Welsh Mines Society

ISSN 1746-7551
Welsh Mines Society
Member of the National Association of Mining History Organisations
NEWSLETTER 66
Spring 2012
Editorial...................................... 1
Announcements........................... 4
Forthcoming Events.................... 5
Field Reports............................... 5
Summer 2012 Field Meet............ 8
Autumn 2012 Field Meet........... 10
Fire Setting.................................11
Cwmbyr Mine............................ 17
Bushell’s Adit at Bronfloyd........ 18
A Hawarden Colliery Accident. 21
News.......................................... 22
Reviews and Publications......... 31
Correspondence........................ 35
Membership............................... 39
Pearl Engine House on Parys Mountain, 1972 – see item 1.
Editorial
1. Old Photographs I’ve been in correspondence with various members of Parys Underground Group (PUG) concerning some photographs I took on Parys Mountain in 1972 and
recently published on the AditNow website. The photographs provoked interest because one
of them shows the now-demolished Pearl Engine House chimney (above) and another an
uncapped shaft with the remnants of an angle-bob in it. I understand that the photo of the
chimney has been of help to PUG in preparing plans and a bid for funding for the rebuilding
of the chimney. PUG are also attempting to identify the shaft and I’ve been doing my best
to help with this, though considering the photos were taken 40 years ago my recollection of
the exact position of the shaft is sketchy. As well as the mining-specific features visible in
the photos, the changes in the general condition of the site are also interesting. In particular,
the increase in vegetation cover on the tips is noticeable.
President: GEORGE HALL, Abilene, Sheet Road, Ludlow, SY8 1LR
Chairman: JOHN HINE (a.k.a. Mole), The Grottage, 2 Cullis Lane, Mile End, Coleford, GL16 7QF
Secretary/Treasurer: DAVID ROE, 20 Lutterburn Street, Ugborough, Ivybridge, PL21 0NG
Editor: DAVE LINTON, Hendre Coed Uchaf, Llanaber, Barmouth, LL42 1AJ
www.welshmines.org
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
Robert Protheroe Jones is working on a project to revisit all the significant mines of Cardiganshire as a follow-up to his surveys of 1992–93 for Dyfed Archaeological Trust which
formed part of the RCAHMW’s Uplands Project. Where significant change has occurred
he is taking additional photographs from identical viewpoints, as one of the purposes of the
resurvey is to document rates and causes of change. I suspect there is scope for other members to do similar work. These days many WMS members have cameras (usually digital) that
they take with them on outings to mine sites. I think the resulting photographs, irrespective
of artistic merit, are a valuable resource for the future, and I urge members to keep as much
information about their photos as they can and to try to ensure that the photos and the associated information are available for future researchers. As far as recording information about
the photos is concerned, Robert suggests that at least the date, a 6- or better still 8-figure
grid reference of the viewpoint, and the direction of view (N, NW, W, SW, S, etc.) be noted.
The question of archiving and subsequent availability of such images is problematical.
Robert comments that archives such as RCAHMW, the regional archaeological trusts and
the National Library of Wales prefer to receive uncompressed digital files rather than hard
copy images printed on plain paper. However, such bodies will be selective as to what they
accept in terms of quality and informational content and to avoid duplication. Obviously,
unlabelled images verge on useless: archives do not have the time to check the locations of
large numbers of images, so they would probably be declined.
A possible compromise between the formal archiving of photos in regional and national
archives, with their considerations of formal data recording and subsequent less-than-instant
accessibility, and the metaphorical shoebox under the bed which may eventually be discarded, is the informal facility afforded by one of the web-based fora such as the abovementioned AditNow (www.aditnow.co.uk). This site (and others) provides free storage of
photographs and accompanying information, organised by mine site, with the choice of
photograph and text up to the owner of the photograph. Whilst such a solution may not have
the long-term storage and organisational advantages of the more formal archive, I consider
it a useful resource.
A final thought for those people who have slide collections. I have getting on towards
4,000 slides from the 1960s onwards and I’ve been trying to make a determined effort to
scan them. In the process I’ve found that some of them (not always the oldest) have started
to deteriorate due to mould, breakup of the emulsion and dirt marks. So I suggest that if
you’ve not scanned your slides already, it would be a good thing to do. (But don’t throw
away the original slides afterwards.) Retouching is a controversial subject – I see no problem in retouching slides to remove obvious blemishes, especially from sky areas where they
can be very conspicuous, but do keep the original scans for reference.
2. Where Thieves Break Through and Steal Over the years in which I’ve been visiting
mines and quarries on Wales (and elsewhere) I’ve noticed a steady deterioration in the fabric
of the sites and damage to and loss of artefacts. The deterioration of the sites themselves
is understandable and, without conservation efforts (about which I have mixed feelings),
inescapable.
The damage to and loss of artefacts is another question. Again, some of this is to be ex-2-
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
pected: wood rots and ferrous items rust. Where there are safety implications landowners
understandably may take steps to remove hazards such as suspended carriages on inclines,
and of course operators of working sites may choose to remove or destroy artefacts in the
course of their continuing operations. However, this leaves the agencies of authorised removal of items, theft and vandalism to consider.
Authorised removal is, in my eyes, generally regrettable; however there is probably little
that can be done about it. It is generally a private agreement between the landowner (who
can be presumed to have title to everything left in a disused site) and the remover of the item.
Also, in some cases the remover is acting with what they consider to be good intent, offering
justifications such as preservation of artefacts or using contemporary parts to repair some
other historic object. However, I suggest that where possible such actions be deprecated and
a coherent argument be made against them.
Vandalism can range from the destruction of or damage to artefacts for ‘fun’, such as the
pushing of slate wagons down inclines for the spectacle of the resultant crash, setting fire to
timber structures or the pushing over of walls, to accidental damage by, for example, climbing on or cutting through structures to gain access to otherwise inaccessible areas, ‘playing’
with things like wagons or wheelbarrows or attempting to dig with a found shovel or pick.
Again, I suspect that little can be done about it, as disused mines and quarries are not easily
policed, and there is no obvious avenue to educate many of those involved.
Equally concerning, if not more so, is the loss of items by theft. Reports of theft of items,
either for collections or else for their scrap value, are reported in this and previous Newsletter issues. However, many of us are guilty of similar offences, either removing significant
artefacts ‘to give to a museum’ or else taking smaller items home to ‘put on the mantelpiece’
or sell on. All such removals diminish the historical record, remove the items from their
context and place them at risk of eventual loss.
NAMHO guidelines on the removal of artefacts, which I would commend to WMS members, specify that objects should be removed only when they have properties which make
them worthy of preservation and access to the mine or quarry is likely to be lost due to
continued working, decay of the workings which will make future access dangerous, or
where continuing access to the mine may result in damage or unrecorded removal of artefacts. Items should be recorded before removal and removed only with the permission of
the owner.
3. Towards a Better Understanding As can be seen from item 56, the Proceedings of the
2010 WMS Conference are now available. Conference attendees should have received their
copies by now. I would like to thank Chairman Mole for distributing the publication and also
thank everyone who has complimented myself and Pam on the publication.
Based on my experiences with this publication, I have compiled a comprehensive set of
notes which I hope will be of use to contributors to future WMS publications. The notes
include detailed guidance on text, image format, copyright issues plus specific requirements
for submissions to Welsh Mines and Mining. The notes can be found at http://www.hendrecoed.org.uk/wms/misc/notes_for_contributors.pdf and I would urge all would-be contributors to have a look at them.
-3-
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
Announcements
4. Vielle Montagne Co. Archive Sheila Barker of the Cumbria Amenity Trust Mining
History Society has kindly given me a set of photocopies of takenotes, memoranda of agreement and notes (in French) relating to Welsh mines from the VM Co. archive at the University of Liège. The mines concerned are Cmworoc [sic] and Graig-Ddu mines, Llangynog;
Cwm-glanafon and Craig-y-Mwyn mines; Hafna and other mines, Llanrwst and Holway
mine, Flint. If anyone can make use of these papers I would be happy to pass them on. (I
suggest that the papers be kept as a set rather than being split up.)
Dave Linton
5. NAMHO Conference 2013 (NL 65 item 4) Following extended discussions between
those WMS members who expressed interest in this matter, the conclusion has been reluctantly reached that there is insufficient support from within the Society to make organising it
feasible. Consequently WMS Secretary David Roe has written to NAMHO Secretary Nigel
Dibben to inform him that the officers of the Welsh Mines Society have decided that we will
not be able to offer to organise the conference next year.
I would encourage individual Society members to become involved in any alternative
event that may arise.
David Roe
6. NAMHO Conference 2013 Aberystwyth The NAMHO conference for 2013 will be in
Aberystwyth over the weekend of 29th–30th June. The core of the conference will be a lecture
programme on the theme of ‘Mining Legacies’ examining the impact of past mining activity
on the historic environment. There will be an associated field programme, primarily surface
visits. An underground programme can be arranged but that requires the involvement of
one or more of NAMHO’s constituent groups in Wales. As mentioned above, Welsh Mines
Society officers have decided not to support the conference but the organisers are exploring
other options. In the meantime, should WMS members wish to offer their help as individuals
they would be very welcome – please contact Peter Claughton: P.F.Claughton@exeter.ac.uk
or by telephone on 01437 532578
Peter Claughton
7. Peter Hay­ WMS member Peter Hay and his son Daniel both suffered a fall while underground in Minllyn Slate Quarry resulting in multiple bone fractures. They exited the mine
with their injuries and were evacuated by RAF Air Sea Rescue helicopter from Anglesey and
taken to Bangor hospital for treatment.
wikipedia
8. Newsletter Back Copies Back copies of the WMS Newsletter from NL 65 back to
around NL 45 are available from David Roe – suggested price £1 each to cover post/package
and small donation to funds.
9. New WMS Directory Secretary David Roe intends to produce an updated Directory of
WMS members – if you need any details changed from the 2006 vintage publication please
contact David by 1st June 2012.
David Roe (above two items)
-4-
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
10. Forthcoming Events
21st April 2012
Metal Mines of the Elan Estate – Walk lead by Geoff Newton
for the Elan Valley Trust. Meet at Nantgwyllt Church Car Park
(SN 909 639) at 10:00 am with an expected return time of 5:00
pm. Please bring waterproofs, stout footwear and a packed
lunch. No dogs please. For further info: email info@elanvalleytrust.org or call the Elan Estate Office on 01597 810449 or
contact Geoff direct on 01497 831464.
th
th
11 –12 May 2012
RCAHMW forum to report the results of surveys of industrial
landscapes of the Welsh uplands www.rcahmw.gov.uk
25th–28th May 2012
Symposium Europa Subterranea 2012, Mining and the Development of the Landscape, Jihlava, Czech Republic, http://
www.europa-subterranea.com/page2.php?post=1
th
th
26 –27 May 2012
Cambrian Caving Conference, Penderyn Community Centre,
CF44 9JN – A day of talks on first aid, cave life, conservation,
underground photography, geology and surveying followed by
a day of cave photography and cave life workshops. Bookings
via secretary@cambriancavingcouncil.org.uk
23rd–24th June 2012
WMS Summer Meet: Snowdonia – see item 12 below
29th June–1st July
NAMHO 2012 Conference, Quarry Bank Mill, Styal, Cheshire
http://www.derbyscc.org.uk/namhoconference2012
st
th
21 –24 September 2012 WMS Autumn Meet: Royal Forest of Dean – see item 13
below
29th–30th June 2013
NAMHO 2013 Conference – see item 6 above
Should you become aware of forthcoming events of possible interest to members please tell
the Editor about them so they can be included in future Newsletters.
Field Reports
11. Autumn Field Meet 17–18th September 2011: Nantymwyn and Abergwesyn In
summary a relatively sparsely attended meeting plagued by heavy rain. On the brighter side
some very useful insights were garnered.
On the Saturday we got off to a damp start at Nantymwyn somewhat removed from the
official meeting point at the Upper Boat Level owing to a navigational mishap by the first
arrival and an overly trusting follow-my-leader attitude from those arriving later! There
followed a flip-chart presentation (section and plan below) of previous research on the site,
how it might be integrated with the recent mapping by the British Geological Survey and
what might form some objectives for the day. In true WMS fashion the party then disintegrated but most ambled through the drizzle on a pre-lunch tour of the remains to the NW of
-5-
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Professor David James in full pedagogic
flow.
John Hopkinson
Spring 2012
Pen Cerrig-mwyn, an area heavily degraded by
forestry operations and tip robbing, to check out
what might still be identified with any confidence.
At the engine house by Angred Shaft the experts
decided that it had been a fairly standard steam
winder with a large winding drum flanked by a
cylinder on each side; the layout being much the
same as that at Hetty Pit. After lunch we looked
at the area SE of and along Pen Cerrig-mwyn
where the ‘lead mine grits’ stand almost vertically and were tried at numerous locations around
the junction of the Pannau and Roderick’s lode
systems.
At the remains of the Sulphides Syndicate
Mill the base of a set of flotation cells can be
seen, also the foundations for two large gas engines and their gas producers.
The day’s highlights were that, perhaps surprisingly, many of the adit locations were still
Nantymwyn geological section (left) and plan (right) A: Angred Shaft, C: Cowling’s lode,
DB: Deep Boat Level, M: Maescarhyg Level, O: ‘Old’ Lode, P: Level Pannau, R: Roderick’s Lode,
T: Level Tan, UB: Upper Boat Level
-6-
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
identifiable and that further investigations, possibly even some exploratory digging in better
weather, might well be warranted. Also a lengthy open crosscut adit was ‘rediscovered’, a
splendid bucking stone discovered in a foundation wall and Level Cadno proven to have
lode geology which was overdue for proper recording.
A website devoted to the mine can be found at http://www.rhandirmwyn.net/leadmine/ It
has a number of photographs (including some taken on the above meet), mine surveys and
histories of the mine including a transcript of Simon Hughes’ paper from British Mining
vol. 45.
In the evening we gathered at the King’s Head in Llandovery to enjoy one of the best and
best-value WMS dinners that the writers can recall and to sign a birthday card only three
days late for the President, who had organised the venue.
Sunday began with the gathering of a somewhat reduced flock in torrential rain by Llanwrtyd church and a bold decision to press on to Llwyn-derw in hope of alleviation. This did
not transpire and the Presidential leadership for the day was promptly transferred to one of
the younger generation who happened to have a large umbrella. By this stage all were so
wet that the decision was taken to attempt to reach the Abergwesyn mine anyway. Virtue
was rewarded when a footbridge not on the OS map allowed easy access to both Jones’ adit
and the track to the mine. The adit was verified to still be open albeit wet to above the knee,
handcut near portal and clearly worth revisit and survey. As the day progressed the rain
eased, dry spells became more and more frequent and spirits soared. The mine proved full
of features generating discussion aided both by the President’s handout notes and the recollections of the landowner on whose property the shafts lie and who generously allowed us to
wander in this area. The industrial archaeology is, as always, slightly enigmatic. However,
there are two shafts.
The upper shaft is blocked but a flat area has been hacked out of the rock behind the shaft
and that may have been the site of a small horse whim.
The main shaft is on the opposite side of the river to the dressing floor with a flat tramming level running from the top of an ore bin around towards the shaft until it is stopped by
the river. At this point it would appear that the river was dammed. This would have provided
both a head of water for the water wheel and a continuation of the tramming level to the
shaft. Access to the top of the shaft was at two levels, the waste being taken out at the higher
level and dumped on the upstream side of the shaft whilst the ore was taken out at a lower
level on the downstream side adjacent to the balance bob. Part way along the tramming level
the slope has been cut back to form a circular area that may have been for a horse whim.
Downstream from the shaft there is a rock cut gully that looks as if it ought to be a flat
rodding cut, but it has a nasty kink in it that would preclude that use; it is, however, just at
the right level to feed water from the top of the dam onto a launder feeding across the river
to the water wheel.
Near the top of the bank just below the level of the track there is a slight step that lines up
nicely with the gully on the other side of the river and would have formed part of the base
for the wooden launder.
The axle and hubs of the water wheel remain together with two sections of the shroud. It
was an overshot wheel of wooden spoke construction with cast iron shrouds, hubs and axle.
-7-
Welsh Mines Society
Newsletter 66
Spring 2012
One of the shrouds has ‘R Bright 1854 Carmarthen’ cast on it.
The bottom part of one of the plummer blocks is still attached to the axle complete with
the remains of the holding down bolts. This indicates that the wheel was used in this position; it is, however, at right angles to the wheel pit, of which very little remains. It looks as
if somebody has tried to remove the axle at some time and failed.
The axle itself is of interesting construction. It is made up of three cast iron components.
The centre section is of quite large diameter, probably hollow, with the two end sections
bolted to it; each end section has a square end outside the journal. The crank for the pumping
rods is still attached to the one end, and the one the other end would have provided a drive
to the rock crusher if it had ever been installed.
The wheel hubs are held in place on the axle with wedges and have a relatively large hole
in them such as they would have done for a wooden axle. So either this wheel originally
had a wooden axle and was later repaired with a replacement cast iron one or, more likely, it
represents an early form of wheel built with a cast iron axle.
Up at the track level there are the remains a stone building: a mine office perhaps but that
may be rather too grand a description for this operation; more likely a tool shed with a desk
in one corner.
The main components of a roller crusher are lying near the entrance; inside a gear wheel
and a shaft are poking out of the rubble. There is a little wear on the gear teeth. The roller
crusher appears never to have been installed. It could have been bought second-hand in
preparation for the large output of ore! As this never materialised there was never any motivation to build the crusher house and install the crusher. A hollow below the wheel pit
remains unidentified.
The planned late afternoon visit to nearby Nant Gwyrnant mine was aborted after premeeting reconnaissance had revealed that there is now nothing of interest remaining; in view
of the renewal of the rain by the time we got back to the vehicles this was probably a blessing.
David James and Geoff Newton
12. Summer 2012 Field Meet
Weekend 23rd–24th June 2012
Location Llanberis Organisers Paul Smyth and Dave Seabourne
Maps Explorer (1:25,000) sheet OL17 Snowdon, Landranger (1:50,000) sheet 115 Snowdon
Saturday 23rd June Meet at 11:00 at the Inigo Jones Slate Works LL54 7UE at SH 471 551
near Groeslon on the A487 Caernarfon to Porthmadog road. We will leave some cars here
and travel by convoy to Y Fron at SH 506 558 where there is limited parking. We will walk
from there to the Moel Tryfan slate quarries. The walk will be led by Dr Gwynfor PierceJones who will talk about the different quarries here. Gwynfor is the mineral agent for the
-8-
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
Caernarfonshire Crown Slate Co, who own the Moel Tryfan site and are presently working
parts of it. As quarries go this is a very picturesque one and the views over to Anglesey are
impressive. The walk will be about 3 km. This trip will probably leave some spare time in
the afternoon for members to do their own looking around the area, where there are lots of
possibilities.
Saturday evening Meet 19:00 for dinner at 19:30 at the Padarn Lake Hotel, High Street,
Llanberis LL55 4SU 01286 870260. A menu is enclosed with this newsletter; please advise Dave Seabourne of your choice of dishes by 9th June.
Sunday 24th June Meet at 09:45 at the car park in Nant Peris at SH 607 583. We will travel
from here on a coach to Pen y Pass and walk to the Brittania copper mine below Snowdon
along the Miners’ Track. Underground trippers need to arrive on time as they will be leaving on the first coach at 10:15. Harold Morris will lead the surface trip and Dave Seabourne
and Paul Smyth will lead the underground trip. This walk will be about 6 km for those just
visiting the mill site and about 9 km for those on the underground trip. The scenery here is
stunning (on a good day) and is a worthy objective in its own right. The underground trip
will involve simple abseiling and SRT and a very tight short squeeze at the entrance. Wellies
are recommended. The underground trip with walking in and out will take about seven hours.
Accommodation
Hotels:
Y Gwynedd Inn,High Street, Llanberis, LL55 4SU 01286 870203 www.gwyneddhotel.com
Padarn Lake Hotel, High Street, Llanberis LL55 4SU 01286 870260 padarnlakehotel.com
Lake View Hotel, Tan y Pant, Llanberis LL55 4EL 01286 870422 www.lakeviewhotel.co.uk
Legacy Royal Victoria Hotel LL55 4TY 01286 870253 www.legacy-hotels.co.uk
Guest Houses:
Erw Fair, High Street, Llanberis LL55 4HA 01286 872400 www.erwfair.com
Glyn Afon, High Street, Llanberis LL55 4HA 01286 872528
Marteg, High Street, Llanberis LL55 4HA 01286 870207
Plas Coch, High Street, Llanberis LL55 4HB 01286 872122
Bron y Graig, Capel Coch Road, Llanberis LL55 4SH 01286 872073
Pete’s Eats, 38–40 High Street, Llanberis LL55 4EU 01286 872096 www.petes-eats.co.uk
Youth Hostels:
Llwyn Celyn, Llanberis LL55 4SR 01286 970280 www.yha.org.uk/hostel/llanberis
Pen y Pass, Nant Gwynant LL55 4NY 01286 870428 www.yha.org.uk/hostel/pen-y-pass
Campsites with facilities for caravans and campervans:
Llwyn Celyn Bach, Capel Coch Road, Llanberis LL55 4SR
01286 870293 www.campingllanberis.com
Plas Gwyn, Llanrug LL55 2AQ 01286 672619 www.plasgwyn.co.uk
Llys Derwen, Llanrug LL55 4RD 01286 763322 www.llysderwen.co.uk
Hafod Llwyfog, Llyn Gwynant LL55 4NW 01286 890340 www.gwynant.com
Rhedynog Felen Fawr, Llanwnda LL54 5TL 01286 831066 www.rhedynog.co.uk/
-9-
Welsh Mines Society
Newsletter 66
Spring 2012
Bunkhouses:
Cae Gwyn, Nant Peris (Mrs Mullane) 01286 870718
Snowdon House, Nant Peris LL55 4SA 01286 650152 www.snowdonhouse.co.uk
Ben’s Bunkhouse LL55 4SA 07500 513765 www.bensbunkhouse.co.uk
Taxis:
Refail Cars 01286 870989
L&G Cabs 01286 870027
Al’s Cabs 01286 971049
13. Autumn 2012 Field Meet
Weekend 21st–24th September 2012 (Friday to Monday)
Location Royal Forest of Dean Organiser Mole
Friday 21st September Underground trip, with explanation of geology and history,
from Old Bow to Old Ham mine taking around three to four hours. Dry, some crawling
and an exposed chimney. Places limited, please contact Mole (mole@grottage.fsworld.
co.uk 01594 833217) to book (withheld phone numbers will not be answered).
Saturday 22nd September morning Meet 10:30 at Noxon Park iron mine SO 5965 0586
for:
a. Surface visit to an area of impressive scowles (shallow pits and deep irregular quarrylike features). Leader Maurice Febry.
b. Underground visit with steep, large open churns (voids). Leaders Barry Dupree and
John Hine.
Saturday afternoon
a. Surface visit: Howlers Slade and Wimberry Slade colliery sites. Leader Maurice Febry.
Meet 14:30 at Hopewell Colliery SO 605 115
b. Underground visit: Old Ham iron mine (easy dry trip). Leader John Hine.
Meet 14:30 at SO 579 084
Saturday evening Meet 18:30 for dinner at 19:00 at the Orepool Inn, Sling, Coleford
GL16 8LH 01594 833883 SO 579 075. A menu is enclosed with this newsletter; please
advise Mole of your choice of dishes by 7th September.
Sunday 23rd September Wigpool iron mine: Meet 10:30 at SO 6527 1958 for:
a. Surface visit. Leader Maurice Febry.
b. Underground visit. A through trip in a large complex of smallish passages dipping
at 35° with two climbs and with artefacts and formations to see. Leader John Hine.
Places limited, please contact Mole to book.
- 10 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
Sunday evening Après-mine DIY BBQ (bring your own food, charcoal provided) at The
Grottage (weather permitting) followed by meals/drinks over the road at the Royal Foresters
Inn www.royalforestinn.co.uk
Monday 24th September Visit to Box underground stone quarries, Wiltshire, finishing
about 16:00. Bring sandwiches. Please contact Mole before the weekend if interested.
Accommodation
Hotels and Inns:
Tudor Farmhouse Hotel, Clearwell 01594 637093 www.tudorfarmhousehotel.co.uk
Wyndham Arms, Clearwell 01594 833666 www.thewyndhamhotel.co.uk
Bells Hotel & Golf Course, Coleford 01594 832583 www.bells-hotel.co.uk
The Fountain Inn, Parkend 01594 562189 www.fountaininnandlodge.co.uk
B&B:
Edale House, Parkend 01594 562 835 www.edalehouse.co.uk
Deanfield, Parkend 01594 562256 www.deanfield.org.uk
Camping:
The Orepool (venue for the Saturday evening dinner) Basic camping (no toilets or showers).
Woodlands View (Orepool ½ mile) 01594 835127 www.woodlandsviewcaravanpark.co.uk
Rushmere Farm 01594 835319 www.forestofdeancamping.co.uk
Local tourist information:
www.visitforestofdean.co.uk
14. Fire Setting
George W. Hall
Sometime ago I searched in the Mining Journal for contemporary descriptions of fire setting, written by people who appeared to have seen it in commercial use, and have found two,
reproduced below. I have in places broken up the text into more paragraphs than the original.
Between 1867 and 1876 Warington Smyth gave a series of lectures on mining at the
Royal School of Mines, which were reported in the MJ. All of these contained some remarks
on fire setting, but only in 1876 was there a fairly full account. This I have reproduced below,
together with paragraphs from 1867 and 1872 which contain some additional information.
There is also a long account in Clausthal Mining School Notes, published in 1876–77.
Professor Smyth’s Lectures on Mining 1867, p. 4. No. XVIII. Fire-setting
… We had no examples in this country, and those abroad were limited to a very few districts,
on account of the expense of firing. It was a system formerly much used in Hungary, but is
kept up chiefly now in Felso-banya, in that country, at Goslar, and in Norway and Sweden,
where it is practised with great advantage … At the mines of Kongensgrube and at Kongsberg this system is worked with great skill, both as to the firing and the ventilation, at very
- 11 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
considerable depths, and in comparison with other methods a saving of 20 or 30%. The arrangement here adopted converts the shaft into an immense chimney, 264 fms. in height, and
a column of air reaching the fire from the drift a splendid combustion is kept up …
1872, p. 137. No. XIX. There is another and an entirely different mode of acting upon
rocks of an extreme hardness known as ‘fire-setting’, which was once extensively used on
the Continent… At Felso-banya, which is the most remarkable place on Europe where this
system is adopted, and where the operation is confined between the two sides of the lode by
the use of an iron frame for the fire, called pregelkatze, the quartz, hornstone, and greenstone
which form the lode, although especially hard, are brought down with great regularity and
effect. At places where the lode is large masses of hundreds of tons sometimes fall in from
the roofs, and by this mischance large cavities are formed – too large to be secured by ordinary means. The only way to deal with such accidents has been found to be that of filling in
the space with refuse properly packed …
1876, p. 298. No. XIX. There is another method of working a way through the rock where
this plan of boring holes for firing explosives is not altogether applicable, that is the method
called ‘fire-setting.’ Pliny briefly mentions the fact of working rocks by means of fire, and
this we know was effected in early times, in two different ways. The first of these, which was
practised in the time of the Romans and in Spain, was that of working out a large excavation
in a hill on which a castle stood, which castle it was desired to destroy …
The second plan, that to which the special name of ‘fire-setting’ has been applied, was
practised largely on the continent of Europe during the middle ages, and there are still several places where it is kept up at the present day, and where it has withstood all attempts to
replace it by the use of explosives. And when we remember that cases occur in Cornwall
where a guinea an inch has been paid for driving an ordinary level, where in some cases £60
to £80 per fathom has been paid for special difficulties, and where (in a case known to the
lecturer) the men worked hard for a whole day, blunting in that time 5½ dozen of tools, and
yet advanced only 1½ inch, we see there is some reason for endeavouring to find a substitute
for the usual method of working.
Several mines in Scandinavia are working either entirely or partially by this method, as
are also the celebrated mines of Rammelsberg, at Goslar, in the Harz, and at Felsobanya, in
the east of Hungary.
Several considerations may be noted which must be looked at in deciding whether it
would be advisable to use this method in any particular case.– 1. Whether the rock, or veinstone, is suited to the method, to determine what experiments will have to be made.– 2. The
price of wood as the most suitable fuel, and the quantity which can be obtained. It is essential that the wood used should burn with a bright quick flame. Various kinds of pine are
most common, but aspen and beech have been used; pieces of about 1 in. or 2 in. thick, and
cut into lengths of 12 in. to 16 in., and then made into small faggots.– 3. The ventilation of
the mine should be good, active, and very definite, otherwise a most serious danger is introduced.– 4. The nature of the ores, whether they would be injured by fire, as are the ores of
mercury.– 5. The strength of the rock, whether it is capable of supporting large excavations,–
6. A careful comparison of expense, so as to see whether any advantage is to be gained by
the use of this method.
- 12 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
Several times in this century, in consequence of the increasing price of fuel, it was questioned whether it was desirable to continue the method, but careful experiments showed that
the progress to be obtained by boring and blasting was so slow that it was better to keep
to the old plan. Some of the deposits so worked are irregular masses, as that of the Rammelsberg; others are irregular lodes, and have therefore moderate sized galleries, as those
of Felsobanya and Kongsberg. The bundles of wood may be introduced into the working by
throwing them down the shaft on to an inclined door, which casts them off into the levels, or
other and longer methods may be used. It is usual to devote a single day to the purpose of firing the stacks of wood which have been built up; and this is generally done on the Saturday
afternoon, so that the firing may be over, and the workings more or less cooled down by the
time the men are ready to go down again on Monday or Tuesday.
At Felsobanya a simple machine, called a Pregelkatze, is employed on which to lay the
burning wood. It is a small iron frame, supported on four legs (like cats’ paws, hence the
name); the top of the frame is inclined downwards towards the face to be worked; it is 2 ft.
6 in. long, slightly wider from front to back, and somewhat arched at the top; it can be set
on the ground, or on a platform of stones, &c, according to the height of part of face to be
worked. Having been placed in the level, the wood is carefully stacked on, and a plate of
iron laid on the top, the wood is lighted, and the draft being duly managed, the flame will
impinge on the face of the rock, the smoke and products of combustion passing back along
the top of the level. The men creep along the floor, and supply fresh wood as required, and
by means of a long forked implement, and another something like a boat-hook, they arrange
the fire to play in the best manner. After this has gone on for some time loud cracks are heard,
the moisture present in the rock being converted into steam. The men leave it now for a time,
and come back to find large pieces of rock scaled off, and much more easily removable by
hammer and gad, and when this is cleared away the process is repeated. At the famous silver
mines of Kongsberg, in Norway, they also drive their levels by fire-setting, and the depth of
this mine is so great (260 fms.) that a very powerful ventilating current is set up, causing the
fire to roar again, and sweeping out rapidly
the products of combustion into a shaft.
Fig. 21 [reproduced here] will illustrate
the manner in which the workings at Rammelsberg Mine have been carried on, this
being on a larger scale that the mines of Felsobanya. A is a level situated in a portion of
the rock which has been worked; BC represents the floor of the present working; D the
rock forming the roof to be worked next; and
E the piles of wood set ready for lighting on
the forenoon of Saturday, in order to work
away the rock at C. Care is taken, of course,
that a sufficient thickness of stone, &c., lies
over the level A (which is supported by timber) to prevent it being injured by the fire.
- 13 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
About every tenth or eleventh stack is omitted, and its place filled up by shavings or some
such material which can be readily lighted by a man passing through the workings with
a torch just before leaving them. The piles of wood are stacked in a way best adapted for
them to burn rapidly, and arranged in series, so as to suit the current of ventilation. In this
manner they work up towards the level above; the question is how much ground should be
left to give you a satisfactory firm foundation. This system of fire setting has been attended
with a very large number of accidents; the ground is so loosened and cracked by the fire that
large slabs are liable to break away suddenly from the hanging wall, and the cracks will be
propagated in parts where sufficient ground has not been left. In climbing up the ladders you
may sometimes see hanging above you masses of rock as large as a cottage; if one of these
should fall it smashes through the weaker parts till it comes to a mass of ground firm enough
to withstand it. The number of lives lost by these means, and the expense of re-forming the
levels, is a great thing to set off against the economy due to fire-setting over the method of
blasting.
Clausthal Mining School Notes, No. XLIV, 1877, p. 1198
Taken by J. Clark Jefferson, being notes on a course of lectures on mining, delivered by Herr
Bergrath, and Dr. Von Groddeck.
This method of winning masses of ore, &c., by means of fire, though now but seldom
used (chiefly in the Harz, Rammelsberg, in Hungary, Saxony, the Erzgebirge, &c.), is of
great antiquity, and appears to have been known to the Egyptians. Pliny mentions it as being
used during the passage of Hannibal over the Alps. Since the invention of gunpowder this
method has become less and less used, and with the discovery of such blasting materials as
dynamite and guncotton its expensiveness and danger attending its use, may be expected
to lead to its abandonment except in very special cases. The inconveniences attending this
method arise from the noxious influences of the gases resulting from combustion, the smoke
of which, besides the annoyance it causes the workmen, blackens the whole face of the lode;
the great heat to which the workmen are exposed, and which causes some of the rocks to
splinter, and occasions the loss of some of the ore as dust; the necessity in many cases of
covering the faces of the miners with a mask, to prevent them from being hurt by the springing of small pieces of rock; the necessity of having a strong air current, not only to feed the
fire, but to prevent the choking of the workmen by the gases from the combustion; the liability of the sudden breaking off of large pieces of rock, which cannot well be distinguished
in the smoke; the inapplicability to some ores, which melt readily, or which, like arsenic
compounds, give off poisonous gases; and the difficulty in many places, not only of keeping
up the fire properly, but of preventing it going out; and from the necessity of making special
arrangements when it is intended to employ this method, or only to do it when all the miners
except those engaged in the fire setting are out of the pit. It is usually effected late in the
afternoon or night, or on Saturday and Sunday.
Fire setting is usually only attempted in massive deposits, where the rock is extremely
compact and dry, though there should be a few cracks to allow of the expansion of the
rock, and where wood is cheap. In carrying out the operation of fire-setting, although not
generally, still in many places, an iron frame or case, called the ‘Pragelkatse.’ [is used] This
- 14 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
consists of a four sided frame, two sides only being parallel. The frame is supported on four
legs at the corners; the end next the face is 18 in. broad, and about 12 in. high, the opposite
end is 30 in. broad and 18 in. high, the frame being 30 in. from end to end. It thus forms the
skeleton of a truncated pyramid. The wood is laid in bundles inside the apparatus, and after
being ignited the sides and top are covered with plates of sheet-iron; the burning wood is
thus held better together, and the draught caused promotes the intensity of the combustion,
and drives the flames out at the smaller end against the face of the rock.
For non-flaming fuel a temporary fire-place must be arranged. This is done by laying
across the end of the level and near to the face two iron rails, from 2½ to 3½ ft. apart, the
one next the face being about 1 ft. above the floor of the level, and that furthest from the
face about 18 in. above the flooring of the level. On these two rails bars of iron, at a suitable
distance apart, are laid lengthways, on which the fuel is placed. Just above the rail farthest
from the face a fire bridge, made of bricks piled loosely together, is placed. The draught
caused by the fire enters beneath the fire-grate, which being inclined downward towards the
face cause the draught to project the flames against the face. It is essential in the use of nonflaming fuel that the draught can enter beneath the fire, which is impossible with the use of
the ordinary Pragelkatze.
In order to effect a saving of labour and to be able to use non-flaming fuel, Hugon has
devised a special apparatus for fire setting. This consists of a box somewhat similar in shape
to a modern parlour coal-scuttle, without any lid at the front end next to the face of the rock.
The upper part of the box at the back forms a short rectangular hopper provided with a lid,
and through which the fuel is introduced during the operation. The apparatus is so arranged
that if necessary it can be fitted with a fire-grate inside, at a height of about 1 ft. from the
bottom. At the back closed end of the apparatus near the bottom is a small round opening, in
which the tuyere from a fan can be inserted. A stopcock, or valve, is fitted in the tuyere, so
as to shut off when desired all communication between the fan and the furnace. The furnace
rests on four wheels, so that it can be readily pushed forward or withdrawn on the rails from
the face of the rock. The fan is driven by means of a strap from some convenient motive
power, which might simply be that of a couple of men turning a small fly wheel. The fire is
first lit with dry wood, and afterwards coal or coke is introduced. After the fire has got hold,
in about 15 minutes, the furnace is pushed forward on the rails close to the working face
to be attacked, the tuyere is inserted and the blast is turned on, a very fine stream of water
in the form of a spray is introduced with the blast. The flames are forced out of the front of
the furnace, and rise in contact with the face to the roof; the intense heat causes the rock to
crack forces of splinters in such a manner that it is necessary for the workman to use a mask
to protect his face. When any large cracks have been formed, so as to loosen masses of rock
the furnace is quickly withdrawn, and the face quenched with a stream of water, which must
be led to the spot in a hose pipe. When the face is sufficiently cool to be approached the
miners pull down remove the loose pieces, when the furnace is pushed forward as before.
According to Hugon a level 4 ft. broad and 6 ft. high, at the Chalanges Mine, in France, was
advanced 5 ft. in 55 hours with this apparatus, whilst from 24 to 30 days were required for
the same advance with two workmen blasting in the ordinary manner.
Fire setting is usually carried on in three different ways, according to the portion or
- 15 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
position of the rock to be attacked – viz. ‘Seitonbrand’, ‘Firstenbrand’, and ‘Sohlenbrand’;
which, for the want of better names, we shall designate respectively as end, roof, and floor
fire setting.
End fire setting is generally effected by laying faggots of wood in an inclined position
(about 70°) against the end or face to be attacked, sometimes directly on the floor, but best
resting on a low wooden frame, or cross pieces. Shavings, and or other readily inflammable
substances are placed next to or leaning on the face, the back sides of the faggots being
loosely covered with moist earth, &c., obtained in the mine, so as to concentrate the heat
against the end. When fire-setting is carried out at Rammelsberg, in the Harz, on a large
scale, several rows of faggots are not only placed behind but upon one another. The foundation upon which they rest is usually formed by placing two logs of wood at right angles to
the face (that is in the direction of the level). On these several faggots are laid crossways in
such a manner as to leave 3 to 4 in. space between the faggots. On these the rest are piled
inclined against the face. When the pragelkatze is used for end fire setting, and for which it
is most suitable, the smaller end is directed towards the face, so that the flames strike against
and sweep the face. The sticks or faggots, about 2 ft. long, are placed in the frame and ignited, the sides and top being covered by sheet-iron plates, which are kept in their place by
stones &c., laid on the top and against the sides.
Roof fire setting, as might be expected, is the simplest and most effective. It is most
usually carried out by first laying a couple of faggots or logs on the floor, and upon these a
second at right-angles to the first. The space between these is filled with light shavings or
brushwood, by which the heap is to be ignited. On the second couple a third row is laid in a
horizontal position, and crosswise with the one below. This row may consist of three or four
faggots. The next row above is laid crosswise to this last, and may consist of four or five faggots; the heap is thus piled up near the top or roof; the faggots being placed closer towards
the top, in order to hold the fire together until the whole has been burnt through. The lower
portion of the fire being this more open allows of a better upward current in the centre of the
pile. When a considerable length of roof is to be attacked it is usual to place several piles at
a short distance apart, and to ignite them simultaneously.
Floor fire setting is a very ineffective method of attacking the ground. When this is done
simply by laying faggots on the ground and igniting them the top of the heap is usually covered with pieces of the lode or country rock. To attack the floor it is most advantageous to
use some mechanical appliance, like Hugon’s furnace, which we have described, in which,
however, the opening is directed downwards.
In driving levels or drifts by fire setting it is most usual to commence to attack, and form
a sort of advanced (3 or 4 ft. at most) drift by means of the pragelkatze, and then to attack
the sides and roof by end and roof fire setting. In working very thick lodes or massive deposits the attack is commenced in a manner similar to that in the case of drifts, the space is
afterwards enlarged towards the sides and roof by means of side and roof fire setting. After
the fire has burnt out the pieces which have fallen are left on the floor, and a fresh pile laid
upon them until the working has attained a proper height. It may even be necessary to build
a temporary wall of stones, or to support the pile on cross iron bars, if the working is to be
carried very high, and which will be done by roof fire setting. In narrow lodes over stoping
- 16 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
will be carried on both by means of side and roof fire setting, under stoping will be effected
only by side fire setting. In order to prevent the sides of the lodes being injured in case where
it is of importance loose stones will be piled against the walls of the lode on both sides of
the fire to protect them.
Sinking can be but with difficulty carried by means of fire setting. The old miners before
the invention of gunpowder in sinking commenced with a very narrow shaft, which was
effected with the use of the gad or wedge and hammer, and afterwards enlarging by means
of side fire setting.
The fuel employed in fire setting is chiefly wood, best that which burns with considerable
flame. The use of non-flaming fuel, such as coke and brown coal, can only be effective when
the fire is kept up and promoted by mechanical means, and this applies to a great extent to
the use of ordinary coal.
Comments
It will be seen that in neither of these accounts is there mention of water being thrown or
played, upon the face being worked in order to assist in shattering it.
Another important nineteenth-century account is that given by Arthur L. Collins in the
Transactions of the Federated Institution of Mining Engineers, Volume 5, 1892–93, pp. 82–
92. But I believe this is fairly well known, and there are some details in the two accounts I
have reproduced, which were more contemporary with actual operations, and which are not
in Collins.
15. Cwmbyr Mine
Graham Levins and David James
Over the last three years the WMPT has held several working weekends at Cwmbyr carrying
out a survey and archaeological excavations. The wooden remains at the mine are in an exceptional condition; we excavated the two buddles: one has a complete wooden framework
remaining and the other has a complete wooden deck. Adjacent is the pit that contained the
small waterwheel that drove the buddles; the bottom half of the waterwheel is still in situ.
On the dressing floor the bottom half of the jigger remains, along with a maze of launders
leading to the bases of various wooden boxes including the base of a square buddle.
Interpretation of the site is very difficult as there appear to have been two or possibly
three different periods of operation – despite much research we have been unable to discover
any details of the mine’s early period of working; every time we answer one question, we
end up with two more! Our task is made difficult by the planting of forestry, in the late 1960s,
and the driving of a forestry road through the site. If anyone has any information on the mine
before 1860 I would be pleased to hear from them.
In summer 2011 the drainage adit from the shaft was reopened and an underground survey carried out by the writers. The adit lies at 10 fathoms below shaft collar. It leads to a
short drift on an ENE-trending lode and then via a crosscut to another drift on an E-trending
lode. The latter is unfortunately backfilled with deads and largely inaccessible. A collapse
- 17 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
on this lode does not correspond with the surface position of the engine shaft but it seems
likely that there was communication via a crosscut to allow the adit to discharge water from
pumping (i.e. reduce head). On completion the adit was re-sealed for safety reasons. The
shaft is blocked with many years of dumping but does have the pump-rod still in place,
the top being visible above the infill. David Seabourne was unsuccessful in an attempt to
gain underground access by roping down the shaft. Correlation of the lodes seen to those
reported in the Mining Journal is not yet clear and a new hunt for lode outcrop at surface
seems desirable.
There is much more work to be carried out at Cwmbyr, which will continue in 2012.
WMS members are more than welcome to come along to one of our weekends (see website
for dates) to assist or just have a look at what we are doing there. If anyone would like a
disc of photographs please contact Graham (01293 510567, graham.levins@btinternet.com).
The Trust is most grateful to the landowner Mr Huw Denman for granting permission for
our work there.
16. Bushell’s Adit at Bronfloyd
Roger Bird
The level at Bronfloyd described by Simon Timberlake (NL 65 item 56) certainly appears
to be old, but is it Bushell’s adit? Simon dismisses the other contender, that on the banks of
Nant Silo, without explanation, but I am not so sure. It may now be impossible to decide one
- 18 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
way or the other due to lack of records, but I can at least put forward the data left to us and
allow you to reach your own conclusions.
In Bushell’s Remonstrance, Bronfloyd is identified as one of the five mountains where
he ‘cut through the maine Rockes … at their lowest levell’ and in the miners’ certificate it
describes the levels cut at these five sites: ‘six hundred Fathome through the Rock at the
lowest levels, North and South, for discovering the lost veyne of cum-sum lock, lying East
and West, two hundred Fathome through the Mountaine of Tallybont, at sixty Fathome perpendicular, three severall Addits at Kogincan, one above another, twenty, and thirty Fathome
center, another at the Darren, to come under the Romans worke, at an hundred Fathome
center, another at Bryn-Lloyd fifty Fathom in length, and thirty Fathome Center’. At least
some of these values have been rounded and the height difference at Darren is 50 fathoms
not 100 so caution is needed. Nevertheless, it gives us three criteria to apply to Bronfloyd,
an adit 50 fathoms long at a low level on the hillside that is at a depth of 30 fathoms below
some unspecified, but meaningful, datum.
Simon’s level, that at SN 660 834 on the 130 m contour (not as stated by Simon), scales
off from Lewis Morris’s plan as 60 fathoms long, which is fine as it could have been extended, whilst the Nant Silo adit was 50 fathoms long to Shaft No. 1 where it reached one of
the major veins. Therefore, both levels meet the 50 fathom length criterion.
Neither level at its end is anything like 30 fathoms deep so for this criterion we have to
look for some significant feature 30 fathoms above each of the levels. For Simon’s level,
it takes us to an area of featureless sloping pasture above the mine workings at about the
185 m contour where I can find nothing of significance. Go, however, 30 fathoms higher
than the Nant Silo adit and the old surface workings shown by Lewis Morris are reached.
The Nant Silo adit is clearly the better fit in this case.
The third criterion is that the Bushell adit should be at the lowest level. Neither adit is at
the lowest level physically possible, but the Nant Silo adit is much the lower and the strategy
used is very compatible with Bushell’s adit at Darren in that it uses a fairly short cross-cut
to gain access to the veins at the lowest practicable level, presumably with the intention of
driving from there along the vein under the old workings. It is perhaps worth pointing out
that the Bushell extract tells us how much work was undertaken without going on to say
whether that work was fruitful or not. I strongly suspect that at Bronfloyd, Bushell’s miners
reached the vein, but found nothing encouraging and abandoned the venture. The alternative,
Simon’s level, gives access to the veins after a drive of about 35 fathoms, but at a depth of
only a few fathoms which cannot be reconciled with Bushell’s claim.
It is clear from the above that the case for the Nant Silo adit being Bushell’s level is far
from being the impossibility that Simon suggests, it being actually the better fit to Bushell’s
data. Nevertheless, I think it is only fair to point out one possibly fatal flaw in my argument,
that it is based on the assumption that the Nant Silo adit is old enough. Proof of this is lacking and however good the match may be with Bushell’s data, the possibility exists that it is
not old enough to be Bushell’s adit.
The earliest date for this level that I can be certain about is 1762 when Lewis Morris’s
letters to his brother, Richard, tell of the discovery of ore on land adjacent to Bronfloyd/
Bryn Llwyd that was not owned by Pryse of Gogerddan. These adventurers were, as Morris
- 19 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
puts it, ‘stark mad for the use of my level there … for their mine is worth them but a trifle
without my level, and I have lately lock’d it up’ (The Letters of Lewis … Morris of Anglesey,
1728–1765, ed. J.H. Davies (1907), p. 449). Which level, Simon’s or Nant Silo, was Morris referring to? The only non-Pryse land in the immediate vicinity of Bronfloyd was that
of Llechwedd-hen (by virtue of Queen Anne’s Bounty, but I do not know the details). It is
hard to see any relationship between that land and Simon’s level, but the Nant Silo adit was
actually on and under Llechwedd-hen land and, undoubtedly, would have been coveted by
adventurers there so I have no doubt that it was the level Morris referred to. It could be that
Morris drove the Nant Silo adit himself, but that seems unlikely in view of the fact that it
was not on Pryse land and Morris mentions a dispute over it. More probably, it was an old
adit that Morris extended. Unfortunately, it is off the edge of Morris’s plan of 1744/5 so any
further progress back in time is problematical.
The Mine Adventurers did have a lease of 1702 from Lewis Pryse of ‘Gogarthen’ for
all the mines and minerals of lead and copper in ‘Lanbederne Vawer’ which would include
Bronfloyd, but I have seen nothing to indicate that they actually worked the mine. In 1708
it is not even listed amongst those mines not being worked for want of stock. Going back a
little further, Bronfloyd is not listed by Sir John Pettus in 1670 (Fodinae Regales) as one of
the chief silver-producing mines then working. Before that, we have Bushell who we know
did drive a level at Bronfloyd so if Morris did not start the Nant Silo adit then Bushell must
be a strong candidate, but that is hardly a valid proof.
If the Nant Silo adit is Bushell’s, how old is Simon’s level? Looking at the extract from
Bushell’s Remonstrance, the word ‘center’ is used in respect of depth measurements for
Darren, Kogincan (Goginan) and Bryn Lloyd. I am not sure about Darren, but for Goginan,
the word relates to measurements from centre to centre of three adits. Two of those adits are
given as 30 fathoms apart, but the work on Goginan (3-foot adit) showed the actual measurement to be 26 fathoms. At Bronfloyd, Simon’s adit is close to 26 fathoms higher than the
Nant Silo adit so the possibility exists that Bushell’s miners were saying that his adit was 30
fathoms below the lowest pre-existing adit. Unfortunately, this is one of those conjectures
that can neither be proven nor disproven, but, if valid, then the level must pre-date Bushell
and a suggested attribution would be to Sir Hugh Myddelton.
As for the other issue, if I understand Simon correctly, the level he refers to as coming
off the main adit along the second NE–SW vein runs in a westerly direction for an unspecified distance before there is a final 5 m length of pick-cut old level. Lewis Morris shows a
branch, but only a very short one suggesting that the level was extended after his survey of
around 1744, but leaving no evidence of the use of gunpowder. Since gunpowder was in use
in several mines in Cardiganshire in 1692, according to surviving records, there appears to
be an anomaly here, but not necessarily so. If the miners, who had to pay for any gunpowder
they used, simply used a central charge to make a starter hole and to fracture the surrounding
rocks they could then open out the hole to the full dimensions of the tunnel by hand thereby
removing all evidence of the initial blast and giving a result indistinguishable from a handcut level. This would explain a number of ‘Roman’ levels that evidence suggests are later
than the introduction of gunpowder.
Perhaps the most interesting level on the site is the very small one mentioned by Simon.
- 20 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
Surely this warrants further investigation, but the mouth appears to be blocked by a large
boulder.
There is much here to pick over because dating old levels is full of uncertainties that
neither archaeologists nor historians can easily resolve. Can anybody else add useful input
or are we left with David Bick’s comment, ‘The site of Bushell’s adit is a matter for conjecture’?
17. A Hawarden Colliery Accident
Christopher Williams
The following description of a near-disastrous colliery accident in a small coal pit near
Sandycroft, on the River Dee, was written on the flyleaf of one of the registers of Hawarden,
Flintshire, by Hugh Jones, the curate of the parish. The mine blacksmith had been lowered
down the shaft (120 yards deep) in a bucket suspended from a horse whim. There must have
been hundreds of these simple windlasses, powered by one or two horses, at the local coal
pits and lead mines. Hugh Jones was a well-educated man (Ruthin School and the Queen’s
College, Oxford), and his account (quoted verbatim below) uses his vocabulary rather than
the unfortunate blacksmith’s.
‘On the 4th of January 1784 George Wainwright, blacksmith, of Pentrobin [in the parish
of Hawarden] went down Sandicroft coal pit in the morning to bleed the horses there, as
being the only day [‘Sunday’ inserted] on which they were not worked. Having done his
business, and landing at the pit’s mouth, he put one foot out of the bucket on the treading
board, by which means he lightened the bucket, which immediately kicked up on account of
the ropes being shortened by the frost that then happened, and so tossed him headlong down
the pit. Providentially in that situation, with his head downward, he had the good fortune to
catch hold of the other rope at about ten yards depth, and grasped it so well that he did not
slide down it above five yards more before he was able to maintain his hold, and so suspend
himself by it, during which time he had the greatest presence of mind and undauntedness
of heart, I heard him say, he ever experienced. He then, in that situation, called to the peo-
- 21 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
ple that were above to fetch such a man of his acquaintance, in whom he had the greatest
confidence to land him, and directed them how to do it. But when he was landed and found
himself safe, his firmness departed, and he burst into an exceeding great flood of tears at his
providential and rather miraculous escape. His mind was so agitated with the thoughts of his
late danger as to make him take to his bed all that day, and [he] was sometime after unwell.
The only corporal hurt he received was the rubbing off of a little of the skin of one or two of
his fingers by the rope. NB the pit was 120 yards deep.’
The accompanying illustration from Robert Hunt’s British Mining (1887) shows a horse
whim similar to the one described in the account above. Since George Wainwright had just
been raised to the surface in one basket, and was clutching the rope supporting the other one,
those at the surface would have to turn the horse around to bring him up again.
The account is from the Hawarden register of baptisms and burials 1771–1804 (Flintshire
Record Office, P/28/1/8).
News
18. Brynyrafr Mine Anyone walking around the Nantymoch mines is advised to take
care at Brynyrafr where the No. 1 Shaft has opened up to surface. It was probably originally
covered over by timber which has now rotted. This shaft is outside of the fence and just below the track. The hole is about 50 feet south-east of the main shaft. It is well-nigh invisible
until you’re within a few yards of it. The edges of the hole are very crumbly and there are
subsidence cracks in the turf for a few yards around the hole suggesting that further superficial deposits will in due course tumble in, forming a crater. Standing water level in the hole
is around 40 feet down – i.e. at the level of the reservoir. The hole and the main shaft both
lie on the lode and stopes can be seen extending off to the south-east from the main shaft,
beneath the new hole.
An even more difficult-to-spot hole has opened up 100 yards north-west of the Davey
Shaft at Glog Fawr. It’s about 4 feet in diameter and also drops immediately into a deep
stope. It lies about 15 yards east of the vaguely north–south fence that extends northwards
from the Davey Shaft development rock tips.
Roy Fellows and Robert Protheroe Jones
19. Clogau Gold Mine (NL 65 item 25)­ A further report on this mine has appeared in the
press (Western Mail 11th February 2012). Ed McDermott, managing director of Gold Mines
of Wales, now says he hopes for mining to start in 18 to 24 months.
It is understood that the court case concerning the legal dispute mentioned in NL 65 has
been put back to June 2012. A further report on this matter can be found at http://www.demotix.com/news/1060291/famous-gold-mine-legal-dispute-dolgellau
Dave Linton
20. Prince Edward Gold Mine The adit entrance has been gated and a new fence erected
around the open stope. It seems that the mine is under an ‘Exclusive Option’ (which apparently is a new term for an Exploration Licence).
AditNow website
- 22 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
21. Henfwlch The winze that Roy Fellows dug out some years back and which has been
unstable for some time (see NL 59 item 36) is now open again. The upper part of the winze
has been secured with concrete and steel (with no timbers to move or rot). The surrounding
area is packwalled up to the roof.
Roy Fellows
22. Aberdyfi The recent ‘detective’ work
at Aberdyfi by Roger Bird (NL 65 item 12)
has stimulated further archival research and
field survey on this particularly poorly documented group of workings. On 11th February
2012, through the good offices of local historian Paul Fowles, we (David James, John
Mason, Roy Fellows and Dave Linton) were
able to enter and survey the deep adit at
SN 6124 9602 behind the former Post Office
in the Victorian terrrace on the west of the
town (David Bick’s Corbet Dovey). Specimens collected from our survey are under
investigation for their mineral parageneses
and there is scope for excavation and further
survey. All being well we hope to have some
firm conclusions by autumn. Ongoing work
has been aided by the 1837 and 1984 geological maps and an ‘engineer’s impression’
section of the workings under what later beDave Linton (tape monkey) and David James
came known as Balkan Hill, which are not
(surveyor)
Roy Fellows
linked to the adit that we surveyed.
We were also able to verify that the Penhelig workings on the east of the town were for
slate slab, not metal.
David James
23. Llywernog Mine From 1st January 2012 the Llywernog Mine site has been leased to a
new company Silver Mine Attractions Ltd. The site will become more commercial in nature
with a Tolkien-like theme to the extended underground tour which will enter on a new steel
walkway via the Western end opencut and exit upstairs at the back of the main building.
With revamped shop, cafe, panning area, green zone and waterplay zone plus a woodland
experience of myth and legend, the site should attract greater numbers of people and be
more financially viable.
As far as mining heritage is concerned there will be a new display (opening Whitsun
2012) in the compressor house and associated buildings in which artefacts will be properly
looked after and displayed in logical sequence, and permission has been granted to use
the Ystrad Einion animation [see item 62 – Ed.] as the new show in the AV centre. Underground, the natural mineral fluorescence will be highlighted in the big stope chamber with
multiple UV sources. Mineral displays will occupy the top deck of the crusher house. The
- 23 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
waterwheels will all be repaired, launders replaced and the line shafting in the jigger shed
will be operational. The new company is 50% owned by the Harvey family who are also
the landlords. To ensure continuity, Peter Harvey will be Mine Manager for at least three
seasons. Recruitment and training is on target for Easter.
Peter Lloyd Harvey
24. Mid-Wales Windfarm Schemes (NL 65 item 64) The Welsh Mines Preservation
Trust have been involved in consultations about the Nantymoch and Mynydd Y Gwynt (Wye
Valley) schemes.
Nantymoch: About three years ago Graham Levins was contacted by the consultants
for the original scheme about mine remains within the area affected. He sent them detailed
maps with all the known mines shown. About two years ago they advised him that the area
of the scheme was to be extended and they asked him to send them maps for the revised area,
which he did. He also impressed upon them that the proposed works around Bwlchglas mine
were not a good idea because of the underground workings. The Trust is watching developments on this.
Mynydd Y Gwynt (Wye Valley): Graham replied on behalf of the Trust to the consultation document, advising of Wye Valley, West Wye Valley and Nantiago mines in the area.
Graham made a site visit to the Wye Valley mines which he understands will not be affected
At Nantiago it was planned to use and widen the track above the mine for access and transport. However, the underground workings pass under this track and an illustrated report on
the workings at Nantiago was submitted to the project archaeologist. Following a site visit
the archaeologist contacted Graham to say that she now had updated scheme drawings and
no upgrading or use of the track in question is proposed for construction. She also said that
she has highlighted the dangers of the underground workings and recommended that the
track be clearly signed as off limits to HGVs and plant for the duration of construction and
also be marked as such on the site plans. Access to the track is currently blocked by a locked
gate at the plantation to the south which should also help avoid any accidental damage to
mine, people or vehicles as a result of wrong turnings.
Graham Levins
25. Dolaucothi Gold Mine National Trust have been advertising for a manager for Dolaucothi Gold Mine (vacancy reference NT12/07641, closing date 24th February 2012) following the departure of the previous incumbent who had worked there for six years. The salary
offered is £19,112 per annum.
BBC news website 6th February 2012
26. Lloyds Spar Mine This mine (a.k.a. Hendre Spar Mine) has provoked considerable
interest within the north Wales underground exploring community because of the unusual
lowering of the water level in it during the autumn of 2011. The water level fell by perhaps
10 m and allowed access to a working level around 800 m long to a forehead containing
various artefacts from the time of closure (1980?). At least one lower level remained under
water and it was hoped that the water level would continue to drop and so provide access
to it. However reports over the winter suggest that the water level has now risen towards
its previous height, so any lower levels in the mine are unlikely to become accessible, other
than by divers, in the near future.
Dave Linton
- 24 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
27. Parys Mountain Anglesey Mining plc has announced that it has recommenced diamond drilling at Parys Mountain in a programme designed to identify the extent of near surface locations of the Engine Zone mineralisation. As previously announced on 2 December
2011, an Induced Polarisation (IP) geophysical survey and an associated Deep Overburden
(DOB) geochemical survey were conducted during December. These surveys have provided
good guidance for the location of holes for the drilling programme.
The initial stage of drilling will consist of four holes totalling in excess of 800 metres of
drilling and is expected to be completed in five to six weeks. Subject to results obtained from
these first holes it is planned to drill a further six to eight holes. These second stage shallower holes are likely to be located between the current holes and the target area identified
from the IP and DOB surveys. The drilling is targeting the potential sub-outcrop location
of the Engine Zone mineralisation which has been shown to be a major resource bearing
structure around the bottom of the Morris Shaft at some 300 to 400 metres below surface.
Previous exploration, particularly during the last drilling programme at Parys Mountain in
2007 and 2008, traced the Engine Zone upwards to a depth of about 200 metres. Providing
the existence of the Engine Zone at these shallower depths can be defined in sufficient size
and continuity it could enhance the development of the nearby White Rock zone as a relatively small decline based mining operation. Planning permissions for such an operation and
for an associated processing plant remain in place.
As the results from the current phase of drilling are received a review of the mining
and production options available for the White Rock and potential shallow Engine Zone
resources will be carried out to identify the optimum mining and processing routes available and to generate capital and operating cost estimates. Subject to satisfactory and timely
completion of both phases of the current drilling programme and receipt of analytical data
it is expected that both these reviews will be completed during the second quarter of 2012.
Anglesey Mining plc 11th January 2012
28. Mona Mine Parys Underground Group are continuing their exploration of Mona Mine.
A major digging project has provided access to a previously unexplored section of the mine
and, as an example of progress being made, Dave Linton was privileged in March to be the
first to abseil into ‘new ground’ (i.e. unentered in recent times) on the 10 fathom level. The
two PUG members in the party then pushed on through waist-deep water to reach a stope
where more rigging was required (Dave declined this dubious pleasure).
Dave Linton
29. Cwm Rheidol Mine The Environment Agency Wales has announced that the pilot
project (designed by Newcastle University) to treat heavy metal pollution in the outflow
from this mine has been successful. The water flows by gravity though tanks which contain
a mixture of compost, cockle shells and limestone. BBC news website 16th December 2011
30. Dyfed Lead Mines At the Welsh Industrial Archaeology Panel annual meeting in
Aberystwyth in May 2011, Robert Protheroe-Jones, attending on behalf of National Museum Wales, reported on the Dyfed Lead Mines Project. This is a joint NMW, Dyfed Archaeological Trust and RCAHMW project building on a 1993 study of Ceredigion mines for
- 25 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
the Commission (Uplands Archaeology Initiative) but now broadened to include the rest
of Dyfed. The project involves site visits (revisits in the case of Ceredigion) and publication. Revisits have highlighted the pressures on upland sites with ongoing natural processes
contributing to decay. Forestry felling has allowed access to some sites otherwise obscured.
Some infilling of sites has been necessary to prevent grazing livestock falling into wheelpits, for example. Elsewhere sites have been fenced. Industrial encroachment has affected
some sites, for example Frongoch. At one site BMX obstacles have been created despite
the dangers of wind-blown dust. Quantification of site loss in relation to land use has highlighted recording priorities. A final report will be produced in two years time.
WIAP draft minutes of meeting 24th May 2011
31. Mining Journal Digitisation In response to recent (December) queries, it is reported
that the Atlanterra project to digitise the Mining Journal is in hand and progress has been
made. However, the project is not straightforward and problems have been encountered, but
significant advances have been made. An announcement will be made on progress when a
definitive point in the project is reached.
Peter Claughton
32. Great Orme Mine Rescue On 19th November 2011 North Wales Cave Rescue Organisation responded to a call-out at 11:15am for a caver (male, 50s) who had fallen approximately 20 feet in a rift about 200 feet below ground in the Great Orme copper mines in
Llandudno. The casualty had sustained a suspected broken ankle and was beyond two short
ladder pitches, a hand and knees crawl and a tight section. Following a full team call-out
24 team members attended what was the first underground incident in North Wales involving NWCRO in a casualty evacuation for a number of years. Following administration of
painkillers and application of an ankle splint the casualty was able to effectively self-rescue
himself with team assistance and hauling on the pitches, reaching the surface around 15:05,
almost 5 hours after the incident. The casualty was transported by ambulance to hospital and
endured a four-hour operation for a broken heel.
NWCRO website
33. Gwydyr Mines Access and Conservation Group (NL 65 item 23) A meeting was
held at Betws-y-Coed on Wednesday 29th February to discuss the constitution of this group,
the object of which is to manage an access agreement with the Forestry Commission to
mines in the Gwydyr Forest. The meeting was well attended with representatives from most
caving and mine exploration groups in North Wales and Shropshire plus professionals from
outdoor educational centres (who take groups into mines) and individuals with commercial
interests. A proposed name (Snowdonia Mines Access and Conservation Group) and a draft
constitution were put before the meeting.
Key points agreed at the meeting were:
• The group should be constituted and continue discussions with the FC.
• The group should be named the Gwydyr Mines Access and Conservation Group to reflect the geographical boundaries of the group’s interests. The group may also attempt
to resolve other access issues on a case by case basis if necessary. Membership of the
group would be open to all interested parties.
- 26 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
• As far as agreement with the FC allows there should be unrestricted access to the Gwydyr forest mines. It is not the intention of the group to gate or physically restrict access
to any mine unless specifically required by the FC or other statutory bodies. If this is
necessary the reasons will be fully publicised.
• Should the FC agree that a national agreement negotiated with the Cambrian Caving
Council would suffice to manage access in Gwydyr Forest then the group would be
disbanded.
• To date the group has been funded by the initial founders from the professional side.
Appropriate grants may be sought; however it may become necessary to seek funding
through the membership. Should this occur this would be proportional to usage and
hence it is expected that individual member contributions would be less than those of
a professional or club. There would be no intention to seek any funding other than the
minimum necessary to sustain the group.
• Various amendments were made to the draft constitution. In general these made the
constitution less restrictive on procedural and administrative matters.
• A committee was elected with members from both the recreational and professional
mine users.
The next step will be to publish the revised constitution and keep participants informed
about negotiations with the FC.
based on GMACG statement 2nd March 2012
[Formal minutes of the meeting are now available at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/63623071/
GMACG_Minutes.pdf – Ed.]
34. Dorothea Slate Quarry Penygroes Holdings, who have bought the quarry, have announced plans to develop the site into a tourism and leisure resort which could include a
diving and activity centre and a hotel. The company intends to submit an outline planning
application to clear excess slate waste and improve access routes. If the application is approved, site clearance would start in 2012 with building work commencing within the next
18 months.
Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald 15th March 2012
35. Twll Balast An environmental study carried out by Environ UK Ltd has found that although there was anecdotal information suggesting Twll Balast (part of Dorothea Quarry at
Nantlle) was ‘heavily contaminated’ after being used as a waste dump during the 1980s and
early 1990s, and could pose a risk to local controlled waters, there is no evidence to support
this.
Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald 22nd March 2012
36. Cwmorthin Slate Quarry The Friends of Cwmorthin group was formed some years
following a collapse at the portal of the main adit where it passes through tipped material. A
group of individuals raised funds, sourced materials and restored the adit with new timber
and steel. The landowner gave permission for these works on the condition that the adit was
gated and access controlled in a sensible way. (See NL 57 item 23)
After the adit was restored and gated, FoC remained in existence to oversee further
projects, maintain the gate, administer access and so forth. It was registered as a BCA Access
- 27 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
Controlling Body and insured as such.
Shortly after, the FoC sanctioned other repair projects within the quarry (for example
see NL 58 item 23). This work was viewed unfavourably by the landowner and FoC were
requested to cease further works of any kind. The landowner expressed great concern with
individuals continuing to enter the quarry because of his perceived liability for accidents
in there, although he stopped short of disallowing access. The situation became bleaker
still when FoC learnt early this year that the landowner was in discussion with a company
interested in a lease for exploratory drilling and quarrying. Had this happened, access to the
quarry would probably have been lost.
After discussion with the landowner FoC have negotiated a long-term lease on the quarry
which includes permission to carry out maintenance projects. This provides an income for
the landowner and secures access for explorers. The landowner is satisfied with this arrangement and understandably pleased to not have the weight of liability on his shoulders.
The cost of the lease is being paid for privately rather than by donations to FoC (which
in any case would not come close to covering the cost). It is intended to try to recoup the
cost by offering adventure trips though the quarry to visiting tourists. This will not affect the
quarry or access to it, just provide a revenue stream to keep the lease paid.
FoC hope that the quarry and its dedicated enthusiasts can be an exemplar of how an access agreement can work without needless bureaucracy and provide unhindered access to
everyone.
based on a statement from FoC, September 2011
37. Bolt Tests in Slate A group of north-west Wales centre and commerical operators have
performed load tests on various types of bolts used for SRT anchors. The results can be seen
at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/63623071/Slate%20Bolting%20Project.pdf
38. Penrhyn Quarry A planning application (C11/1113/16/LL) has been made by Treetop
Adventure, Betws y Coed, to erect two zipwires (one across the flooded quarry twll) plus car
parking facilities and a temporary administrative building at Penrhyn Slate Quarry.
39. Wrysgan Quarry It seems that the cylinder block from the steam winch at the head
of the exit incline has ‘disappeared’. From photographs it seems as if in September 2007 it
was in situ in the engine frames with the piston rods and connecting rods more or less intact;
by April 2009 it had been removed from the frames and had the piston rods cut off, and
by August 2011 it was no longer there. It is not known whether it has been taken by scrap
metal thieves or ‘collectors’. It is also not known how the item was moved, as it might have
weighed as much as 150 kg, though one suggestion is that it might have been thrown down
the exit incline tunnel and then dragged down the incline to a vehicle on the Stwlan dam
road below.
It is also reported that at Wrysgan a slate dressing machine top casting had been smashed
recently in order to get the E.R. Owen name plate from it.
40. Dinorwig Quarry A number of small items such as a valve handwheel, a gear wheel,
a rail chair and two cast iron electric cable covers taken from Dinorwig Quarry have ap- 28 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
peared on eBay. The seller, who appears to be based in Penmaenmawr, describes the items as
historic slate quarry artefacts, says where in the quarry they were taken from and continues
‘The quarries are extremely significant in terms of quarrying/mining heritage. Artefacts such
as [these] are one-offs with the majority held in local mining museums. Now you have a
chance to own a piece of that industrial heritage. These items make great fireplace feature
additions or wall hangings.’ The seller says he has permission from site owners First Hydro
to do this.
Dave Linton (above four items)
41. Slate Order Cwt y Bugail (formerly called Manod) and Llechwedd quarries near
Blaenau Ffestiniog are to supply 50,000 slates to Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd as they upgrade homes in Blaenau Ffestiniog to bring them up to the Welsh Housing Quality Standard.
The slates will be used to replace roofs on 40 homes.
Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald 8th March 2012
42. Falcon Hildred Drawings The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded £46,700 to the
RCAHMW to acquire a collection of over 600 original drawings and watercolours of industrial sites and townscapes by Falcon Hildred. Falcon has lived in Blaenau Ffestiniog
since 1969 and his many drawings of the town and the surrounding quarries are sufficiently
detailed to provide a useful historical record.
RCAHMW website 26th March 2012
43. Milwr Tunnel (1) United Utilities conducted an inspection of the tunnel from Hereward shaft and commenced a major reconstruction of the tunnel outfall at Bagillt in autumn
2011. An information board has been erected at the outfall.
Grosvenor Caving Club newsletter
44. Milwr Tunnel (2) Flintshire County Councillor for Bagillt West, Mike Reece, has
suggested that the water outflow from the Milwr Tunnel be used to generate electricity. Cllr
Reece says he has spoken to employees at the Kingspan factory in Greenfield who, he says,
seemed keen on the idea and say they will look into it; however, there is no mention of concrete proposals in the newspaper article.
Daily Post 10th March 2012
45. Clive Engine House Denbighshire county archaeologists have secured grants from
WREN and Cadw for the restoration of the Clive engine house at Talargoch Mine, Dyserth.
BBC News website 23rd March 2012
46. Survey of Pembrokeshire Slate Quarries RCAHMW Investigators Sue Fielding and
Spencer Smith have been undertaking survey work at the Rosebush and Bellstone slate quarries, near the village of Rosebush, Pembrokeshire. Working in conjunction with the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and the quarry owner, the surviving buildings and structures
are being recorded in order to monitor their condition. As well as providing an important
resource for the National Park staff to aid them in the conservation of the site, the work will
also feature in a forthcoming book on the archaeology of the Welsh slate industry which is
being produced by the Royal Commission.
RCAHMW website 23rd January 2012
- 29 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
47. Pen-y-Bryn Quarry Engine A computer animation is to be produced as part of the
Atlanterra Project of the steam engine which formerly powered a slate mill at Pen-y-Bryn
Quarry, Nantlle. The engine was probably built by the Mather Company and has some embellishments, suggesting that it was built to power something more prestigious before it
found its way to the Nantlle valley in the late 1850s. The next stage will be to record all the
component parts of the engine, currently stored at the National Slate Museum in Llanberis,
and compare them to a reconstruction drawing by the artist Falcon Hildred, in order to
understand how the engine worked. This information will then be passed to the animation
company commissioned to carry out the work, and will be available for the public to view
by the summer of 2012.
RCAHMW website 16th February 2012
48. Clydach Gorge The A465 road through the Clydach Gorge is to be made dual carriageway. This will involve extensive civil engineering works. Whilst there appear to be no
actual mine sites affected, the works will be close to and possibly affect Llanelly Furnace
(scheduled monument), Clydach Ironworks (scheduled monument), the Brecknock & Abergavenny Canal and various limeworks and tramroads. According to publicity material put
out by the Welsh Government ‘… wherever possible the settings of heritage assets will be
enhanced and access and interpretation will be improved. The alignment of the road will be
designed to reduce physical impacts. Where physical damage is unavoidable, excavation
and recording will be used to create a permanent record and further enhance understanding
of the Gorge’s history and archaeology.’
Draft Orders and Environmental Statement are expected to be published in autumn 2013
and it is possible there will be a Public Local Inquiry towards the end of 2013. More information can be found at http://www.a465gilwern2brynmawr.co.uk/
Dave Linton
49. Brofiscin Quarry Work has started at this quarry near Groesfaen, Llantrisant, to remediate the effects of industrial waste, including solvents, heavy metals and toxic PCBs,
dumped at the site during the 1960s. Environment Agency Wales said the work would reduce water pollution and stop people and animals coming into contact with the waste. The
remediation works are expected to take around 14 weeks to complete and will include an engineered cap, with vapour and surface water controls, installed over the waste in the quarry.
BBC News website 17th October 2011
50. Bersham Colliery The miners’ heritage group North Wales Miners Association Trust
Ltd wants the site, with has the shaft headframe and engine house in situ, to become a museum and are opposed to the removal by Bersham Glenside Ltd of six million tonnes of spoil
from the colliery tip at Bersham (NL 65 item 36 refers). Wrexham County Borough Council
have said it supports the aims of the Trust. At present the site may be visited by appointment
with the Council.
BBC News website 16th December 2011
51. Chirk Airfield Mineshaft A new ‘mineshaft’ has been sunk and headgear erected to
‘celebrate the area’s coal mining heritage’ at the Chirk airfield site. The headframe uses steel
from the nearby Black Park Colliery in Halton and the headframe wheel came from Ollerton
- 30 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
Colliery. The winder and an electric loco are on loan from Shropshire Mines Trust. The cage,
which was found in a Wrexham scrapyard, is of unknown origin but it is said to be from
a lead mine. The project has been supported by various organisations including the North
Wales Miners Association Trust and the Glyn Valley Tramway.
Wrexham Leader 14th September 2011
52. Unity Colliery Rescue A miner has been rescued at this pit in the Neath Valley after he
became trapped under rubble following a small roof collapse. He was brought to the surface
by colleagues and the Mines Rescue Team. The man, 48 was treated for possible pelvis and
spinal injuries by ambulance crews and was taken by air to the University Hospital of Wales,
Cardiff, where his condition is not thought to be serious.
BBC News website 14th October 2011
53. Welsh Coal and Slate Wrecks In February RCAHMW and the Nautical Archaeology
Society held an introduction to historical research training day. Cadw has a strategic research project into coal and slate wrecks around the Welsh coast and is inviting sport divers
to become involved in survey and research work. The training day was to introduce participants to the extensive documentary archive around Wales and to invite divers to adopt
individual Welsh coal and slate wrecks.
RCAHMW website 22nd February 2012
54. West Wales Geological Society This society has recently been formed to ‘promote
geology to as wide an audience as possible via workshops, talks and field trips into the area
around West Wales’. An inaugural meeting was held in Aberystwyth in December 2011 and
a programme of events commenced in early 2012.
www.westwalesgeolsoc.org.uk
55. Rhydymwyn Tunnels Rhydymwyn Valley History Society have produced a proposal
to Defra to allow the society to open up the tunnels on former mustard gas works to the
public for guided tours and are asking for letters of support for their application. For contact
details of the society see http://ryhdymwynvalleyhistory.co.uk/
John Hine
Reviews and Publications
56. Towards a Better Understanding: New Research on Old Mines This is the second
volume in the series Welsh Mines and Mining, an occasional publication which covers all
aspects of Welsh mining. The volume contains the proceedings of the Welsh Mines Society
conference at Machynlleth in October 2010.
The publication includes an account of the Esgairmwyn mine including the post-war reworking of the mine (G.W. Hall); two papers on lead, zinc and silver production in north-east
Wales with quantitative analyses of the mining activity there (C.J. Williams, R.A. Williams);
a discussion of Dillwyn & Co.’s Swansea silver refining operations (P. Claughton); further
research on seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century mining at Cwmystwyth (R. Bird);
Fenton’s search for coal near Tywyn (D.M.D. James); three papers on mines and mining-re- 31 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
lated archaeological work near Pontrhydfendigaid
including a description of probably the first underground hydraulic engine in Wales (J. Webb, D. Sables and R. Bird); a re-examination of Brynyrafr
mine (S.J.S. Hughes); the detection of methane in
mines (R. Vernon); the ‘birth of flotation’ at Glasdir
Mill plus a contemporary description of the later
vacuum flotation process (G.W. Hall, R. Vernon);
a history of the Llwyn Teify, Bwlchgwyn, Penrhiw
and Ystumtuen mines (G.W. Hall) and a detailed
critique of the IGS mineral reconnaissance map in
the northern Central Wales Orefield (D.M. James).
Towards a Better Understanding: New Research
on Old Mines. Proceedings of the Welsh Mines
Society Conference 2010, ed. D.J. Linton, Welsh
Mines and Mining No. 2, Welsh Mines Society
2012, PB, 150pp, £10.00 (WMS members £7.75)
+ £1.50 p&p, ISBN 978-0-9561377-1-5. Available
from John Hine, The Grottage, 2 Cullis Lane, Mile
End, Coleford, GL16 7QF (It should be noted that
the cover, here reproduced in black and white, has an attractive colour photograph by Graham Levins of the archaeological excavation of a timber-framed wheel pit by WMPT at
Graig Goch Mine in Ceredigion.)
Dave Linton
57. Mines of the Sixties This is an annotated selection of reports from the Truro Correspondent to the Mining Journal between 1860 and 1864. The reports contain not only
detailed descriptions of many of the mines then working but also pertinent comments on
many facets of the Cornish mining industry and other matters of historical interest. Although
this book was published in 2000, the author would remind Members that he still has copies
available.
Mines of the Sixties, George W. Hall, Ludlow: Griffin Publications, 2000, HB, 283pp, 31
illustrations. £5.00 + p&p from the author.
David Roe
58. History of Floatation The improbable process of flotation transformed the non-ferrous
mining industry and the industries and economies of the world – no one could have predicted that floating highly specific gravity particles on water would become one of the world’s
greatest technologies. This book chronicles the early days of flotation and the evolution of
this technology, as well as the engineers, managers, and financiers who supported flotation
experimentation and development. Flotation practitioners will enjoy learning about the history of flotation machines, the ingenuity applied to this process, and the competitive tensions between manufacturers. The book includes a chapter on mineral adhesion processes
before 1900. The full contents page is available at http://www.ausimm.com.au/publications/
content/spec18.pdf
- 32 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
History of Floatation, Alban Lynch, Greg Harbort, and Mike Nelson, AusIMM in 2010,
364 pages. $AU 110 (or on CD-ROM $AU 90)
from publisher’s website
59. World of Welsh Copper­ The website (http://www.welshcopper.org.uk) is a ‘learning
legacy website based on the resources created for the Global and Local Worlds of Welsh
Copper knowledge exchange … and is packed full of information about copper’s industrialisation in Wales and how it impacted upon world trade’.
However, despite its title, the primary focus of the website seems (from my admitted
brief look at it) to be the copper smelting industry around Swansea. I was disappointed by
the lack of information about copper mining in north Wales – one has to follow a link to
another website (RCAHMW’s website Coflein system) to find a list of copper-related sites
for the whole of Wales. In particular, a notable lack seems to be the omission of any mention
of the development of the flotation process (at Glasdir copper mine near Dolgellau) which
was of international significance.
Having raised the above points with the site’s authors, I’ve been told that information on
the Welsh copper mining context, particularly that of Anglesey, is available for download
in several of the Exhibition guides and the Deep History section. Furthermore, the site’s authors stress that contributions of good quality, well-written content relating to Welsh copper
would be more than welcome. Dave Linton
60. The Origins of an Industrial Region This is an edited presentation, with an introduction by the editor, of Robert Morris’s manuscript ‘History of the copper concern’, which is
largely extracts from the now-lost papers of Robert Morris senior, who was a pioneer of copper smelting in the Swansea valley in the 1720s. The technology is not addressed at length
but there is information about movement of raw materials in the absence of a good road
network, payment of workers’ wages without banking facilities, the marketing of products
and the attempts to compete with Scandinavian copper.
A full review (on which this item is partly based) can be found in Economic History Review, 65,1 (2012).
The Origins of an Industrial Region: Robert Morris and the First Swansea Copper Works,
c. 1727–1730, ed. Louise Miskell, Newport: South Wales Record Society, 2010. 127pp,
ISBN 0955338735, Hbk, £18.
Mathew Naylor
61. The Archaeology of Gwynedd Slate: Flesh on the Bones This illustrated booklet was
produced for, and is effectively the text of, the fourth Merfyn Williams Memorial Lecture
which was given by Michael Lewis at Plas Tan y Bwlch in October 2011.
Michael’s talk was a potted summary of the archaeological work he has been involved
in over the last 40 years in connection with the slate industry with mention of some of the
aspects of the quarries he found particularly interesting.
A particular point Michael made is that some of the smaller outlying earlier quarries
preserve the archaeology of their original working (late eighteenth/early nineteenth century)
which, in the case of the larger quarries we’re more familiar with, has been obliterated by
the heavily industrialised and intensive working of the late nineteenth century. Other titbits
- 33 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
included discussion on the dating of slate sawing methods in the mills by examining the
sawn edges of grave stones in the local cemeteries.
The Archaeology of Gwynedd Slate: Flesh on the Bones, Michael Lewis, 43pp, Snowdonia National Park, 2011, ISBN 978-1-84524-184-1. £4 from Plas Tan Tan y Bwlch.
62. Milwr and Halkyn Tunnels Mine Plans Plans produced by Halkyn District United
Mines company of the mines and underground quarry associated with the Milwr and Halkyn
tunnels, superimposed on Google Earth aerial photography, can be found on the Halkyn
Mountain website
http://halkyn.org/en/history/mining/hdum/
63. Ystrad Einion Mine Animation An animated reconstruction of Ystrad Einion lead
mine has been produced by RCAHMW with assistance and funding from PLWM, CADW
and the Metal Links project and input from the Welsh Mines Preservation Trust. A low
resolution version of the presentation is available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=_BsTf6O24m8
Graham Levins
64. Maenofferen Quarry Animation­ Following on from their work on Ystrad Einion
(item 62 above), RCAHMW are producing an animated reconstruction of (presumably parts
of) Maenofferen slate quarry. A second draft of the animation has been completed, and work
has concentrated on replicating the large waterwheel which powered the largest mills on the
site for approximately 15 years before the introduction of electrical power to the mill and
the underground mining in 1911. Survey data has been combined with historic photographs,
maps and plans, and discussion with industrial archaeologists who visited the underground
mine and the above-ground complex of buildings when it was operational has provided
important additional information to ensure that the finished product is as accurate as possible. An image from the reconstruction can be seen at http://heritageofwalesnews.blogspot.
com/2012/03/second-draft-of-computer-animation-of.html
RCAHMW
65. The Miners of Llay Main This is a very interesting study of the development of the
colliery and a model village. The book features many underground photographs and details
interlinked with a social history. It follows the history of the pit through the ages and as such
all aspects of the colliery are detailed. It is an exceptional and well produced volume.
According to the publisher the model village of Llay was built during the early part of
the twentieth century, on agricultural land four miles north of Wrexham, to serve the newly
constructed Llay Main colliery. This community of mineworkers and their families (who
originated from various parts of Britain) was established in north-east Wales on what had
previously been farm and park land, a landscape far-removed from that of their fellow colliers who lived in the terraces of the south Wales valleys. Llay Main became the largest
colliery in Wales and the deepest in Europe. The book concentrates on three main areas:
the founding of the mine and the creation of the miners’ village, the development of social
structure and social activities and the mutual dependence of colliery and village.
The Miners of Llay Main, Vic Tyler-Jones, HB, sewn, 200 x 290 mm, 177pp, 177 illustrations, dust jacket, index, endnotes – £19.99 + P&P.
- 34 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
66. After the Dust has Settled In Tom Ellis’s first career he was the manager of two collieries in north Wales; in his second, as a politician, he established himself as an independent,
free-thinking ‘back-bencher’. He worked underground at Gresford, Llay Main, Bersham
and Hafod collieries and became a colliery manager. By the late 1960s, the writing was on
the wall for many of the Welsh mines and he embarked on a new life in politics. His parliamentary career coincided with the political upheavals of the 1970s – Britain’s membership
of the Common market, the Industrial Relations Bill, the 1974 Miners’ Strike (and the ensuing ‘Three Day Week’) and the infiltration of the Labour Party by Militant Tendency. He was
one of the handful of MPs who formed the SDP in an attempt to ‘break the mould of British
politics’. (From publisher’s synopsis.)
After the Dust Has Settled, Tom Ellis, SB, 149 x 210 mm, 309pp, indexed, illustrated.
£6.00 (was £11.99).
Mike Moore (above two items)
67. South Wales Record Society The Society has two mining titles in the course of preparation: War Underground: the diary of a Bevin Boy in the South Wales Coalfield by Michael
Edmunds (edited by Dr Peter Wakelin) and Striking Images: the South Wales Miners’ Lockout of 1898 in the cartoons of J. M. Staniforth, edited by Dr Andy Croll. Mathew Naylor
68. Cwmrheidol Mine John Mason has posted an account of his and Simon Hughes’s
work to deal with the sudden outflow from the No. 9 adit at Cwmrheidol in the 1960s and
the outflow from the No. 6 adit in 1993.
http://www.geologywales.co.uk/storms/cwmrheidol-mine.htm
69. The Young Victoria I wrote about Sir John Conroy, the Montgomeryshire mine owner
(NL 64 item 12). He appears in the BBC drama series The Young Victoria (screenplay by
Julian Fellowes, who wrote Downton Abbey) which was screened on BBC 2 starting 22nd
December 2011. Conroy is quite accurately portrayed. There is a splendid scene in which
Prince Albert rumbles him for embezzling money, and sends him packing. It was well worth
watching.
Chris Williams
70. Iolo’s Jewels of Wales Episode 2 of this series, ‘Mineral Wealth’, broadcast on BBC
One 2nd November 2011, featured a number of Welsh mining and quarrying sites including
Dorothea slate quarry, underground workings at Cwmorthin slate quarry and an interview
with WMS President George Hall at Gwynfynydd gold mine.
Dave Linton
Correspondence
71. Sam’s Vein, a New Lead Lode Discovery near Rhyscog It is generally accepted that
virtually all lodes in mid-Wales that reach the surface have been found. Generations of shepherds and miners familiar with every nuance of outcrop and topography, together with the
professional eyes of the Geological Survey have, not surprisingly, left very little evidence
for mineralisation unnoticed. However landscape evolves, soil and moss cover can slip and
- 35 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
trees can blow down exposing bedrock. In such circumstances remote hillsides with little
outcrop but thin glacial cover still have the potential for surprises.
In the autumn of 2011 Barry Clarke was taking Sam for a walk; or perhaps Sam was taking Barry, when they found ‘stones’ of galena in thin soil, suggestive of an in-situ vein but
clearly not on any lode shown on the recent geological map.* On 15 November Barry and
Sam returned with David and Joan James and digging implements to do a full geological
survey. The lode is now proven to be about 20 inches wide and to lie within strata of slightly
younger age than those at the Cwmystwyth mine. Strike, to azimuth 123°, agrees well with
that of lodes and faults nearby on the Geological Survey map, e.g. at Rhyscog, Esgair Gadfach and Llanfair Clydogau. The lode dip is steep and probably to the NE although the small
vertical extent exposed makes such estimate hazardous. The lode has scarcely any gangue
material. It can be seen for about 5 fathoms length at surface and assuming persistence for at
least one fathom in depth it would here yield around 11 tons per fathom; riches indeed! The
galena is very clean and well crystallised; the largest ‘stone’ we excavated must weigh at
least 70 kg. In view of the ‘museum quality’ of many of the galena ‘stones’, we have covered
the excavation and are not for the moment publishing the exact location of this discovery.
Two days after our survey Sam died, suddenly and unexpectedly. He was 12 and a great
loss. Many WMS members will recall him with affection and his memory will persist in the
naming of what may be the first significant lead lode discovery for many years.
Barry Clarke and David James
72. Merllyn Engine House (NL 65 item 27) The Merllyn Engine House (Grade II listed),
which I recall being used as a chicken house in the 1960s, has been ‘sympathetically modernised and extended to provide a house of character with modern amenities’ (Cavendish
Ikin estate agents sale particulars). Changes to the engine house appear minimal. A narrow
slot in the upper part of the bob-wall, possibly for the cable from a winder, has been filled.
Internally, a new stairway and upper floor has been fitted; the estate agent’s plans showing
the ground and new first floor as bedrooms 1 and 2. The chimney in the bob-wall dates from
an earlier domestication. The ‘extension’ mentioned in the particulars is a bungalow, connected to the engine house by a short corridor which also houses the front door. The asking
price is £389,500.
The Merllyn shaft, which is in Lloc opposite the Rock Inn (SJ 1446 7669), was the
pumping (and winding?) shaft for the Merllyn and Waen Mine which had levels at 50, 70
and 90 yards. The pumps were driven by an inverted engine, sometimes said to be a Bull
engine – although these were direct acting engines fitted over the shaft with the piston rod
connected to the pump rod. The inverted engine had the advantage that the beam was sited
low down in the bob-wall thus permitting a much lighter construction. The pump discharged
into the 50 yard level. This connected to the Gorsedd Day Level which now discharges into
the roadside ditch opposite Tre Eden Owain Farm (SJ 1541 7760). The mouth of the level,
in a field adjacent to the road has been buried, the water channelled into a culvert. This is
broken part-way across the field and the strong stream of water now runs in a shallow trench.
* British Geological Survey, 2006, 1:50,000 scale sheet 195 (Lampeter).
- 36 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
Prospecting was carried out and some ore raised between 1910 and 1913. At the time of
writing the Memoir, c. 1920, the mine was ‘standing until labour troubles have settled down
but the plant is ready to start working at any date’. (Special Reports on Mineral Resources
XIX, Lead & Zinc Ores in the Carboniferous Rocks of North Wales, B. Smith, pp. 55–56,
117–118, HMSO 1921.)
Alan Hawkins.
73. Lead Mine Near Caernarvon Although the black and white print does not do it justice, I am convinced that the watercolour reproduced in NL 65 item 17 is, fundamentally,
a view of Cyffty (Bettws y Coed) Mine as seen from about where the southern end of the
reservoir dam joins the hillside. The topography and the relative positions of the buildings
fit that site better than any other that I can find. If so, then the artist has used a great deal of
‘artistic licence’ because many of the features are not where they should be. In particular, the
engine house has been changed so much as to be unrecognizable and the whole picture is,
historically, very inaccurate in its detail.
The puzzling elevated structure behind the engine house that Dave Linton thought might
be brammock rods may be a representation, out of position and out of scale, of the launder
that fed the crusher waterwheel as this is shown in an excellent wash drawing by H.E. Tidmarsh (NLW, topographic PA6544) as stopping abruptly by the roadside, the water supply
coming, I presume, via an inverted siphon.
Since the buildings shown were not erected until 1877–8, the watercolour cannot be
earlier than that date and any attribution to any of the three artists named must be wrong. If
the dress of the figures in the picture dates to about 1830 or earlier, I find it hard to see why
an artist painting the mine whilst the buildings were working would use characters from an
earlier time frame which suggests it may be of significantly later date, early 1900s perhaps,
and most probably by an amateur.
Roger Bird
[The Tidmarsh drawing of Cyffty that Roger refers to above is reproduced on the front cover
of John Bennett and Rob Vernon’s Mines of the Gwydyr Forest, Part 5, 1993. It is dated
1884 and close examination of it reveals considerable architectural and technical detail
which suggests it was made on site. – Ed.]
74. Cwmystwyth Smelting Works The following item from the Mining Journal 1858
page 513 (7th August) may be of interest:
DISCOVERY OF OLD SMELTING WORKS.
Sir,— Near the rocky bed of the Ystwith, on that part of Hafod which is nearest to Cwmystwith, some workmen, who were tracing a newly-discovered lode of lead, accidentally
came upon an excavation in the rocks, which had been used some long time ago as a smelting place; pieces of molten metal were found in the fissures at the bottom, and particles
of charcoal mixed with the top soil. The ore seems to have been treated without washing,
crushing, or much separation from the stone attached to it when raised. The entrance to an
old level is to be seen close to the water’s edge, from which, no doubt, the ore was extracted.
Larch of 60 ft. high are now growing on this site, planted by the late Capt. Johnncs. Attention was first called to the spot by a miner at Cwmystwith, whose grandfather had told him
- 37 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
that he remembered, when a boy, a large lump of lead being brought to light by workmen
building a wall near the spot. Many places in the neighbourhood have, I understand, been
discovered which were used for the same purpose, evidencing that the “old people” have
been at work, when the recollection of their operations have long since passed away.
When the railway through this district, from Llanidloes to Pencaden, is made, part of the
direct line from Manchester and the North to Milford, our mining adventurers will have a
communication with the North and South Wales coal fields, which will render them independent of wood and peat, if they prefer smelting to selling their produce after dressing.
Hafod, South Wales, July 2d­—— Wm. Chambers.
Rob Vernon
75. Corbet Dovey (NL 65 item 12) I was most interested in Roger Bird’s contribution on
this mine in the last Newsletter, and can add something thereto as, with Dave Seabourne and
others, I explored what we presumed to be the deep adit a few years ago. I have also found
a couple of references in the Mining Journal not noted by Roger.
This adit is in a private yard behind the ‘Hungry Sailor’ cafe, and is a cross-cut for 110
yards, connecting with open overhand stopes, running, if I remember rightly, roughly at
right-angles to the cross-cut. It does not extend more than a few yards either way on lode,
nor does it go beyond it. There was a stope above the adit, which looked as though it was
connected to higher workings, but we could not get up.
The MJ of 1860, p. 791 (November), quotes from the North Wales Chronicle: ‘The Corbet Dovey Mining Co. have erected a monster wheel, 50 ft., in diameter, for the purpose of
crushing the ore, which was tried for the first time on Saturday, and worked admirably. The
copper ore, though not at present abundant, and, we think, by no means remunerative, is
good, and we trust that the spirited company will be rewarded. The works are within 150
fms. of the port, and the adit level about 2 fms. above high-water mark …’.
Another report in the MJ, 1868, p. 828, said that the mine might be starting again … and
that ‘The entrance to some of the levels is within 40 yards of the public wharf …’.
Roger quotes the advertisement for the sale of the mine and plant in August 1863, but
there is a curious later mention in the same year, p. 673, where Mr. Henry Jones, the auctioneer, invited tenders for driving a level of 70 fathoms on a silver-lead lode at this mine.
The 2nd edition 6-inch OS map shows an ‘old level’ at SN 617 963. I see I marked a shaft
at SN 614 962. This is at the ‘Old Workings’ shown on Roger’s plan.
The 1837 1-inch Geological Map shows two lodes crossing at right-angles at the western
end of Aberdovey, close to the Corbet Arms, one striking NNE (lead), the other WNW, both
with a strike length of about half a mile, and reaching to the shore. A third, E–W, copper lode,
again about half a mile long, lies just to the east, on the hill slope above the town. The SN
617 963 level, which is that to the east on Roger’s plan, seems to be on the line of this lode.
Roger, because he has not been able to find a contemporary picture showing it, seems
to doubt the existence of the big water-wheel. In view of the account in the North Wales
Chronicle in November 1860, together with 1863 sale notice, I am sure it existed. But as it
probably only stood for three years it could well have come into existence and gone when
there were no artists sketching at Aberdovey.
- 38 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
I don’t quite see what Roger is getting at with the name Balkan Hill. David did not claim
that the mine was ever called that.
G.W. Hall
Membership
76. Subscriptions for 2012
WMS membership with BCA overground insurance is £11 (includes Newsletter)
WMS membership with BCA underground insurance is £22 (includes Newsletter)
WMS membership where you have BCA insurance through another club or society is £5
(you only have to pay the BCA insurance premium once)
WMS Newsletter only subscription is £5
You must have a current BCA insurance to be a member and only BCA insured members
may attend WMS field trip meetings.
Where two members live at the same address (and receive only one Newsletter) there is
a £3 discount per year from the total fees payable.
Your current subscription status is shown on the Newsletter envelope label.
Example: Member 1 – Overground insurance
£11
Member 2 – Underground insurance £22
less same address discount
- £3
Total payable for 2012
£30
Cheques (payable to Welsh Mines Society) should be sent to David Roe, 20, Lutterburn
Street, Ugborough, Ivybridge, Devon PL21 0NG
For details of the BCA insurance visit the BCA website british-caving.org.uk/?page=3
77. Membership and NL Subscription Reminder Your Newsletter and insurance status
are always printed on your envelope label. If it is highlighted in fluorescent colour it means
I have taken the time to remind you that your payment is due. This is in addition to the reminder in the Newsletter in November 2011 and an individual email or letter sent to you at
the beginning of the year. I am very grateful to the 82% of you who have paid up for 2012
– the remaining 18% who have not yet done so cause me (and Glenn at the BCA) seemingly
endless hours of extra work – I am sure both of us would rather be doing something else.
Pull up socks please!
78. New Members The Society welcomes the following new (or rejoining) members:
P. Jackson
41 Cranswick Close, Billingham, Stockton, TS23 3NH
01642 564100 p.jackson@ntlworld.com Ge, H, IA, M, Mc, R, S, U
Carol Curtis Jones
6, Nantymwyn Terrace, Rhandirmwyn, Llandovery, Carmarthenshire,
SA20 0NS 01656 773266 alun@rhandirmwyn.net
- 39 -
Newsletter 66
Welsh Mines Society
Spring 2012
Louise Mees
Tan y Foel, Rhandirmwyn, Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, SA20 0PW
01550 760310 louisetyf@hotmail.co.uk, A IA
G. Peter Reynolds
33, Merton Avenue, Hillingdon, Middlesex, UB10 9BN
01895 238457 reynolds45gp@tiscali.co.uk, C, IA, Mc
79. Directory Changes notified since the 2009 Directory are:
Richard Bird
richard@rbirdphotography.com
John Bowers
johnbowers@hotmail.co.uk
Michael Castle
mcbcastle@btinternet.com
Mark Waite
mark.waite10@btinternet.com
Keith Williams
shilo480@virginmedia.com
Please let David Roe david@d-roe.freeserve.co.uk (postal address above) know of any
changes to your postal or email address, phone number or interests so that the Directory can
be kept up to date.
Tailings
Acknowledgements Many thanks to all those who have provided me with contributions
and feedback for the Newsletter. Items are credited to the contributor, unless written by me
(Dave Linton) with the Editor’s hat on. Thanks are also due as usual to my partner Pam Cope,
who has given me the benefit of her professional expertise on the typographical and copy
editorial aspects of this issue, and to David Roe, who looks after distribution of the Newsletter. (The mistakes are all my own work!)
Copy Date for the next Newsletter is 15th October 2012 (although earlier contributions
make the Editor’s task considerably easier and increase the chance that he’ll be able to fit
your material in) with publication due mid-November. Contributions (preferably by email to
editor@welshmines.org) to Dave Linton. When items include illustrations, these should be
supplied as individual graphics files (ideally in TIFF format) rather than in the body of the
contribution – detailed information on submission requirements can be found at http://www.
hendrecoed.org.uk/wms/misc/notes_for_contributors.pdf
Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect policy or the opinion of the Welsh Mines Society, its officers or the Editor. Letters addressed to the Editor will be assumed to be for
publication unless otherwise stated. It is the responsibility of contributors to ensure that all necessary permissions,
particularly for the reproduction of illustrations, are obtained. Contributors retain copyright of items published and
material in this Newsletter must not be reproduced without the contributor’s express permission.
- 40 -