Marker shows position of Vale of Conway Mill.
Adit No. 2 200m S of marker is in obvious fenced off, overgrown area immediately to the west of the Gwydyr Road between Hafna and Bwlch yr Haiarn and opposite Llanrwst Deep Adit. Adit not properly investigated.
Further up, at the base of an escarpment are older workings, the target of the adit. There is another adit below the road which was not found. A path opposite No2 descends passing the Llanrwst Deep Adit to the Vale of Conwy Mill which has seen some of 1906 its masonry restored. There are a number of capped shafts in the vicinity.
Was 2 separate leases Bwlch Garw and Gwaith Ucha prior to 1876. From 1899, it became part of the Hafna lease. Vernon believes that the mill area may have served several mines, including Llanrwst Deep Adit in earlier times.
| Year | Activity |
|---|---|
| c1800-53 | Setts worked independently by a number of small partnerships. Both were returning some ore in the early 1850s. |
| 1853-71 | Both setts leased by Edward Bellis and Edward Edwards. Had men continually at work, but raised only 30 tons of ore. Main aim was to get under old workings. |
| 1872-74 | Lease taken by Edward Powell Edwards keeping a few men at work. |
| 1874 | Lease taken by Ellis Roberts & Griffith Williams, quarry merchants. |
| 1876 | Roberts & Williams launch Vale of Conway Lead Mining Company, with 6,000 £2 shares. 18 men employed driving level. Water wheel, crusher and dressing floor installed. 7 ton of ore weighed. |
| 1877 | Captain Roberts reports driving on E-W lode, soon to intercept the main N-S lode below the old workings. |
| 1878 | In hands of caretaker, who with some men raise a few 10s of ore over next few years. |
| 1886 | Vale of Conway Mine Company dissolved. |
| 1899 | Included in Hafna lease granted to A.J. Jouanneaux, athough no work done. |
| 1908-1913 | Extensivelly worked by Hafna Mines Company, with No 2 level being driven with 20 men at work. |
External Links
Publications (1)
- Bennet & Vernon (1990); Mines of the Gwydyr Forest, Book 2 - The Hafna mine
