Thank you Scottetanner and friends for this.
Please keep up the good work, its an interesting area with much now lost since the days of David Bick.

Was the internal winze/stope dry?
What could be seen looking down please?

If its dry there must be a lower level of natural drainage.

---

Hi Roy, there was a short straight with a sharp right turn and sharp left to the shaft/winze, I'd even go as far as quessing the shaft was dug before the adit if that makes sence- the bottom of it was filled with farmers waste and water, sounds extremely deep! Over the shaft the level ends.. We are unsure if there is another level at the bottom of the shaft.. I wouldn't call the said mine cwm ricket tho.. Its above the Rhydybenwch picnic site.. There are also adits along the river next to the site, one that is of a fair size but chest deep and turns at the end, u can see false flooring below the water but the level carries on a fair ways, we planned on going past this with wetsuits and a rubber ring etc but haven't got roundto it yet.. Could be anything past there! I put a post up about this set of mines last year and someone replayed about it mite belong to a different mining company to cwm ricket, I'll try and find the post. Something along the lines on nant melin?

I had a walk along the river some time ago but didn't find the big adit you describe. I think I need another visit and take my wetsuit.
Yes Nant Ricket further to the east at 865867 according to Bick, but Nantmelin much further to the north at 860878, Bick states "half a mile to the north of the Hafren forest picnic area".
Your level is a bit conjectural.

There is ochre comes up out of the ground around there, all very mysterious.

---

Its is strange, I haven't yet found any information on the mines there.. Along the river are 3 trials .. If your parked in the carpark, and look toward the benches ( not the ones by the road\on the left) head across the grass toward the wooden platforms/ path follow it with the forest on your left and you will see it at the end where the river turns right. Failing that give us a msg and we will meet and show you.. There's a few interesting features there! Be good to have a knowledgeable chap like you to take the tour with, very interested in the working there and you mite be able to shed some light 🙂

I was going to add the Mine Jason is talking about but i do not have a name for it, Its no more that 10feet from the river with a small stream coming out of it.

I was thinking of doing a dig and creating a channel to lower the water level but the water would run in to the river and was not sure about the implication of contamination.

Here is the grip ref: SN855867

Thanks for all this. I will keep your posting ready for my next visit which I can do on the way to my mid Wales mines.

Whatever I turn up I will add to the thread.

---

A Flashearth or Google map pin would help as the GR covers a 100 metre square with the named mine and possibly two other levels

🔗Personal-Album-1695-Image-97630[linkphoto]Personal-Album-1695-Image-97630[/linkphoto][/link]

[photo]Personal-Album-1695-Image-97631[/photo]

Edit: Looks like the levels are outside the GR.

Ah! The level just above f.p. on your map is the said mine, must be of cwm ricket set after all.. The shaft above the picnic site is also labeled, rthatis the one we gained access to last year wit the strange adit portal.. If we are in the area, I'lltake some pictures and upload them- thanks morlock :thumbup:

Thanks again John, the old map of the area is something I hadn't thought of!

---

My pleasure Roy.

Nant-y-Eira & Nant-y-Iago look interesting.

There is a hand drawn plan of Cwm Ricket in the Powys County Council archive in Lllandrindod, deposited by the Mine and Quarry Inspectorate.

References:

M/MQ/1/1-4 Cwm Ricket and Maesnant lead mines, Llanidloes. 1881. Plans, sections and drawings. Also map of area showing mines from Nantmelyn to East Van. (hand drawn).

M/MQ/1/5-9 Five slides and negatives of the above.

The levels described sound like the Nantyricket Mine, there is information on this on the CPAT (Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust) Database.

Part of which states:

"Workings - An adit at the rivers edge on the north side of the Severn, probably 19th century in date. SN86708676. A deep narrow opencut on the south side associated with a small processing area and spoil tip close to the rivers edge. SN86658676. A wide opencut north of the present forestry track at SN87158678. O.T. Jones recorded a deep narrow opencut 200yds east of the main adit known as the 'Thieves Den' where a number of hammerstones are recorded on the spoil tips along with charcoal and burnt stone, presumably from firesetting. This site has not been located."

AS for Nant Melin, I'm afraid the last time I looked the surface features were badly mauled by forestry harvesting operations and the only adit I could identify was run in.

There is another mine in the vicinity which almost no-one knows about. Cwmricket or Maesnant Mine is the one described, whilst Nantricket/Great Gias/Lloches Y Lladron Mine lays a bit downstream. The Lloches y Lladron (thieves' den) is an old open-stope in the Nantyricket sett apparently 200 yards east of the main adit portal.
The other Mine is Rhydybenwch/Ashford/East Dyliffe, which is located at SN858869. I wonder if any workings around Ashford corresponds with any workings you found?
Hope this helps
Ioan

That sounds right, The CPAt data base has this to say for Maesnant/Cwm Ricket:

"Workings - There is a shaft at SN85428662 on the main mine site. Lower downstream to the east are two blocked levels at SN856586670 and SN85738678. It is possible that these levels belong to the Rhyd Y Bennwch workings rather than the Maesnant sett."

Went up to the forest today and added a few pictures of the levels and adits\trial, there in the cwm ricket gallery, it was bad weather today and the river was high so we decided not to enter the long level to take photos.. We also located a new level, located beneath the known shaft, on morlocks map, this we plan to dig a small channel to release the water and gain access, I can confidently say no one has been inside this level in the last 100 years due to it being flooded to the roof and requiring a lot of digging- will keep you posted

We will return to the long level when the river is lower and the weather iisn't horrendous, and I'll add pictures again

This link should lead to the OS 6" sheet.

http://maps.nls.uk/view/102187526 

More levels on the 1948 map.

http://maps.nls.uk/view/101607718 

Thank you kindly morlock, interestingly the adit we found today ddoesn't appear to be on either of the maps and neither are the trials, .. I will make an approach at finding the old level by nant merlen tho, its uupfrom the old shaft above the picnic site.. Very strange how tthe adit isn'tshown on the old maps... :blink: