W. J. Lewis, "Lead mining in Wales" (Univ. Wales Press, 1967) has the
following to say on the subject of the parish of Llangynnwr,
Carmarthenshire:
"More important [than works in the Llanymddyfri area] was the
Llangunnor [sic] mine to the east of Carmarthen which was worked to
some purpose until the 1760's when it was closed because of a dispute
between master and men, and not reopened for almost a hundred years."
(p. 165)
"About 1850 at Llangunnor, the work abandoned in the 1760's because
of a dispute, was rediscovered, and two years later the Great Welsh
Silver Mining Co. was formed to develop it. One of the directors'
first acts was to present a massive silver salver to Henry Gibson for
finding the mine. On opening the workings they were found to be so
promising that the underground manager, J. Kessell from Cornwall, was
in turn given a valuable watch in celebration. The mine, which became
known as the Vale of Towy, was soon paying its way and produced 6,286
tons from 1852 to 1865. It then began to fail and under the name
Bryntowy and Nant was worked intermittently until 1881, but the
output during this period was never more than ten tons a year." (p.
247)
"During the closing years of the [19th] century there were only two
mines worth noting in the county [Carmarthenshire], Nant-y-mwyn and
Llangunnor, or, as the latter was sometimes called, the Carmarthen
mine. The annual production at Nant-y-mwyn ranged from around 200
tons to well over 800, but it was sometimes overshadowed by
Llangunnor. In 1900 these two mines together raised 620 tons, two
years later it was down to 172 when, according to official records,
mining ceased in Carmarthenshire until the outbreak of war. During
the period of hostilities a poor attempt was made to help the war
effort with a contribution of 17 tons in 1915 and 26 tons the
following year. A little (24 tons) was raised in 1923, and 165 tons
were produced in 1930 when company mining finished for good. " (p.
249)
> From: "Roger Gosling" <[log in to unmask]>
> Dear Historians on the List
>
> I was in Trowbridge reference library and county records office earlier today helping my wife to do some family history research, when I came across the following entries in Pope's Bath Chronicle of >
> Pope's Bath Chronicle printed and published by Cornelius Pope in St. Jame's Street, Bath.
>
> The following entry appears thirteen times, once each week from Thursday July 23, 1767 to Thursday October 15, 1767 inclusive:
>
> -------------------------------------------------
>
> To be L E T T
>
> A LEAD MINE, situate in the parish of LANGUNNOR, in the County of Carmarthen, South Wales, adjoining a navigable river, and less than a Mile from the Town of Carmarthen, being the property of the Rig>
> -------------------------------------------------
>
> I have not tried to check what mine this relates to as I do not have any books about lead mines in South Wales,
>
> so I wondered if anyone else may find this information useful.
>
Yours sincerely
Stephen Benham
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Fy marn i yw'r uchod ac nid yw o reidrwydd yn cynrychioli barn LLGC
The above is my own opinion and not necessarily that of the NLW
STEPHEN BENHAM
Archifydd Cynorthwyol / Assistant Archivist
Adran Llawysgrifau a Chofysgrifau / Dept of Manuscripts & Records
Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / National Library of Wales
Aberystwyth
Ceredigion SY23 3BU
e-bost / e-mail: [log in to unmask]
tel: 01970 632 870
ffacs: 01970 632 883
http://www.llgc.org.uk
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