Winze

An internal shaft driven downward from one underground level to connect with a lower one, without reaching the surface.

Historical usage

Winzes have been driven wherever miners needed to connect workings at different depths without the expense of a full surface-to-surface shaft — commonly to explore or work a lode ahead of the main workings, to improve ventilation between levels, or to give a second way in or out.

How it worked

Because a winze's top opening is underground rather than at the surface, it is not fitted with winding gear the way a shaft is — access up and down is normally by ladder. The same excavation is named according to the direction it was driven: sunk downward from the upper level it's a winze; driven upward from the lower level to meet it, the identical opening is instead called a rise (or raise).

Why it was used

Driving a winze between two already-connected levels was far cheaper than sinking a new shaft from surface, letting mine captains explore or work a lode at depth before deciding whether it justified full shaft-sinking investment. A winze also opened a second air path between levels, improving ventilation without any new surface opening.

Risks & limitations

With no winding gear, everything travelling through a winze — miners, tools, and any rock raised through it — had to go by ladder or hand-hauled kibble, far slower and more strenuous than a proper shaft. As a secondary, less-maintained opening, winzes were also a common site of falls, and in wet ground could flood suddenly if they broke into old, water-filled workings below.

Regional variation

The winze/rise naming convention — the same physical connection named by the direction it was driven, not by any difference in the excavation itself — is standard across British and international hard-rock mining terminology.

Sources

1. (secondary) Definition of winze — Mindat.org Glossary
2. (secondary) Winze — Wikipedia

Record created: 20 August 2026 · Last researched: 20 August 2026