There are references to zinc mining in the seventeenth century in Sir John
Pettus, 'Fodinae Regalis' of 1670 (with a further edition some 20 years
later).
Michael Shaw
----- Original Message -----
From: "Keith Ramsey" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 5:38 PM
Subject: [MINING-HISTORY] Early Modern Zinc Mines at Worle, Somerset
> In their book on the industrial archeology of the Bristol area, Buchanan
> and Cossins mention that there were important zinc mines on Worle Hill
> in Somerset in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Very little
> seems to be known about these mines, and a query here some time ago
> produced little new information.
>
> For those who don't know, Worle is now a suburb of Weston-super-Mare,
> and there don't seem to be any surviving traces of mining activity. I'd
> always assumed that this was because the mines were very shallow and had
> been destroyed by later quarrying and building work, but I've recently
> begun to have doubts about this.
>
> I know that there were relatively deep zinc mines nearby at Shipham in
> the nineteenth century, and I've just discovered a letter from John
> Locke to Robert Boyle dated 5 May 1666 in which he refers to mines 30
> fathoms deep on the Mendips, although it's unclear whether they were
> lead or zinc workings. Can anyone point me towards any published work on
> early modern zinc mining which might help to shed more light on the
subject?
>
> Keith Ramsey
>
>
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