Mystery
Pulloxhill's Gold Rush
A royal mine, a village besieged, and a field still called Gold Close.
Stand where it happened
- What's there
- Farmland; only field names remain
- Legend from
- 1680
- Tone
- Curious
Near Pulloxhill, in 1680, someone struck gold, or thought they did, and the whole village was overrun by miners.
In 1680 gold was reported in the sandy fields north-east of Pulloxhill church. The find was claimed at once for the Crown as a royal mine, and the village was besieged for months by hopeful miners. But separating the metal cost more than it was worth, and the workings were abandoned. Victorian geologists suggested the gold was really glittering mica in iron-stained sand, though a 1952 newspaper claimed samples sent to the Mint were genuine. A field called Gold Close and a Gold Copse on the map still mark the spot, and one later dreamer proposed paying off the National Debt with the Pulloxhill vein.
One sourceOnly one written account of this legend has been found so far.