Bick possibly suggests that the hydraulic engine is still underground !!
The possibility that the engine is still in situ cannot be ruled out. No drawings appear to survive though there is a plan of the space it was to occupy; details of the railway laid in the adit and mentioned in Probert’s letters are also lacking. A thorough search of the Powis manuscripts (N.L.W.) may prove rewarding.
Several open and filled shafts on the pleateau, Bick thinks the pressure engine shaft is near the fence running slong the ridge.
Remains of wheel pits, ore bin and office.
Towards the B4343 extensive grassy hummocks mark Llwyn Gwyddel which Thompson described as very rich and a mine well worth a further trial.
| Year | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1770s | Mine re-opened by Probert, water from abandoned workings defeated the undertaking. |
| 1780s | Probert considered replacing the rag and chain pumps with a water pressure engine. Waterwheel installed for winding, the water then piped 40m down a shaft to the prosed location of the engine near the adit. |
| 1785 | 15 ton engine arives at Aberystwyth from Lambeth then transported over land to the installation site. James Loew in charge of installaiton. Once installed, it broke down repeatedly despite several visits by the designer Cole, and the a Mr Onions after the death of Cole. |
| 1788 | Francis Thomspon attempted a fix to no avail, leaks from joint losing about half the water in the down pipe, the pressure buildup at the end of each stroke being too much for the engine. Lowe commented ’After all the fateague we have had at this place, ‘tis not yet in my power to give Mr Probert and good or Bad news respecting the Engine; for notwithstanding the Horse & Pumps are constantly going without intermission, we are still about 2 yds short of getting down to the Bottom Valve.’ |
| 1791 | After struggling for a few years where some considerable ore production was made, the lode reapidly deteriorated leading to closure. |
| 1859 | Re-opened under Capt. Kemp using three waterwheels for pumping, winding and crushing. |
| 1871 | Taken over by South Lisburne Co., total output between 1859 and 1878 being 131 tons lead, 599 tons blende. Levels at 27, 34 and 45 fm, adit level at 20fm. |
| 20C | Several attempts made to clear the adit, Bick states last attempt around 1970 at which time rails extended from adit to the dumps. |
Publications (7)
- (1922); BGS - Mineral Resources of GB (c1920s) Vol XX - Lead and Zinc: Cardiganshire & West Montogmeryshire; 242 pages
- (1922); BGS - Mineral Resources of GB (c1920s) Vol XX - Lead and Zinc: Cardiganshire & West Montogmeryshire; 242 pages
- Hughes, Simon J.S. (2006); 30 Years of Prospecting in Cardiganshire; 5 pages
- Masters, Peter (1988); The Lead Mines of Penrhyn Du, Bwlchtocyn, North Wales; 44 pages
- Palmer, Marilyn and Neaverson, Peter (1989); PDMHS (Peak District Mines Historical Society) 10-6 Win - Comparative Archaeology of Tin and Lead Dressing in Britain during the Nineteenth Century, The; 32 pages (316-347)
- Rieuwerts, J.H. (1981); PDMHS (Peak District Mines Historical Society) 08-1 Jun - Drainage of the Alport Mining Field, The; 28 pages (1-28)
- Sables, David (2015); PDMHS (Peak District Mines Historical Society) 19-3 Sum - Monks Who Mined, The; 13 pages (8-20)
