Cwm Ystwyth Lead Mine

Infobox UK place
country = Wales
welsh_name = Cwm Ystwyth
constituency_welsh_assembly =
official_name = Cwm Ystwyth Lead Mine
latitude = 52.354488
longitude = -3.763377
unitary_wales = Ceredigion
lieutenancy_wales = Dyfed
constituency_westminster = Ceredigion
Assembly_Region = Mid and West Wales
post_town = Cwmystwyth
postcode_district = SY23
postcode_area = SY
dial_code = 01970
map_type =
os_grid_reference = SN8074
cardiff_distance_mi =
cardiff_distance =
population =
population_ref =
static_

static_image_caption = Cwm Ystwyth Mine complex, the view across the mines was taken from just outside the mine complex, part way up Graig y Ddalfa. The upper Cwm Ystwyth is an almost linear valley; it is possible to see all the way to the pass 6km to the east.

Cwm Ystwyth Lead Mine is located in Ceredigion, Wales. It is considered the most important non-ferrous metal mining site in Wales providing a premier example of mining heritage in Ceredigion. Within the site there is evidence for all phases of mining activity; from the Bronze Age, through the medieval period, to its revival in the 18th century and the peak of activity with a subsequent decline in the late 19th and the early 20th century. It has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. [ [http://www.people.ex.ac.uk/pfclaugh/mhinf/cwmyst.htm Cwmystwyth Lead Mine] ] The site also features prominently in the Upland Ceredigion Landscape of Historic Interest.

"See also River Ystwyth

Silver, lead and zinc have been mined in the valley since Roman times, an activity that reached its peak in the 18th century. The largest of the very many mines was Cwm Ystwyth Mine. It is reputed that the average age at death of the miners in Cwm Ystwyth was 32, largely because of acute lead poisoning. There is no active metal mining in the Ystwyth valley.

Notes

*Register of Landscapes of Outstanding Historic Interest in Wales, Cadw (Cardiff, 1998), pp. 12-16.
*For a comprehensive account of the mine during the historic period, see Hughes, Simon J., The Cwmystwyth Mines, (2nd edn., Talybont, 1993);
*Prehistoric period, see Timberlake, S. and Mighall, T., 'Historic and Prehistoric Mining on Copa Hill', Archaeology in Wales, 32 (1992), pp. 38-44.
*Cambrian Mountains: Metal Mines Project, by Brian Clouston and Partners, and Parkman Consulting Engineers, (unpublished report to Dyfed County Council, December 1988)

References