The Bog is a former mining community in

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, England. It lies north of

Bishops Castle Bishop's Castle is a market town in the south west of Shropshire, England. According to the 2011 Census it had a population of 1,893. Bishop's Castle is east of the Wales–England border, about north-west of Ludlow and about south-west of ...

, east of the A488, at

grid reference A projected coordinate systemalso called a projected coordinate reference system, planar coordinate system, or grid reference systemis a type of spatial reference system that represents locations on Earth using Cartesian coordinate system, Car ...

. It was once a busy village with over 200 buildings. Now only a few remain. The local mines produced

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

and

barytes Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate (Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), ...

until the early 20th century. The mine at The Bog and the adjacent

Stiperstones The Stiperstones () is a distinctive hill in Shropshire, England. The quartzite rock of the ridge formed some 480 million years ago. During the last Ice Age Stiperstones lay on the eastern margin of the Welsh ice sheet. The hill itself was no ...

outcrop were only viable because of a geological movement; over time the movement of the tectonic plates landed at this site, combined with the movement of the earth it crumpled the layers and the softest layers were then eroded away. After mining stopped, the undisturbed remnants provided a range of wildlife habitats: birds nest in the old buildings, bats roost in the old mine tunnels, and reservoirs and ponds are ideal for aquatic life.

Visitor centre

The Bog Mine Visitor Centre, the main facility for visitors to the Stiperstones, is housed in the former village school and retains its old interior design. It provides historical information about the past workers, mining, and present-day work to restore the landscape. Facilities at the centre include toilets and car parking (with facilities for the disabled including reserved parking, toilets and ramps). Activities include walking, with two main circular walks called Mucklewick Walk and Flenny Bank Walk and a variety of riding routes. Improvements to the building, made possible by a Heritage Lottery Grant, include increasing the understanding of the mine remnants, providing new interpretation within the visitor centre, and the installation of a landscape painting by a local artist of the Stiperstones. The centre was threatened with closure in 2009, as a new co-ordinator and more volunteering staff were needed. However, additional staff were found and the visitor centre is still open and running, staffed by the Bog Visitor Centre Volunteer Group. The centre contains a framed tribute to 26 men and women from The Bog and nearby Pennerley who served the armed forces in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, of whom two men died in the war and the last survivor, an airwoman, died in 2010. Headed "Lest We Forget" and bearing photographs of each named person, it was compiled and funded by local man Clifford Evans who unveiled it in the latter year.

References

{{coord, 52.575, -2.951, type:city_region:GB, display=title Former populated places in Shropshire Mining communities in England Lead mines in England