Plynlimon (central) - Royal Commission on the Ancient and ...

Uplands Initiative – Nant y Moch & Pumlimon Fawr / <strong>Plynlimon</strong> 2004Pryse hath sued his own tenants of that pretended lordship in the court of Perveth for arrears of rent.They never kept either a Court Leet or a Court Baron of their own, there being not a freehold of anyman but Mr Pryse in the pretended lordship. This common is very rich in mines, but never work'd,because (it is like) the family of Gogerthan always knew they had no power to set the mines.Adjoyning to this large tract of a common to the southward there is another common of vicinage,[marginal note: The common where Bwlch Gwyn mine is ] divided from it by the river Llawerneg andgrazed by all the adjoyning inhabitants time out of mind and to this very day without interruption. Andthey have always and to this day upon their several districts or liberties cut turf, heath and wood upon itwithout interruption. About the year 1735 Thomas Powell of Nanteos, esq., having a freehold tenementof escheated land joyning on this mountain upon which there was a lead minework, and the veinpointing into the mountain or common, some of the miners discovered ore on the common at a placecalled Bwlch [text breaks off at foot of p. viii, next page or pages missing]‖ (adapted from Lewis Morris‘Lead and Silver Mines of Cardiganshire).As the lluestau mentioned by Lewis Morris in this text were in existence in 1744, this implies that theywere in existence for some time previously, many of them likely being either 17 th century or slightly earlieror else early 18 th century in date.The Lewis Morris text of 1744 aptly introduces the 18 th and 19 th century mining history of this landscape.The post-medieval history of the landscape within the bounds of the survey is essentially a history of thelead mining industry in Cardiganshire and west Montgomeryshire. For a comprehensive study into thishistory see W.J. Lewis‘ ‗Lead Mining in Cardiganshire‘, in the ‗Cardiganshire County History Vol 3‘ andD. Bick‘s ‗Old Metal Mines of Mid-Wales‘. In order to understand the post medieval mining sites andfeatures found within this uplands landscape, short adapted extracts have been taken from the abovementionedstudies. The W.J. Lewis article focuses mainly on the large key mines in the Cardiganshirecounty along with its key elite landowners and entrepreneurs. With regards the uplands area underinvestigation, it seems that the principle landowners were the Pryse family of the Gogerddan estate. Shortexerts from parts of the W.J. Lewis text relating to the Pryse family and mentioned sites in the survey areaare included below, however the principle text for the mines within the area are from D. Bick‘sdescriptions;― In the late seventeenth century the lead mining industry in Cardiganshire embarked on a period ofstriking development. In 1690 a valuable vein of silver-lead ore was discovered by a shepherd atEsgair-hir on the Gogerddan estate. Anxious to profit from the discovery, Sir Carbery Pryse ofGogerddan began to work the mine himself. Since the ore was argentiferous, the mine was claimedby the Mines <strong>Royal</strong> Society, but Pryse refused to hand it over. As a result, the dispute was broughtbefore the House of Lords. The first hearing went in Pryse's favour but, because it was proved thatthe sample of ore shown at the hearing was not from Esgair-hir, there was a retrial. The Lords,composed almost entirely of landowners, sided with the squire of Gogerddan. As a result,Parliament passed an Act which deprived the Mines <strong>Royal</strong> Society of its monopoly and gave tolandowners the right to work and profit from all mines on their land, provided they sold anyargentiferous ore to the Crown at £9 a ton. Delighted with this, Sir Carbery is said to have ridden onhorseback from London to Gogerddan in forty-eight hours to spread the glad tidings. Insofar as thisAct opened the mines to far more people, it increased the supply of capital available. It alsoincreased the supply of labour, for incoming mine promoters often brought in skilled miners. SirCarbery began to work Esgair-hir with vigour, but was prevented from raising much ore bydrainage problems. He then formed a company, but before it could become fully operational hedied, and work at the mine ceased. His successor, Edward Pryse, showed no aptitude for mining.In 1697 Sir Humphrey Mackworth, the Neath coalowner, called at a tavern in Llanbadarn Fawr andheard of the company's predicament. He made inquiries and was informed that, if managedproperly, Esgair-hir would provide work for 600 men and yield an annual profit of over £70,000.Mackworth then took a lease on the mines and soon realized that more capital would be required.To obtain this he devised a scheme whereby partners in Carbery Pryse's company could either selltheir shares to Mackworth or exchange them for tickets in a lottery. His plan was immediatelyaccepted and the Company of Mine Adventurers was formed in 1695. One of its aims was thegranting of ‗several Charities‘ out of the profits ‗to the Poor of every county in England and71CAP Report No: 355