The left-hand picture, above, shows our local Councillor, Mr Neil Waite, pointing to the remains of a sluice gate which controlled the water from a pond at his left. This water then cascaded down the valley  (picture two) removing the overburden and exposing any coal, or in this case, ironstone seams,  and washing away the lighter material, (which had already been loosened by people, including women and children, using picks or shovels, Etc.) this left behind the heavy ironstone to be collected and taken to the local ironworks. This particular 'Scouring' is located at the Upper Race, near Pontypool, in Gwent. At the time when this method of mining was carried out, it was known as 'Hushing'. And it also seems likely that in the context of a district, the name of the area, the 'Race', came from the water 'Race' when the water was released from the pond to 'Scour' the overburden away. (the dictionary definition of 'Race' is 'A fast-flowing channel or the water in it). These operations left a scar on the mountainside approximately 500 metres long, 60 metres wide, and 15 metres deep, and because of these facts and the enormity of the enterprise for its time, this area has now been awarded 'Grade Two listed status'.

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 In 1740 The great, John Wesley, preached here at the 'Scourings' to a crowd of some six hundred people.  It is also fact that the wife of Thomas Allgood, of Japan Ware fame, after listening to the great man, became a convert.