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Coed Mawr Pool Lead Mine is a post-medieval and modern lead extraction site in Wales, worked into the bedrock of Caradoc Rocks that underlie the landscape. These Caradocian sediments—mudstone, siltstone and sandstone laid down in the Ordovician period—provided the geological setting for mineral veins that attracted mining activity over several centuries. The mine operated through the phases of expansion and contraction typical of British lead mining, exploiting ore bodies that formed within and alongside these ancient folded strata.
The site's survival as an archaeological monument reflects the character of Welsh lead mining heritage, where shallow and intermediate workings often left visible surface disturbances alongside underground extraction. Miners working this seam would have encountered the familiar stratigraphy of the Caradoc sequence, adapting their methods to the particular stability and yield of local geology. The undifferentiated nature of the bedrock—the mixed lithologies of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone—meant variable conditions at the coalface.
The mine is now protected by Cadw under reference CN332, ensuring its preservation as evidence of Wales' industrial past and the relationship between geological resources and human enterprise across the post-medieval period.
Coed Mawr Pool Lead Mine is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CN332. View the official record →
Coed Mawr Pool Lead Mine is a post-medieval and modern lead extraction site in Wales, worked into the bedrock of Caradoc Rocks that underlie the landscape. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference CN332.
Coed Mawr Pool 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.
Coed Mawr Pool 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 CN332.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Pont y Pair (2 km), Hafodlas Slate Quarry Mills and Associated Features (2.3 km), Fedw Deg Medieval House (5.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Coed Mawr Pool 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.
Coed Mawr Pool Lead Mine stands on Caradoc Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Caradocian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.