Esclusham Mountain

Last updated

Esclusham Mountain (Welsh: Mynydd Esclus or Mynydd Esclys) is an area in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, United Kingdom, and is part of the Ruabon Moors. It rises to a height of 460 m (1509 feet), with the nearby spur of Cyrn-y-Brain, to the west, reaching 473 m (1550 feet). [1] It lies mostly within the community of Esclusham. A smaller spur to the north, known as Minera Mountain, is within the neighbouring community of Minera.

Contents

Geology

Footpath across Fron-deg Flat on Esclusham Mountain Footpath across Fron-deg Flat - geograph.org.uk - 208604.jpg
Footpath across Fron-dêg Flat on Esclusham Mountain

The underlying rocks are a Carboniferous Limestone along with some Millstone Grit to the east. [2] The area was rich in minerals, particularly lead and zinc deposits. The South Minera Vein, a fault fissure rilled with mineral matter, ran through the area of Esclusham Mountain and, until the second decade of the 20th century, there were many lead mines in the area, some of whose levels joined with the substantial system of natural caves beneath the mountain.

The 8km long Minera Caves, Ogof Llyn Parc and Ogof Cefn-y-Gist have their entrances on the moor. These have passages close to Ogof Dydd Byraf and Ogof Llyn Du whose entrances are in Minera Limeworks. [3]

These are Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and are being targeted for development as a possible tourist and educational resource. [4]

History

The area shows signs of use by Neolithic and Bronze Age farmers, and evidence of early inhabitants of the area exists in the form of several stone cairns and other features. [5] [6] The high ground was good summer pasture, and in the mediaeval period there are references to hafodydd (summer houses for those overseeing the grazing flocks) in the possession of Valle Crucis Abbey on the northern part of Esclusham Mountain. [6]

Though there may have been small-scale mining of lead on the mountain in earlier periods, development of the area's mineral resources started in earnest from the eighteenth century and into the nineteenth, with the application of techniques brought from Cornwall. The mines were further developed in the nineteenth century under the guidance of the mining engineer and entrepreneur John Taylor: at their peak they were the most productive lead mines in Britain.

Landscape and wildlife

The lower eastern slopes of the mountain have a landscape of pastureland, small farms and woods. [7] The higher moorland above Fron-dêg, known as the Fron-dêg Flat, has typical moorland vegetation of heather, bilberry and sedge; rarer plants include the dark red helleborine. Hill farming is still practised, with sheep grazing across the moor. There are still surface remains of former lead workings, particularly in the areas known as Pool Park and Gwter Siani, with the foundations of old engine-houses, managers' residences and chimneys being visible in some places.

The moorland supports a rich variety of wildlife including black grouse, red grouse, short-eared owl and ring ouzel.

A single-track road runs across the northern part of the mountain from Minera, through Pool Park and Gwter Siani, to Eglwyseg and on towards Llangollen. Several footpaths, popular with ramblers, also run across the mountain, including the Offa's Dyke Path.

Related Research Articles

Moel Hebog

Moel Hebog is a mountain in Snowdonia, north Wales which dominates the view west from the village of Beddgelert. It gives name to a whole range of peaks in the north-western corner of Snowdonia, which include the Nantlle Ridge and Mynydd Mawr.

Minera Limeworks

The Minera Limeworks were extensive lime quarries and kilns at Minera in Wrexham, Wales. It was located at grid reference SJ253520, near the villages of Gwynfryn, Minera, and Coedpoeth and was locally referred to as The Calch.

Minera Human settlement in Wales

Minera is a small village, and a local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in the United Kingdom. It adjoins the large village of Coedpoeth.

Clwyd South (Senedd constituency) Constituency of the Senedd

Clwyd South is a constituency of the Senedd. It elects one Member of the Senedd by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of nine constituencies in the North Wales electoral region, which elects four additional members, in addition to nine constituency members, to produce a degree of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Ruabon Moors

Ruabon Moors are an area of upland moorland in Wales to the west of Ruabon and Wrexham. They lie partly within Wrexham county borough and partly within Denbighshire.

The Eglwyseg valley is an area to the north east of Llangollen in Denbighshire, Wales; it is within the boundaries of Llantysilio Community. The name also refers to a widely scattered hamlet in the valley.

Llandegla Forest is a forest of planted conifers covering 2.5 sq miles in Denbighshire, north-east Wales. It is situated to the south-east of the village of Llandegla at the north-western edge of Ruabon Moors. Only 20 miles from the city of Chester and 7 miles west of Wrexham, easily accessed via the A525 towards Ruthin.

The geology of Wales is complex and varied; its study has been of considerable historical significance in the development of geology as a science. All geological periods from the Cryogenian to the Jurassic are represented at outcrop, whilst younger sedimentary rocks occur beneath the seas immediately off the Welsh coast. The effects of two mountain-building episodes have left their mark in the faulting and folding of much of the Palaeozoic rock sequence. Superficial deposits and landforms created during the present Quaternary period by water and ice are also plentiful and contribute to a remarkably diverse landscape of mountains, hills and coastal plains.

Worlds End, Denbighshire Narrow vale in Denbighshire, Wales, United Kingdom

World's End is a narrow vale located between Wrexham and Llangollen in Denbighshire, Wales. It lies at the head of the Eglwyseg Valley, enclosed by the cliffs of Craig y Forwyn, Craig y Cythraul, and Craig yr Adar.

Rhostyllen Human settlement in Wales

Rhostyllen is a village in Wrexham county borough in Wales, south-west of the town of Wrexham. At the time of the 2001 census, area Wrexham 014A, which includes Rhostyllen itself, had a population of 1,383 in 599 households. Its name may be derived from the Welsh words rhos and estyll.

Hafod Elwy Moor National Nature Reserve

Hafod Elwy Moor National Nature Reserve, located in the moorland above the town of Denbigh in Denbighshire, North Wales, is part of the Mynydd Hiraethog Site of Special Scientific Interest, formerly managed by the Countryside Council for Wales and now under the jurisdiction of Natural Resources Wales. Established in 1999, it comprises an 82-hectare (200-acre) patch of upland moor lying between the lakes of Llyn Brenig and Llyn Alwen. A conifer forest planted by the Forestry Commission borders the moor to the south and east.

Craig y Forwyn (Denbighshire)

Craig y Forwyn is a crag that encloses the northern side of World's End, near the town of Llangollen in Denbighshire, Wales. It is part of the limestone escarpment that separates the Eglwyseg Valley from the higher Ruabon Moors and, along with nearby Craig Arthur, is a popular site for rock climbing. Evidence of lead and silver mining is found just to the west. The Offa's Dyke Path runs along its foot.

Shrewsbury and Chester Railway

The North Wales Mineral Railway was formed to carry coal and ironstone from the mineral-bearing area around Wrexham to the River Dee wharves. It was extended to run from Shrewsbury and formed part of a main line trunk route, under the title The Shrewsbury and Chester Railway. It opened in 1846 from Chester to Ruabon, and in 1848 from Ruabon to Shrewsbury. It later merged with the Great Western Railway.

Tanyfron Human settlement in Wales

Tanyfron, also occasionally spelt Tan-y-fron, is a village in Wrexham County Borough in Wales. At the time of the 2001 census, the population of area Wrexham 006A, which includes Tanyfron and a number of other small settlements, was 1,347. The village is part of the local government Community of Brymbo and is in the Vron electoral ward. The built-up area had a population of well over 2,000 as of the 2011 census.

Esclusham is a local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is also an electoral ward.

Ogof Llyn Parc

Ogof Llyn Parc usually known as Pool Park is a cave on Esclusham Mountain above Wrexham, Wales, that has a 100 metres (330 ft) entrance shaft, normally descended by winch to the mine levels. Further caving and two ladders reaches the natural cave levels in which there are streamways.

Ogof Dydd Byraf

Ogof Dydd Byraf is a cave which extends under Esclusham Mountain in north-east Wales from its entrance in the south face of the Minera Limeworks quarry. It was originally discovered and explored in 1964 by the Wrexham Caving Club, before they were merged into the North Wales Caving Club.

This article describes the geology of the Brecon Beacons National Park in mid/south Wales. The area gained national park status in 1957 with the designated area of 1,344 km2 (519 sq mi) including mountain massifs to both the east and west of the Brecon Beacons proper. The geology of the national park consists of a thick succession of sedimentary rocks laid down from the late Ordovician through the Silurian and Devonian to the late Carboniferous period. The rock sequence most closely associated with the park is the Old Red Sandstone from which most of its mountains are formed. The older parts of the succession, in the northwest, were folded and faulted during the Caledonian orogeny. Further faulting and folding, particularly in the south of the park is associated with the Variscan orogeny.

References

  1. Brown, E. The relief and drainage of Wales: a study in geomorphological development, University of Wales Press, 1960, p.87
  2. Sparks, B. Geomorphology, Longman, 1972, p.174
  3. Geological Conservation Review. "Minera Caves" . Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  4. The Caves Archived 2009-01-07 at the Wayback Machine , Minera Quarry Trust
  5. Abandoned Landscapes - A Short But Wild Road Through The Hills, megalithic.co.uk, accessed 23-03-10
  6. 1 2 The Making of the Vale of Llangollen and Eglwyseg Historic Landscape, Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust
  7. Landscape Character - Eastern Slopes of Ruabon Mountain, Wrexham County Borough

Coordinates: 53°00′31″N03°08′49″W / 53.00861°N 3.14694°W / 53.00861; -3.14694