White Grit
White Grit is a small, scattered village beneath Corndon Hill in Powys, Wales, directly on the border with (and partly in) Shropshire.
White Grit lies in the community of Church Stoke (the small parts in Shropshire are in the civil parishes of Chirbury with Brompton and Worthen with Shelve).
[2] Its name is sometimes spelled "Gritt" with two letter "t"s. A stone circle known as the Whetstones was located to the west of the village, but it was largely destroyed in the 19th century.
On 18 January 1783, Lawrence contacted Boulton & Watt on behalf of the Company and asked for the approximate costs of erecting an engine at the mine to lift water 60 yards up 13" diameter pipes.
In February, Mr Joshua Blakeway, another of the mine adventurers, wrote to James Watt to say that they had discussed the engine and were apprehensive about the length of the stroke.
Watt was asked to give his opinion on such an engine, which was to be similar in all respects to the 30" erected at Bog Mine shortly before.
There was also a short agreement covering the annual premium, viz "27th March 1783 Memorandum that Joshua Blakeway Esquire, John Lawrence Miner and Thomas Lloyd Anwyl, Gentleman, on behalf of themselves and the rest of a Company called and known by the Name and Description of the Whitegritt Company and Messrs Watt and Boulton Engineers agree as follows: The said Messrs Watt and Boulton grant a license to the said company to erect a steam engine at the Whitegrit Mine with a cylinder of 30" in diameter which will effectively and properly work a pump of 101/2" in diameter, eight foot stroke and eight strokes/minute, to raise the water 60 yards and to consume only 136 lbs of coal per hour.
And they the said Joshua Blakeway, John Lawrence and Thomas Lloyd Anwyl on behalf of themselves and the rest of the said company agree to pay to the said Messrs Watt and Boulton for the considerations and subject to the allowances aforesaid the said sum or premium of £90 per year and also to the beforementioned proper person apportion the said sum of £1 6s 0d per week.
Witness Signed ..........John Scrymster Boulton & Watt contracted out the manufacture of the cylinder to Bersham Foundry and sent a man named Law to supervise the erection of the engine.
The job did not go smoothly, however, due to delays in delivery of essential parts and Lawrence complained about the financial loss to the company.
By the end of the year, the company offered to sell the engine to a mine at Logelas in Cardiganshire or anyone else that Boulton & Watt cared to recommend after a valuation.
White Grit Shaft has now collapsed and the engine house has suffered badly over the years, leaving only the lever wall and parts of two others standing to the west of the road.
In 1862, John Taylor & Company acquired the lease and drove exploratory levels from the old White Grit Shaft.
The most striking feature is the large slot in the north wall which housed the flywheel, the axle of which was inside the building.
The pit on the east side housed the winding drum and the cylinder was mounted on the raised foundation in the centre of the building.
The shaft, which was sunk on the intersection of the Rider and Dingle Veins, is completely blocked but a reasonable amount of the engine house still remains.
This small square shaft is open and is situated in a large spoil tip, which bears a circular depression which may mark the position of a horse gin.
The engine house is similar to the one at Ladywell in that the rear wall contains a slot, presumably for a flywheel to drive winding or dressing machinery.
