Underhill Wood Primitive Coal Workings

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument consists of the remains of a coal mine represented by an area of primitive anthracite working probably begun around the sixteenth century and which ceased in the nineteenth century. Documentary evidence exists for mining in the vicinity from 1551 and Underhill Wood is named in accounts as being worked by Alexander Smith and Partners in 1770 and is mentioned again in 1807 and 1822 when coal was carried overland to Cresswell Quay and shipped to widespread markets for which anthracite had a high value at that period. The mined area takes the form of a deep depression cut out of the sloping ground on which it stands in which it is clear that mining had been irregular and by different methods. At the centre of is a long water-filled trough, likely to be an opencast working and elsewhere shaft mounds and subsidence features indicate the location of former bell pits; early features are overlain by later spoil heaps.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance and illustrate our knowledge and understanding of the development of the coalmining industry in Wales. It retains significant archaeological potential, with the strong possibility of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. A caol mine may be part of a larger cluster of industrial monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.