CPAT Regional Historic Environment Record
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Bryntail Mine

Primary Reference Number (PRN) : 1842
Trust : Clwyd Powys
Community : Llanidloes Without
Unitary authority : Powys
NGR : SN91338685
Site Type (preferred type first) : MULTIPERIOD BARYTES MINE / MULTIPERIOD LEAD MINE
Status : state care , scheduled monument

Description :
Lead/Barytes (18th century/1845-1869)

Geology
A NE-SW striking lode in Ordovician Van formation grits and mudstones with galena, witherite and barytes mineralisation.

Workings
There are 3 main shafts including Murray's shaft at SN92008710, Gundry's shaft at SN91818700 and the Western shaft at SN91338690. There is also a deep adit at SN91328690.

The older workings include two filled in shafts at SN91558690 and another possible filled in level at SN91668699 to the east.

Transport
There are well preserved traces of earthwork incline tramway track beds between Gundry's shaft and the eastern dressing floors. There are similar remains between Murray's shaft and the top of the incline.

There is a leat connecting the eastern dressing floors with the western dressing floors. It contours the hillside in Gelli Wood and supplied water to the crushers at the upper mill.

Power
A pumping/winding engine house was erected at Murray's shaft in 1877. The building has been almost totally destroyed through backfilling of the shaft and use of the area for storing farm produce.

There is a large scheduled building immediately east of Gundry's shaft at SN91818700 which housed pumping and winding machinery powered by a line of flat rods from the 60ft diameter waterwheel on the lower dressing floors. Substantial remains can be seen of this two-storey structure which has brick arches above doors and culverts with brick surrounds for the windows. There are two long linear pit-like features on the ground floor while the largest room on the eastern side of the building contains a filled pit in the floor and a chimney built into the wall on the north side. There was presumably also an engine mounted in this building for driving the machinery when water was affected by drought.

The western dressing floor and barytes mill were driven by water supplied in the leat mentioned above which runs through Gelli wood from a stream to the east. There was also a leat drawing water from the Clywedog to this site from the north.

There are two wheelpits on the upper dressing floors for crushing, winding and pumping one of these housed a 25x5ft wheel.

Processing
The barytes mill is well preserved at SN91338680 due to protection from scheduling and limited reconstruction of the buildings. There are two crushers, ore bins, roasting ovens and precipitation tanks.

The eastern dressing floors at SN91758665 consist of a terraced dressing mill. There are two ore bins, jigger placements, a washing and picking floor area, and three round buddles. A linear run of seven slime pits descend the slope down to the river below the mill. The 60ft diam. wheelpit drove the pumping rods to Gundry's shaft. Of the latter only one side wall is intact the other having collapsed. There are a number of mounting bolts in-situ.

There are a number of other rooms below and adjacent to the ore bins whose purpose is not clear.

Other features
There are mine office, smithy and store buildings on the western dressing floors.

There is a circular, roofless magazine at SN91668700.

It would seem probable that some of the buildings at Bryntail Farmhouse were formerly used for mine offices, storehouses although precise evidence is lacking.

See also PAR1841

The site is in Cadw guardianship but is not scheduled except for areas PRN 35175 and 35176.

Sources :
Bick, D E , 1977 , The Old Metal Mines of Mid Wales 4
Bick, D E , 1990 , The Old Metal Mines Of Mid-Wales
Burt, R, Waite, P & Burnley, R , 1990 , The Mines of Shropshire and Montgomeryshire (Mineral Statistics)
Cadw , 1986 , Scheduling map - Mg159(POW)
Cadw , nd , Scheduling map - Mg159(POW)
Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust , 1978 , Site visit record - PRN1842
Foster-Smith, J R , 1978 , The Mines of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire
Hall, G., W., 1993 , Metal Mines of Southern Wales
Jones, J A & Moreton, N J M , 1975 , The Mines and Minerals of Mid Wales
Jones, O T , 1922 , Lead and Zinc. The Mining District of North Cardiganshire and West Montgomeryshire
Morgan-Rees, D , 1975 , title unknown - Bryntail Mine
Ordnance Survey , 1886 , OS map
Ordnance Survey , 1887 , OS map
Ordnance Survey , 1977 , OS record card SN98NW (M) 1 (now renumbered)
Ordnance Survey , 1978 , OS record card SN98NW 10 (number used twice)
Unknown , Plan of Bryntail Mine
Unknown , 1872 , title unknown - Bryntail Mine
Unknown , 1879 , Plan of Bryntail Mine
Welsh Office Ancient Monuments Branch , 1974 , Schedule of Ancient Monuments in Wales
Welsh Office Ancient Monuments Branch , 1980 , Scheduling map - Mg159(POW)
Welsh Office Ancient Monuments Branch , 1981 , Schedule of Ancient Monuments in Wales
Williams, C. J., & Bick, D , 1992 , List of metalliferous mine sites of industrial archaeological importance

Events :
49154 : Bryntail Mine, excavation (year : C20th)

Related records
CPAT Historic Environment Record (HER) 1842

Compiled date : 31-12-1980


Images :



Archaeological data, from the Historic Environment Record, supplied by The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust in partnership with Local Authorities, Cadw and the partners of ENDEX © CPAT, 2025 (and in part © Crown, 2025). It is intended to be used for private research only and is not for use as part of commercial projects. If you wish to use this information for publication in printed or multimedia form or to compile resources for commercial use, prior permission must be obtained in writing. Use of this information is subject to the terms and conditions of access to HER data published on CPAT's website. Please contact the HER if you have any further questions regarding this information. Please quote the Primary Reference Numbers (PRNs) in any correspondence.

April 22, 2025, 11:09 am - File produced for Archwilio from CPAT's Regional HER.
Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust, The Offices, Coed y Dinas, Welshpool, Powys, SY21 8RP
tel (01938) 553670, email her@cpat.org.uk, website www.cpat.org.uk

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