Currently gated and under the ownership of Ray Wright of Clearwell Caves. It is gradually being cleared with plans to eventually open it to the public.

1905 James Yemm & Co.

opened in 1906 as a gold mine, despite the discovery of only six grains of gold per ton of rock. Remarkably, this modest yield was sufficient to launch a company with capital of £49,000 (equivalent to about £2.3 million today), issued in £1 shares. Although the venture may sound dubious, the underlying geological theory was sound. Gold, a ubiquitous element, had long been detected in trace amounts across the area. The pebbly conglomerates near Mitcheldean were thought to resemble the Banket formations—gold-bearing conglomerates—of the Transvaal, Rhodesia, and West Africa. Unfortunately, that is where the similarities ended. The quantity of gold at Bailey Level was far smaller.

In 1921, the level was extended to 580 yards to connect with the Wigpool Mines (see entry). Two headings, located 530 and 574 yards from the adit entrance, were abandoned after driving only 19 yards and 44 yards, respectively. Mining activity ceased in 1924, with a total yield of just 3,000 tons of iron ore—insignificant compared to the 150,000 tons extracted from the nearby Wigpool Ironstone Mine.

In 1996, there was renewed speculation that Bailey Level might be reworked for gold. However, this did not proceed, as all gold in the UK legally belongs to the Crown, and Free Miners’ rights do not apply to its extraction.

Access: as for Old Ham Pit