Roman Gravels Mine

Overview

Roman Gravels, in the Shelve mining field of the Stiperstones hills, takes its name from genuine Roman-period workings found on the site — but its real claim to fame is the 1780s, when its operator became one of the first anywhere to install Boulton & Watt steam engines underground.

History

Nineteenth-century miners at Roman Gravels found earlier shafts containing pottery and wooden shovels, together with Roman coins and a lead ingot in the spoil, and Roman-style opencuts on the surface — evidence that the site was probably first worked around AD 120. Mining had resumed by the 12th century, when sheriff's records mention 'the King's miners at Shelve', and the mine supplied lead for Glastonbury Abbey in the 13th century. The mine's most notable period began in 1784 under John Lawrence and Co., who ran Roman Gravels alongside other mines in the Shelve field and were among the first operators anywhere to apply Boulton & Watt steam engines to mine drainage and winding: of nine such engines installed across the Shropshire orefield by 1800, three stood at Roman Gravels alone by 1790. The mine continued working through the 19th century until its final closure in 1895.

Geology

The mine worked lead veins within the Shelve orefield of the Stiperstones hills, a hydrothermal mineralised belt hosted in Ordovician volcanic and sedimentary rocks distinct from the granite-related lodes of Cornwall.

Geological setting: Hydrothermal Deposits (well documented example), Veins and Lodes (well documented example)

Workings

The mine was worked from at least two engine shafts, Old and New, the latter served by a 60-inch Cornish engine whose engine house still stands with its pump rods in situ; three Boulton & Watt engines were in place at the site by 1790.

Closure

The mine closed for the final time in 1895 after more than a century of continuous 18th- and 19th-century working.

What remains

The ruined 60-inch Cornish engine house at New South Engine Shaft survives with its pump rods still in place, alongside further remains of the pumping engine that served Old Engine Shaft; the site is a Scheduled Monument.

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.

• Nineteenth-century miners found earlier shafts containing pottery, wooden shovels, Roman coins and a lead ingot, along with Roman-style opencuts, indicating the site was probably first worked around AD 120. ¹
• John Lawrence and Co., who took over the mine in 1784, were among the first operators anywhere to install Boulton & Watt steam engines for mine drainage and winding; three of the nine such engines installed across the Shropshire orefield by 1800 stood at Roman Gravels. ²

Images

Sources

1. (primary) Roman Gravels lead mine, Worthen with Shelve — Historic England (Scheduled Monument record)
2. (secondary) Roman Gravels Lead Mine — I.A. Recordings
3. (primary) Roman Gravels, Engine Old and New (BGS Mine Plans Catalogue) — British Geological Survey / The Coal Authority

Record created: 22 August 2026 · Last researched: 22 August 2026