Background
Specially made for showing in the Snailbeach visitor centre, this is a dramatic introduction to the famous lead mine in Shropshire, once renowned as the “Richest per acre of ground in Europe” which has had such a long and varied history.

Workings on the Snailbeach vein for lead, zinc and barite have left many shafts, buildings and waste tips all of which have been gradually decaying since mining ceased in the 1950’s.

In recent years people who appreciate Shropshire’s most productive lead mine have started to preserve and restore the remains.

The undergrowth has been cleared, holes filled and stabilised, foundations excavated, walls repaired and made safe, new paths have been laid, roofs replaced on many buildings and a new use found for some of them.

Now the site is something to be proud of. Not a derelict industrial wasteland, but a fascinating testimony to the work of countless miners over the past two thousand years of Shropshire history.