Ioan Lord, A4, Hb, 272pp, includes plans, surveys, sections and a wide range of old and new photographs. Contains geological study of the orefield, history of all 40 mines in the valley and archaeological descriptions of the surface and underground workings. Available from the Vale of Rheidol Railway here.
This detailed history of the lead, silver and zinc mines of Cwm Rheidol and Ystumtuen studies the rise and fall of the mining industry in this often-forgotten part of the Central Wales Orefield. A huge number of sites have and continue to be bulldozed, landscaped and destroyed; sites which have great significance in local heritage, and which shaped and transformed mid-Wales forever. Very few of these local industrial sites are protected, and many more can still be saved and preserved out of the hundreds which are scattered across the county. This book contains the individual histories of each mine site in Cwm Rheidol and Ystumtuen as well as modern day examinations and ground-breaking underground surveys; sites which all contributed to forming one of the largest and most important industries which Ceredigion ever had.
This book is the culmination of many years of archival research, archaeology and underground digs and explorations which tie in the history with some fascinating discoveries recently made hundreds of feet below the earth in Cwm Rheidol and Ystumtuen. It brings together a vast archive of old photographs and documents, maps and books which date back as far as 1670. It demonstrates the local and national importance of a 4,000-year-old industry, which deserves a much higher recognition and value.