Meadow Shaft

Description

Reconstructed engine house and headgear
Lead mining started in medieval times with shallow workings and there are a number of shafts that were worked individually but eventually merged under one operation. In 1784, Wilkinson erected the first steam engine in the area and eventually 7 pumping engines were in operation, raising 4,000 gallons of water a minute. It is said that 50,000 tons of ore were raised between 1800-1816. Water problems forced the closure of the mines by 1824.
In 1849, John Taylor & Sons obtained the 11 leases to the mines and consolidated them under the Minera Mining Company. To cope with the water, the company extended the Deep Day Level to drain the workings. The mines were then worked profitably for many years. Between 1849-1909 some £3,250,000 worth of lead ore was raised. Increasing amounts of zinc blende were raised, reaching a peak of 7,462 tons in 1887. With falling production and low ore prices, pumping stopped in 1909 but mining continued above the rising water level until the mine closed in 1914.