Snailbeach Mine
The Snailbeach Lead Mine near Minsterley was the biggest in Shropshire and may have been worked from Roman times right up to the 1950s. It has the best set of surface buildings of a lead mine in the UK and this makes it a unique site for visitors. The site is also a Scheduled Monument.		The mine is owned by Shropshire County Council but is being managed by the Trust on their behalf. The Council has already used grant aid to restore most of the buildings and to create an unmanned Visitors Centre in the old miners "dry". We have prepared a leaflet with a self-led trail and it is hoped to install more signs interpreting the site so visitors can explore by themselves. It will, however be kept as a low key operation.
Trust members have carried out a lot of work on the site to assist the Council in preserving and interpreting it. Some of this was simple "bush bashing" to keep vegetation away from the buildings but we do other things like re-laying railway lines and installing mining equipment. The Council rebuilt the wooden headgear of George's Shaft in June 1999. In a ceremony harking back to old times, the Trust arranged for the original winding wheel to be replaced on top of the headgear and toasts were made to "the Wheel" and "All Mines and Miners". Following this, members and local people consumed a barrel of beer with bread and cheese.		Volunteers open the Visitors Centre and Day Level for passing visitors during summer months. We open all buildings and mine levels for Heritage Day in September and usually have a summer Open Day as well.
You can help us by :-
Manning the Visitor Centre on Sundays during Summer		Helping on working meets

Contact Nick Southwick (T. 01743-792476)

For more details about the mine, Click Here

Last revised: 18 July 2008