Wotherton Mine
Location - Western outskirts of
Wotherton village (NGR SJ277005)
Minerals - Barytes and copper
Working Life - Known
working life : 1865-1913
History (Mining Remains in South West
Shropshire", Adrian Pearce, SCMC Account No.18)
This was one of the earliest mines in the district to extract barytes
and it became the biggest producer in the 19th century, with a total output of
125,000 tons. It is isolated from the main mining district and the section
south of the road later became a separate undertaking called East Wotherton
Mine.
On a mine plan dated 1893, certified by Captain Oldfield of Snailbeach,
the engine sited at Old Engine Shaft is shown as both pumping in this shaft and
winding at New Engine Shaft. The latter is 160 yards to the
a) The O.S. map dated 1902 shows a line running between the engine house
and New Engine Shaft, with the description "Pumping Rod".
b) The term "engine shaft" was only applied to shafts where
pumping took place.
Pumping obviously took place in Old Engine Shaft during the earlier life
of the mine but, because the barytes deposit is angled downwards, the shaft
soon passed into barren rock. It would thus be more efficient to sink a new
shaft to the west which would hit the deposit at a greater depth and be able to
pump out the water directly up the shaft - this was the New Engine Shaft.
Again, the most efficient method would have been to move the pumping engine but
this would have been expensive and would have flooded the mine while being
done. Perhaps the compromise was to install flat rods between the engine house
and New Engine Shaft and, with an angle bob at surface, move pumping operations
to this shaft.
The site of New Engine Shaft is now in a private garden and there are
the remains of a substantial building close to the shaft. It is not known
whether this was another winding engine or whether the original engine wound in
this shaft by the means stated. Old Engine Shaft has collapsed but the small
engine house is in a remarkably good state of preservation (see Figure 44).
After the engine was removed, it was converted into a cottage and, although no
longer inhabited, the site is still a private dwelling.
The engine house is of an unusual shape and the mine office was built
onto the north side of the building. When the mine closed, there was a later
addition to the offices and the roof line of this cuts across the bob opening
in the lever wall. There is the segment of a circle cut into the stonework at
the lever wall end and this could have been for the winder flywheel. The mine
had to deal with considerable volumes of water due to its situation in the low
lying area to the west of Stapeley Hill and the shaft was equipped with 8"
plunger pumps having a 4ft stroke.
Surface Remains
The winding engine house on Old Engine Shaft remains almost complete and
has been converted to a dwelling, although the cut out for a wheel can be seen
in one corner. The shaft has been filled and the big boggy depression between
here and the road is probably due to collapsed workings. To the west is a
ruined building next to New Engine Shaft which may have housed a pumping
engine. This shaft has also been filled, as has a climbing shaft to the east.
South of the road there is an open shaft with an iron fence next to the
road. Nearby is an open stope with rubbish in but side passages appear to lead
off. A narrow opencut on the hillside above has stemples and planks still in
place. Old maps indicate a trial adit to the south and another to the east but
these have not yet been visited.