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Castell Lead Mine is a post-medieval and modern extractive site located in Wales, where lead ore was worked from deposits within the Llandovery Rocks. The underlying geology comprises mudstone, siltstone and sandstone formations laid down during the Llandovery period, rocks that host mineral veins characteristic of Wales's rich metal-mining heritage. The mine exploited these naturally occurring lead deposits through successive phases of working, from the post-medieval period through to modern industrial extraction.
The site's operation reflects the broader development of Welsh lead mining, which expanded significantly during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as demand for the metal grew. The Llandovery bedrock that forms the mine's substrate is typical of the stratigraphic sequences found across South and Mid Wales, where such formations frequently contain economically viable mineral concentrations that attracted successive generations of miners and mining enterprises.
Castell Lead Mine is now protected as a scheduled monument under Cadw's guardianship, recorded under reference CD153. This designation recognises the archaeological and historical significance of the site, preserving evidence of Wales's post-medieval industrial activity and the landscape modifications created through lead extraction. The monument remains an important physical record of the mining practices and technologies employed during this period of Welsh economic development.
Castell Lead Mine is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CD153. View the official record →
Castell Lead Mine is a post-medieval and modern extractive site located in Wales, where lead ore was worked from deposits within the Llandovery Rocks. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference CD153.
Castell Lead Mine dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a lead mine. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Castell Lead Mine is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is CD153.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cairn Circle 200m NNW of Dolgamfa (3.4 km), Banc Erw Barfe Deserted Rural Settlement (3.6 km), Pen y Garn Cairn (4.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Castell Lead Mine's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Castell Lead Mine stands on Llandovery Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Llandovery. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.