Esclusham Mountain ( Welsh: ''Mynydd Esclus'' or ''Mynydd Esclys'') is an area in

Wrexham County Borough Wrexham County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Wrecsam) is a county borough, with city status, in the north-east of Wales. It borders England to the east and south-east, Powys to the south-west, Denbighshire to the west and Flintshire to the ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and is part of the

Ruabon Moors The 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. In the northern part of the moors are the areas known as Minera Mountain a ...

. 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).Brown, E. ''The relief and drainage of Wales: a study in geomorphological development'', University of Wales Press, 1960, p.87 It lies mostly within the

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

of Esclusham. A smaller spur to the north, known as Minera Mountain, is within the neighbouring community of

Minera Minera ( cy, Mwynglawdd; ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It adjoins the village of Coedpoeth. The community, which in addition to Minera village includes a number of smaller hamlets such as Gwynfryn and New Brigh ...

Geology

The underlying rocks are a

Carboniferous Limestone Carboniferous Limestone is a collective term for the succession of limestones occurring widely throughout Great Britain and Ireland that were deposited during the Dinantian epoch (geology), Epoch of the Carboniferous period (geology), Period. T ...

along with some Millstone Grit to the east.Sparks, B. ''Geomorphology'', Longman, 1972, p.174 The area was rich in minerals, particularly

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

deposits. The South Minera Vein, a fault fissure

rill In hillslope geomorphology, a rill is a shallow channel (no more than a few inches/ decimeters deep) cut into soil by the erosive action of flowing surface water. Similar but smaller incised channels are known as microrills; larger incised c ...

ed 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 8 km long Minera Caves,

Ogof Llyn Parc Ogof Llyn Parc usually known as Pool Park is a cave on Esclusham Mountain above Wrexham, Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and we ...

and Ogof Cefn-y-Gist have their entrances on the moor. These have passages close to

Ogof Dydd Byraf Ogof Dydd Byraf is a cave which extends under Esclusham Mountain in the 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 it ...

and Ogof Llyn Du whose entrances are in

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

. These are

Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

, and are being targeted for development as a possible tourist and educational resource.The Caves
, Minera Quarry Trust

History

The area shows signs of use by

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

farmers, and evidence of early inhabitants of the area exists in the form of several stone cairns and other features.Abandoned Landscapes - A Short But Wild Road Through The Hills
megalithic.co.uk, accessed 23-03-10
The Making of the Vale of Llangollen and Eglwyseg Historic Landscape, Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust The high ground was good summer

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or sw ...

, 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 Valle Crucis Abbey (Valley of the Cross) is a Cistercian abbey located in Llantysilio in Denbighshire, Wales. More formally ''the Abbey Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Valle Crucis'' it is known in Welsh both as ''Abaty Glyn Egwestl'' and ''A ...

on the northern part of Esclusham Mountain. 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 Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. 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.Landscape Character - Eastern Slopes of Ruabon Mountain
Wrexham County Borough The higher moorland above Fron-dêg, known as the Fron-dêg Flat, has typical moorland vegetation of heather,

bilberry Bilberries (), or sometimes European blueberries, are a primarily Eurasian species of low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' (family Ericaceae), bearing edible, dark blue berries. The species most often referred to is '' Vaccinium myrtill ...

and

sedge The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus '' Carex'' ...

; rarer plants include the dark red helleborine.

Hill farming Hill farming or terrace farming is an extensive farming in upland areas, primarily rearing sheep, although historically cattle were often reared extensively in upland areas. Fell farming is the farming of fells, a fell being an area of unculti ...

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 The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large game bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in moorland and step ...

, red grouse,

short-eared owl The short-eared owl (''Asio flammeus'') is a widespread grassland species in the family Strigidae. Owls belonging to genus ''Asio'' are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or ...

and

ring ouzel The ring ouzel (''Turdus torquatus'') is a mainly European member of the thrush family Turdidae. It is a medium-sized thrush, in length and weighing . The male is predominantly black with a conspicuous white crescent across its breast. Females ...

. A single-track road runs across the northern part of the mountain from

, through Pool Park and Gwter Siani, to

Eglwyseg 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. Formerly the old township of Eglwyseg ...

and on towards

Llangollen Llangollen () is a town and community, situated on the River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Bea ...

. Several footpaths, popular with ramblers, also run across the mountain, including the

Offa's Dyke Path Offa's Dyke Path ( cy, Llwybr Clawdd Offa) is a long-distance footpath loosely following the Wales–England border. Officially opened on 10 July 1971, by Lord Hunt, it is one of Britain's National Trails and draws walkers from throughout th ...

References

{{coord, 53, 00, 31, N, 03, 08, 49, W, display=title, region:GB_type:mountain Mountains and hills of Wrexham County Borough Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Clwyd