 |
 |
The last edition of Below! (Shropshire Caving & Mining Club) contains an article (anonymous) statin "When a new mine manager was wanted at any of the mines on Snowdon, it was a prerequisite that applicants spoke English and French, because so many of the miners were Breton. 'Llyn Llydaw@ means 'Lake Brittany' in Welsh". Does anyone have any proof of this? I understand that the name Llydaw, although translating as Breton (I am no Welsh speaker) is thought to be more likely to be a personal name, & anyway is recorded much earlier than the date the Snowdon copper mine was discovered (c mid 18th Century). In the 1850's there were proposals to bring in Cornish miners, & most names of workings in the area are either Welsh or Cornish. It would surely have been much more likely that managers were Welsh speakers (although I don't suppose there were many Welsh speakers amongst the Cornish). Alasdair Neill.