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Clwyd Metal Mines Survey


Minera Boundary Shaft

Minera Boundary Shaft lies in the community of Minera in the county of Wrexham. It is located at Ordnance Survey national grid reference SJ26125182. The mine is recorded in the CPAT Historic Environment Record as number 104367 and this number should be quoted in all correspondence.

Lead/Silver (1864-1919)

Geology
Carboniferous Limestone.

Workings
The area contains evidence of early mining and quarrying on the wooded slopes Esclusham Mountain. Boundary shaft is located at SJ26125182 with its horse whim circle in an area of woodland much disturbed by mining, on the south side of the disused Mineral Railway. The area bears the scars of earlier mining, visible as shallow workings, now covered in dense vegetation. The 19th century shafts in the area can be identified as the Cornish Shaft at SJ20205180, immediately alonside a siding on the mineral railway, being fenced off and having caving access, the Busy Bee at SJ26165176 and the adjacent Royle's, and Grand Turk at SJ26305170, where a chimney base and stonework remains of the winding engine house are hidden in the underegrowth. Until 1849, when a day-level was driven through from the Minera Mines to the south-east, Boundary and other shafts in its vicinity worked separately. They later became incorporated into the workings of Minera Union (1858-88) and the United Minera Mines (1852-1913). Boundary marked the north-western extremity of the Minera Mines workings on the Main Vein and Red Vein. In 1919, the shaft was re-opened and worked the North Vein until 1933, using a whim for winding. Ladders were used for man access.

Transport
The line of the 1850s mineral railway, which served the lead mines remains as a public footpath linking the main shaft areas from Meadowshaft and the Smelt Works at New Brighton to the Limestone quarries. Some of the sleepers still remain in situ. The private railway ran on GWR guage, ensuring interchanges of engines to facilitate the bringing in of coal, timber etc. Little evidence remains of the tramways that serviced the individual sites.

Power
Two reservoirs remain visible at SJ26205150 on the road up to Esclusham Mountain. The channels that carried the water downhill to work the machinery and serve the processing areas are visible along the roadside.

Processing
The Minera Lead Mining Company built ther own smelt works at New Brighton, SJ27605050. A later plant was constructed at New Minera (Burton's Shaft site. PRN 18185).

Other features
The woodland slopes above Boundary Shaft conceal the old limestone quarries that serviced the battery of three kilns, known as the Atcherley Kilns (SJ26005017). They were built by 1840 and evidence remains of the incline that brought the lime to the mineral siding below. The larger battery of Hoffman Kilns are in the quarry to the north-west at SJ25605020.


This HTML page is reproduced from the Powys and Clwyd Metal Mine Surveys which were undertaken between May 1992 and December 1993 by Mark Walters and Pat Frost of the Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust with financial support from Powys County Council, Clwyd County Council and Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments. Further information about this site is available in CPAT's Regional Historic Environment Record.
Page produced by Rachel Stebbings and Chris Martin.

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