Westbury Brook Ironstone Mine

Overview

The Dowlais Iron Company's ore mine below Plump Hill, south of Mitcheldean, sunk in the late 1830s by Sir Josiah John Guest to supply his ironworks at Merthyr Tydfil and closed in 1893 after producing almost a million tons of iron ore. It is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest for horseshoe bats.

History

Westbury Brook, also called Edgehills, was sunk in the late 1830s by Sir Josiah John Guest below old workings south of Mitcheldean, to supply ore to his Dowlais ironworks near Merthyr Tydfil; one account dates its opening by the Dowlais Company to 1837. In 1841 Guest built a tramroad from the mine to Whimsey so that its ore could be shipped from Bullo Pill to South Wales. The mine was worked on four levels, the first two from the Old Shaft, 360 feet deep, and the third and fourth from the Westbury Brook Shaft, 670 feet deep. In the mid-1860s the Dowlais Iron Company employed nearly two hundred hands there, and with Buckshaft, Wigpool, Old Sling and Easter it was one of the large mines that supplied much of the Forest's ore after 1871.

Water was a constant problem in the deep workings of the eastern Forest, and the ore was running out; Edgehills closed in 1893, having produced almost a million tons of iron ore. The Old Shaft was filled in the 1960s, and the Westbury Brook Shaft was capped with concrete. The lower two levels are permanently flooded. In 1998 the mine was notified as a 15.69-hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest, one of the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley sites where lesser and greater horseshoe bats hibernate.

Geology

Iron ore in the ring of Carboniferous Limestone around the Forest of Dean.

Workings

Four levels: the first two from the Old Shaft (360 feet), the third and fourth from the Westbury Brook Shaft (670 feet); a tramroad of 1841 to Whimsey for shipment from Bullo Pill.

Closure

Closed in 1893, having produced almost a million tons of iron ore.

What remains

The upper two levels survive; the third and fourth are permanently flooded. Entrances are fenced off, and the mine is protected as a bat hibernation site.

The Westbury Brook Shaft, capped with concrete; the Old Shaft was filled in the 1960s.

Redevelopment

A Site of Special Scientific Interest since 1998 for its hibernating horseshoe bats.

Related mines

• Plump Hill Dolomite Quarry — Neighbouring workings on Plump Hill, south of Mitcheldean.
• Wigpool Ironstone Mine — Neighbouring iron-ore mines of the eastern Forest of Dean, both among its large mines after 1871 and both bat SSSIs.

Recorded claims

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

• In the late 1830s Sir Josiah John Guest sank Westbury Brook (or Edgehills) mine to supply his Dowlais ironworks. ^1,2
• In 1841 Guest built a line to carry the mine's ore to Bullo Pill for shipment to South Wales. ¹
• The Dowlais Iron Company employed nearly 200 at Westbury Brook in the mid-1860s. ¹
• The mine was worked on four levels from the Old Shaft (360 feet) and the Westbury Brook Shaft (670 feet). ^2,3
• Edgehills mine closed in 1893. ^1,2
• The mine was notified in 1998 as a Site of Special Scientific Interest for hibernating horseshoe bats. ⁴
• Westbury Brook was opened in 1837 by the Dowlais Company and closed in 1893, having produced almost a million tons of iron ore. ⁵

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 5, Bledisloe Hundred, St Briavels Hundred, the Forest of Dean — Industry — Victoria County History / British History Online
2. (observational) Westbury Brook Iron Mine (quoting Mindat) — Maximus Prime
3. (primary) BGS mine plan: Section of Westbury Brook Iron Mine, Forest of Dean Coalfield — BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans
4. (secondary) Westbury Brook Ironstone Mine — Wikipedia
5. (secondary) Westbury Brook Iron Mine, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, UK — Mindat

Record created: 4 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026