Hi
I've been researching old mines now for over 25 years, but there is one puzzle I can't solve. I live near Droitwich in Worcestershire, where salt has been extracted through brine since Roman times.
There was supposedly a deep mine according to local lore, but I can't find any confirmation despite many years of searching. Can anyone please help?

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You could try to get a copy of Calvert: Salt in Cheshire. The Salt Museum at Northwich used to sell it on CD for a reasonable price.
There's also Andrew Fielding at the Lion Saltworks who might be able to help.

There's some information in this article as well:

nora.nerc.ac.uk/6218/2/Halite_karst_geohazards_Cooper_Env_Geol_vol42_505-512.pdf

Wish I could pinpoint the spot - an ex- friend of mine has horses, and theres a roped off area in his field which has large blocks of gypsum scattered around the edge - quite obviously a mine entrance - probably a decline of sorts.. Think he's in prison again now, so that's why I can't help with the location.. have you tried aerial photos - might pick the features better?

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If there was a salt mine it most likely had the same layout as the Northwich and Winsford mines. This means you're looking for two parallel shafts of approximately 4' 7 ''. The salt was worked from the shafts by room and pillar with up to 90% extractionrate. Most of these mines either collapsed or flooded. The collapsed mines left lakes (flashes) behind. There's little chance to spot them if they've been filled in or built over unless there's some sort of mine buildings or remains of them left.

I think it's more likely that people are talking about a 'shaft'. This doesn't mean that there is a mine. Shafts of similar dimensions to the mine shafts were sunk as brine shafts. These shafts were only used to collect and pump the brine. A lot of shafts on the old maps in the salt areas were in fact these brine shafts. They can be up to 70m deep depending on were the wet rockhead was encountered.