Gwaith Yr Afon Mine

Overview

A small lead mine near Goginan in the Cambrian Mountains orefield, developing minor veins on the same fault system as the much larger neighbouring Cwmsymlog mine.

History

Gwaith Yr Afon Mine -- also recorded as West Cwmsymlog Mine, Cwmsymlog United Mine, Cwm Daren Mine, River Mine and Taliesan Mine -- worked a series of minor veins associated with the Darren-Cwmsymlog fault system near Goginan, in the same district as the much larger neighbouring Cwmsymlog (or East Darren) mine, a rich silver and later lead producer worked from medieval times until the district's mining finally ended in 1901. The wider Cwmsymlog district was worked for silver in the 16th and 17th centuries, its ore processed at Furnace near Talybont and in Aberystwyth, where silver coins were minted locally; lead mining became the district's predominant activity through the 18th and 19th centuries, worked via named shafts including Skinner's, Taylor's and Pryse's, with a tramway, leats, wheel pits and the Llyn Pendam reservoir among its surviving infrastructure. Coflein's own record classifies Gwaith Yr Afon simply as a post-medieval metal mine, without further descriptive detail.

Workings

Developed minor veins on the Darren-Cwmsymlog fault system.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Coflein records Gwaith Yr Afon under several alternate names -- West Cwmsymlog Mine, Cwmsymlog United Mine, Cwm Daren Mine and River Mine -- classifying it simply as a post-medieval metal mine, without further descriptive detail. ¹
• The wider Cwmsymlog (East Darren) district was worked for silver in the 16th and 17th centuries and predominantly for lead through the 18th and 19th, via named shafts including Skinner's, Taylor's and Pryse's, before mining in the district finally ended in 1901. ²
• Gwaith Yr Afon's working period (1853-1878) overlaps the reopening of the neighbouring Cwmsymlog sett as the East Darren Mine from 1850, worked until 1882 -- the two are likely companion east/west workings of the same mid-19th-century revival of the Darren-Cwmsymlog fault system, though no source names a specific operating company for Gwaith Yr Afon itself. (uncertain) ³

Sources

1. (primary) Gwaith Yr Afon Mine; West Cwmsymlog Mine (Coflein NPRN 420394) — RCAHMW
2. (secondary) Cwmsymlog — Wikipedia
3. (secondary) Cwmsymlog (Historic Landscape Character Area) — Heneb (Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust)

Record created: 31 August 2026 · Last researched: 31 August 2026