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Clwyd Metal Mines Survey


Llynypandy

Llynypandy (also known as Rhydalyn) lies in the community of Gwernaffield in the county of Flintshire. It is located at Ordnance Survey national grid reference SJ19606570. The mine is recorded in the CPAT Historic Environment Record as number 103158 and this number should be quoted in all correspondence.

Lead/Silver (Early 18th century-1913)

Geology
Carboniferous Limestone.

Workings
Very early workings in the Llynypandy area date from the 1720s, the period of the Quaker company. The Llynypandy Vein ran eastwards from the River Alun. Smith (1921) illustrates the shafts along the vein as Mountain, South Shaft, Perrin's, Watkin's, Andrew's, Hodson's, Conqueror of Wales and an adit level on the River Alun. The mine was worked intensively from early nineteenth century and the rich seams made it feasible to construct in 1820, the costly Leete system that ran along the Alyn Valley. The mine remains lie on the East side of the Alyn Gorge in areas mainly of dense woodland and pasture. Shafts along the vein can be identified at SJ19486564, possibly Mountain Shaft; a shaft substantially capped at SJ19616568, possibly South Shaft; Perrin's Shaft at SJ19706570 and a shaft at SJ19996570, possibly Hodson's. Other shafts and mounds identified in the area are at SJ19436541, SJ19786589, SJ19816571, SJ20406595 and SJ20356610. At SJ20106580 and SJ20206575, two shafts lie in overgrown woodland on land attributed to HHM & T Co Ltd Concrete Structures. Other shafts now lie on the site occupied by the Caravan Park, which would have related to Llynypandy South and the older Rhydalyn Mine, can be identified at SJ19746536, SJ19816537, SJ19826535, SJ19716523 and SJ19436541. The mines in later years were unwatered by the Halkyn Tunnel, which reached the sett by 1901.

Transport
Carts and horses took the ore to Wilkinson's smelt mills in the 18th century (Williams 1987).

Power
In 1743, the Coalbrookdale Company supplied an engine to Benjamin Perrin to work the Llynypandy mine, probably the Newcomen Engine that worked Perrin's Shaft at SJ19706570. Between 1825 and 1830, a 44ft waterwheel with 8ft breast worked a pump at Mountain Shaft and a similar wheel pumped Perrin's Shaft; this wheel would have been on the leat below, pumping Perrin's by means of flat rods. In 1827, a water pressure engine was working Andrew's Shaft. By 1827-28, an 80" engine was working the Conqueror of Wales Shaft; this was later removed to Cathole and Minera. A series of water courses supplied water to the mines, dating from the John Taylor period. The leat leaves the River Alun at Loggerheads at SJ19686282 and runs up to Penyfron Mine at SJ19866623. Waste water from the dressing floors could power the waterwheels in the valley below them.

Processing
In 1789 John Wilkinson built a lead smelt at Brymbo to deal with the lead from his Llynypandy mines, which was later sent to Deeside.

Other features
The converted dwelling, Bryn Gwyn at SJ19736566 was the original mine agent's house at the entrance to the Llynypandy mine, built in 1856. The house, Eureka at SJ19826535, was the mine office for the Llynypandy South mine. The converted house at SJ19706565 was an 18th century Llynypandy Pumping Engine House of the John Wilkinson period.


This HTML page is reproduced from the Powys and Clwyd Metal Mine Surveys which were undertaken between May 1992 and December 1993 by Mark Walters and Pat Frost of the Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust with financial support from Powys County Council, Clwyd County Council and Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments. Further information about this site is available in CPAT's Regional Historic Environment Record.
Page produced by Rachel Stebbings and Chris Martin.

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