore being 100oz silver per ton. |
| 1636 | Mine acquired by Thomas Bushel, who instead of working by pumping started the Great Level. Some profit was made despite the cost of £11,000. |
| 1698 | 1 year lease granted to Sir Humphrey MakAworth. |
| 1705 | Adit driven under easterm workings by Waller’s Mine Adventurers. Bushell’s adit also extended. |
| 1708 | Only 35 tons of ore produced at the cost of 840 fathoms of driving, including 2 upper adits and over 20 shafts. |
| 1749 | Blaen Cwmsymlog re-opened by William Corbett & John Paynter, a rich lode discovered containing 70oz silver to the ton. |
| 1751-1771 | £11,000 profit made. |
| 1793 | Mine closed. |
| 1805 | Re-opened by Job Sheldon & Co. |
| 1813 | 300 men employed. |
| c1840 | John Taylor & Sons take an interest, but by then the mine was worked out to 40 fathoms below Bushell’s adit. |
| 1850 | Just a Mathew Francis was showing interest, the Taylors re-opened the mine as East Darren. Taylor’s Shaft sunk south of the road. A rich lode of ore discovered in the 20fm level dipping east below worked out mine bottoms. |
| 1862 | Taylor’s Shaft down to 115 fm below adit. |
| 1875 | Crush occurs in Bushell’s Level. |
| 1882 | Low lead prices. Taylor dissolved company when landowner Pryse refuses to lower royalties. |
| 1882-1901 | Several attempts at working by various concerns. |
External Links
Publications (21)
- (1848); BGS - Memoirs Vol II, Part II; 425 pages
- (1850); Cardiganshire - MJ Articles; 2 pages
- (1922); BGS - Mineral Resources of GB (c1920s) Vol XX - Lead and Zinc: Cardiganshire & West Montogmeryshire; 242 pages
- (2016); Cwmsymlog Study; 2 pages
- BGS - Mine Plans (large, zoomable) - Section Of Workings On South Lode - East Darren Mine; 1 pages
- Bick, D.E. (1991); Old Metal Mines of Mid-Wales, The; Miscellany, A - Part 6; pp. 32-37
- Bick, D.E. (1991); Old Metal Mines of Mid-Wales, The; North of Goginan - Part 3; pp. 19-25
- Claughton, Peter (1994); PDMHS (Peak District Mines Historical Society) 12-3 Sum - Silver-Lead - A Restricted Resource - Technological Choice in the Devon Mines; 6 pages (54-59)
- Hughes, Simon J.S. (1976); Cardiganshire - Its Mines and Miners; 52 pages
- Hughes, Simon J.S. (1988); UK Journal of Mines & Minerals No 5 - Decline of Mining in Mid Wales and Prospects of Revival, The; 10 pages
- Hughes, Simon J.S. (2004); Brief History of the Ystumtuen Mines, A; 18 pages
- Hughes, Simon J.S. (2005); Relics of German migration into Cardiganshire.; 11 pages
- Hughes, Simon J.S. (2006); Cwmsymlog Mine; 2 pages
- Hughes, Simon J.S. (2006); Flora & Fauna at Cwmsymlog Mine; 4 pages
- Lewis, W.J. (1951); Early Mining in Wales; 17 pages
- Liscombe & Co (1880); Mines of Cardiganshire, Montgomereyshire & Shropshire; 52 pages
- Murchison, J.H. (1869); Lead Mines as an Investment; 34 pages
- Nancarrow (1919); Nancarrow Cardiganshire Report; 21 pages
- Naylor, Peter (1981); PDMHS (Peak District Mines Historical Society) 08-1 Jun - Sir Hugh Myddelton The First Mines Adventurer; 6 pages (54-59)
- Rieuwerts, J.H. (1980); PDMHS (Peak District Mines Historical Society) 07-5 - Earliest Lead-Mine Soughs in Derbyshire, The; 74 pages (241-314)
- Tucker, D.G. (1977); Sacking of the Francises by John Taylor 1841-2, The; 5 pages (14-18)
