LONG WEEKEND 3rd - 6th May MAY 2013
PEMBROKESHIRE
PEMBROKESHIRE
Each year the Merseyside Industrial History Society (MIHS) has a long weekend visiting the industrial heritage of an area of Britain. Northern Ireland,
England, Scotland and Wales have all been visited in the last 10 years. One or two minibuses are used and often the odd car. Some weekenders travel independently and join us at the hotel and on the minibus for the tours. This year the main part of the trip saw 20 of us in a minibus and a car. Two society members take turns driving the minibus which gives maximum flexibility. We also tend to visit one or two sites en route so all the sites are not in Pembrokeshire. We stayed at the Mariners’ Hotel in Haverfordwest for three nights and it proved a very good base.
FRIDAY 3rd MAY
We had a stop at Bala and arrived at Llanerchaeron Estate near Aberaeron in time for lunch (delicious cawl) and then had 90 minutes to look round. The actual estate was left to the National Trust in 1989 by John Powell Ponsonby and the House (Villa) dates from 1795 and is the most complete example of the early work of John Nash during his “exile” from London. The estate was designed to be self sufficient and there has been little change. As well as the house you can see the WalledGarden, Greenhouses, Stables, Carriage House, Stockyard, Sawmill Shed and Waterwheel amongst others giving a very wide range of services run at the site. The fact that these farm and service buildings languished out of use but unchanged is what gives the house and estate it unique, historical character. The estate is also home to the Geler Jones collection which was collected by a saddler and leatherworker from Cardigan and purchased by the Trust in 1994. Only part of it is on display but it is a marvellous collection encompassing a wide spectrum of rural life.
We then drove to Haverfordwest arriving 1715 and we booked in. That evening, Dr Peter Claughton gave us a talk on Pembrokeshire’s Industrial Heritage. There were two main factors – Firstly the varied Geology which included Coal, Limestone, Slate, Clay, and Hard Igneous rocks. Secondly the topography of the flooded valley and the heavily indented coastline which meant that it was easy to transport materials and finished goods. Anthracite had been mined in Pembrokeshire since at least as early as the 13th century using the good river system for transport with Lawrenny and Cresswell Quay being two of the ports. Far more will be said about coal in Saturday’s talk. There were many Watermills in the county and water was also used to power other industries including coal. Middle Mill in Solva and Y Felin (the Mill) St Dogmaels remain in use and are water powered.
Llanfyrnach Silver Lead Mine was started in the 1760s and was also water powered. It closed at the end of the century but reopened in the 1840s and in the 1860s received a Cornish Engine and thus steam succeeded water power although the latter continued to be used for an in place turbine. There are still a lot of remains above ground. Rosebush has some large slate quarries which we will visit tomorrow and we are also going to those at Porthgain where we will also see later industries. Two other industries were mentioned. Iron smelting in the woods at Canaston Bridgewhich
certainly took place in the 1630s although little other than slag remains today whilst in the early 20th century a large brickworks was founded at Goodwick with its development helped by the railway. This closed in the 1960s.
SATURDAY 4th MAY
We headed north in the morning and our first port of call was Y Felin Llandudoch (St Dogmael’s near Cardigan). A mill has existed here in the valley of the Afon Degwel from at least the 1640s and almost certainly earlier. It is very likely that it was part of the abbey and worked by the monks in pre-Reformation days. The last family miller, Mr Evan Gwynne, died in 1926 and the mill slowly decayed apart from a brief renaissance during WWII. In 1977 it was bought by Mr & Mrs Michael Hall and gradually restored to its former state. This has involved renewing parts of the structure and mechanism of the mill, in some cases whole parts, but always using the original material in replacement. Michael was away but we were shown round by his assistant, William Martin, who had the mill working and gave us a comprehensive tour. Afterwards many of us went round the Abbey and the church. The latter contains the Sagranus Stone which is the “Rosetta Stone” for the Ogham script.
After this we moved on to Rosebush where we met Peter Claughton and were shown round two of the slate quarries plus associated buildings. There were two companies working each with two quarries – Belstone, originally known as Prescelly, which opened December 1825. It increased production and expanded, especially after the railway from Clunderwen opened in the 1870s. Despite this the last company to work Belstone was dissolved by 1891. Rosebush was opened by 1842 and was extensively developed in the 1860s. The lessee of the quarry was instrumental in constructing the railway in the 1870s. The two original railway engines used are both still in existence despite the long years since closure Margaret is at the Pemrokeshire Museum at Scolton Manor as a static exhibit whilst Ringing Rock is believed to be in steam somewhere in Kent. The peak production time came from just after the railway’s opening in 1876 and this was also the time that the settlement of Rosebush developed. The name is an English mispronunciation of the Welsh name for the area. The railway subsequently extended to Fishguard as the North Pembrokeshire Railway and remained in use for many years after the closure of the quarries. An excellent buffet lunch at the Old Post Office followed before we set off for Porthgain.
Prior to 1838 Porthgain was a very small fishing village with a couple of lime kilns and the Sloop Inn. There was little trade and little reason to go there. After 1838 slate quarries opened at Abereiddi and Trefin and eventually one just behind the harbour at Porthgain itself. The produce of all three were shipped out of Porthgain and in 1851 the harbour was considerably improved by some works making loading much safer. This consisted of two piers which partially sealed off the harbour. The quarry owners had also found that you can make bricks from slate waste and a large building Ty Mawr was used for this and stands to this day. Porthgain was now very busy and at the end of the 19th century plans were underway to enlarge the harbour. These did not have a smooth passage and it was not until the mid 1900s that the relatively modest extension was opened. By this time the slate industry had died and stone had taken over. The great stone crushers can still be seen by the harbour and, again, Porthgain was very busy. This continued up to the start of WWI but was never to be recaptured after it.
Although the works continued in production and up to 180 cargoes a year were moved the London trade had been lost and almost every cargo was to South Wales and the West Country. However in 1931 the main, Baxter, berth was extended to 210 feet and plenty of shipments took place. However, by July 1931 the company was again in liquidation and all quarrying ceased. Although there was plenty of stone awaiting shipment and these continued, the end was in sight. Some shipments of dust were made but on 21st November 1934 SS Jeanette made the last commercial voyage from Porthgain. Despite many plans the works never reopened and today the houses are privately owned and the area is owned by the National Park and the National Trust.
We continued to St David’s where most looked round the Cathedral. The organ was playing inside which added to the atmosphere. We then
drove “home”. In the evening we had a talk and slide show on the Coal Industry in Pembrokeshire by Dr Martin Connop Price whose book Pembrokeshire – the Forgotten Coalfield is the authoritative work on the industry. He stayed the night with us and led us round various sites on the Sunday.
SUNDAY 5th MAY
We left the hotel at 09:00 and headed first for Landshipping Quay near where there is a memorial to the 44 miners lost in Pembrokeshire’s worst disaster when water broke into workings underneath the Cleddau. We then continued to Cresswell Quay where we crossed on the stepping stones and looked at the quays and the coal storage areas. This is the junction of three parishes and each one had its own loading area where coal, brought down by oxen cart, was loaded on to lighters for shipment down to Lawrenny where it was transhipped on to sea going vessels. There were at least 20 lighters working in this trade 100 years ago. This was our one failure as on the quay stands probably the pub with the best beer in Pembrokeshire. We were too early for it to be open!
We then went to Jeffreyston where we looked at Underhill Wood and the remains of primitive coal working there. It was a difficult walk made more interesting by a herd of inquisitive bullocks. I can assure you that, either they recognise a Welsh rugby shirt or else they do not react to red. In Tudor times there were dozens of people working here in atrocious conditions. The coal won was taken in oxen carts to Cresswell Quay.
We then went to Coppet Hall but the car park was closed and, after some interesting manoeuvres with the minibus, we moved to Wiseman’s Bridge where we had a short walk following the old railway along the sea wall (shades of Dawlish!). We had lunch at the Begelly Arms before moving on to Kilgetty Ironworks and Grove Colliery. The latter is up on a hill and was sunk about 1850 and worked for 50 years, The ironworks started slightly earlier and did not last as long never being the hoped for success. However the nearby Kilgetty Colliery continued in production until WWII.
At Grove Colliery we saw the remains of the winding houses and the engine house whilst at the ironworks the engine house and furnaces remain (along with the loading hoppers at intermediate level) as well as a large building known as The Platform (it looks like a station!) This housed a fitter’s shop and lathe room, smithy with four hearths, carpenter’s shop and pattern room with the manager’s office on the second floor. These workshops were used up until the closure of the Kilgetty Colliery. After good walk round the site, led by Martin we said goodbye to our guide and moved on to Carew where we looked at the castle and the tide mill. The former was built in 1270 for Nicholas de Carew and is still owned by the Carew family. The ruins graphically illustrate the transition from castle to stately home. The Tidal Mill dates back at least to 1542 although the present building dates from the 19th century. It finally ceased milling in 1937 and lay derelict. Renovation, thanks to Historic Buildings Council of Wales, Pembrokeshire County Council and Pembroke Rural District Council, was completed in 1972 and the lease was acquired by the National Park Authority in 1984 and improvement work has continued. It is hoped to get at least the south wheel turning some of the auxiliary machinery in the future. We then returned to the hotel and in the evening had a quiz.
MONDAY 6th MAY
On our way home on Monday we visited the Dolaucothi Gold Mines – a National Trust property. It is thought that the mines were first worked in the late Bronze Age and they were certainly worked by the Romans. They were then forgotten for 1200 years until the 17th century when trial shafts were dug but without success. Gold was rediscovered in 1844 and for the next 94 years various companies worked the mines. Flooding, high production costs and a lack of gold meant that little money (if any) was made by these companies and in 1938 the mines closed down for good.
I can remember in the 1960s when a student at St David’s College Lampeter crawling round the workings in the hope of striking gold but we only ever found “Fool’s Gold”.(Iron Pyrites). The estate had been given to the Trust in 1943 by Mr. Herbert Lloyd Johnes and the current exhibition was developed in the 1970s. The surface buildings came from the Halkyn Lead Mine in 1987 and visitors can go on underground tours and even pan for gold. We had a comprehensive underground tour and then lunch at the café before heading home via a run round the Elan Valley and its reservoirs built over a hundred year ago for Birmingham Corporation.
Hover over images for captions.
England, Scotland and Wales have all been visited in the last 10 years. One or two minibuses are used and often the odd car. Some weekenders travel independently and join us at the hotel and on the minibus for the tours. This year the main part of the trip saw 20 of us in a minibus and a car. Two society members take turns driving the minibus which gives maximum flexibility. We also tend to visit one or two sites en route so all the sites are not in Pembrokeshire. We stayed at the Mariners’ Hotel in Haverfordwest for three nights and it proved a very good base.
FRIDAY 3rd MAY
We had a stop at Bala and arrived at Llanerchaeron Estate near Aberaeron in time for lunch (delicious cawl) and then had 90 minutes to look round. The actual estate was left to the National Trust in 1989 by John Powell Ponsonby and the House (Villa) dates from 1795 and is the most complete example of the early work of John Nash during his “exile” from London. The estate was designed to be self sufficient and there has been little change. As well as the house you can see the WalledGarden, Greenhouses, Stables, Carriage House, Stockyard, Sawmill Shed and Waterwheel amongst others giving a very wide range of services run at the site. The fact that these farm and service buildings languished out of use but unchanged is what gives the house and estate it unique, historical character. The estate is also home to the Geler Jones collection which was collected by a saddler and leatherworker from Cardigan and purchased by the Trust in 1994. Only part of it is on display but it is a marvellous collection encompassing a wide spectrum of rural life.
We then drove to Haverfordwest arriving 1715 and we booked in. That evening, Dr Peter Claughton gave us a talk on Pembrokeshire’s Industrial Heritage. There were two main factors – Firstly the varied Geology which included Coal, Limestone, Slate, Clay, and Hard Igneous rocks. Secondly the topography of the flooded valley and the heavily indented coastline which meant that it was easy to transport materials and finished goods. Anthracite had been mined in Pembrokeshire since at least as early as the 13th century using the good river system for transport with Lawrenny and Cresswell Quay being two of the ports. Far more will be said about coal in Saturday’s talk. There were many Watermills in the county and water was also used to power other industries including coal. Middle Mill in Solva and Y Felin (the Mill) St Dogmaels remain in use and are water powered.
Llanfyrnach Silver Lead Mine was started in the 1760s and was also water powered. It closed at the end of the century but reopened in the 1840s and in the 1860s received a Cornish Engine and thus steam succeeded water power although the latter continued to be used for an in place turbine. There are still a lot of remains above ground. Rosebush has some large slate quarries which we will visit tomorrow and we are also going to those at Porthgain where we will also see later industries. Two other industries were mentioned. Iron smelting in the woods at Canaston Bridgewhich
certainly took place in the 1630s although little other than slag remains today whilst in the early 20th century a large brickworks was founded at Goodwick with its development helped by the railway. This closed in the 1960s.
SATURDAY 4th MAY
We headed north in the morning and our first port of call was Y Felin Llandudoch (St Dogmael’s near Cardigan). A mill has existed here in the valley of the Afon Degwel from at least the 1640s and almost certainly earlier. It is very likely that it was part of the abbey and worked by the monks in pre-Reformation days. The last family miller, Mr Evan Gwynne, died in 1926 and the mill slowly decayed apart from a brief renaissance during WWII. In 1977 it was bought by Mr & Mrs Michael Hall and gradually restored to its former state. This has involved renewing parts of the structure and mechanism of the mill, in some cases whole parts, but always using the original material in replacement. Michael was away but we were shown round by his assistant, William Martin, who had the mill working and gave us a comprehensive tour. Afterwards many of us went round the Abbey and the church. The latter contains the Sagranus Stone which is the “Rosetta Stone” for the Ogham script.
After this we moved on to Rosebush where we met Peter Claughton and were shown round two of the slate quarries plus associated buildings. There were two companies working each with two quarries – Belstone, originally known as Prescelly, which opened December 1825. It increased production and expanded, especially after the railway from Clunderwen opened in the 1870s. Despite this the last company to work Belstone was dissolved by 1891. Rosebush was opened by 1842 and was extensively developed in the 1860s. The lessee of the quarry was instrumental in constructing the railway in the 1870s. The two original railway engines used are both still in existence despite the long years since closure Margaret is at the Pemrokeshire Museum at Scolton Manor as a static exhibit whilst Ringing Rock is believed to be in steam somewhere in Kent. The peak production time came from just after the railway’s opening in 1876 and this was also the time that the settlement of Rosebush developed. The name is an English mispronunciation of the Welsh name for the area. The railway subsequently extended to Fishguard as the North Pembrokeshire Railway and remained in use for many years after the closure of the quarries. An excellent buffet lunch at the Old Post Office followed before we set off for Porthgain.
Prior to 1838 Porthgain was a very small fishing village with a couple of lime kilns and the Sloop Inn. There was little trade and little reason to go there. After 1838 slate quarries opened at Abereiddi and Trefin and eventually one just behind the harbour at Porthgain itself. The produce of all three were shipped out of Porthgain and in 1851 the harbour was considerably improved by some works making loading much safer. This consisted of two piers which partially sealed off the harbour. The quarry owners had also found that you can make bricks from slate waste and a large building Ty Mawr was used for this and stands to this day. Porthgain was now very busy and at the end of the 19th century plans were underway to enlarge the harbour. These did not have a smooth passage and it was not until the mid 1900s that the relatively modest extension was opened. By this time the slate industry had died and stone had taken over. The great stone crushers can still be seen by the harbour and, again, Porthgain was very busy. This continued up to the start of WWI but was never to be recaptured after it.
Although the works continued in production and up to 180 cargoes a year were moved the London trade had been lost and almost every cargo was to South Wales and the West Country. However in 1931 the main, Baxter, berth was extended to 210 feet and plenty of shipments took place. However, by July 1931 the company was again in liquidation and all quarrying ceased. Although there was plenty of stone awaiting shipment and these continued, the end was in sight. Some shipments of dust were made but on 21st November 1934 SS Jeanette made the last commercial voyage from Porthgain. Despite many plans the works never reopened and today the houses are privately owned and the area is owned by the National Park and the National Trust.
We continued to St David’s where most looked round the Cathedral. The organ was playing inside which added to the atmosphere. We then
drove “home”. In the evening we had a talk and slide show on the Coal Industry in Pembrokeshire by Dr Martin Connop Price whose book Pembrokeshire – the Forgotten Coalfield is the authoritative work on the industry. He stayed the night with us and led us round various sites on the Sunday.
SUNDAY 5th MAY
We left the hotel at 09:00 and headed first for Landshipping Quay near where there is a memorial to the 44 miners lost in Pembrokeshire’s worst disaster when water broke into workings underneath the Cleddau. We then continued to Cresswell Quay where we crossed on the stepping stones and looked at the quays and the coal storage areas. This is the junction of three parishes and each one had its own loading area where coal, brought down by oxen cart, was loaded on to lighters for shipment down to Lawrenny where it was transhipped on to sea going vessels. There were at least 20 lighters working in this trade 100 years ago. This was our one failure as on the quay stands probably the pub with the best beer in Pembrokeshire. We were too early for it to be open!
We then went to Jeffreyston where we looked at Underhill Wood and the remains of primitive coal working there. It was a difficult walk made more interesting by a herd of inquisitive bullocks. I can assure you that, either they recognise a Welsh rugby shirt or else they do not react to red. In Tudor times there were dozens of people working here in atrocious conditions. The coal won was taken in oxen carts to Cresswell Quay.
We then went to Coppet Hall but the car park was closed and, after some interesting manoeuvres with the minibus, we moved to Wiseman’s Bridge where we had a short walk following the old railway along the sea wall (shades of Dawlish!). We had lunch at the Begelly Arms before moving on to Kilgetty Ironworks and Grove Colliery. The latter is up on a hill and was sunk about 1850 and worked for 50 years, The ironworks started slightly earlier and did not last as long never being the hoped for success. However the nearby Kilgetty Colliery continued in production until WWII.
At Grove Colliery we saw the remains of the winding houses and the engine house whilst at the ironworks the engine house and furnaces remain (along with the loading hoppers at intermediate level) as well as a large building known as The Platform (it looks like a station!) This housed a fitter’s shop and lathe room, smithy with four hearths, carpenter’s shop and pattern room with the manager’s office on the second floor. These workshops were used up until the closure of the Kilgetty Colliery. After good walk round the site, led by Martin we said goodbye to our guide and moved on to Carew where we looked at the castle and the tide mill. The former was built in 1270 for Nicholas de Carew and is still owned by the Carew family. The ruins graphically illustrate the transition from castle to stately home. The Tidal Mill dates back at least to 1542 although the present building dates from the 19th century. It finally ceased milling in 1937 and lay derelict. Renovation, thanks to Historic Buildings Council of Wales, Pembrokeshire County Council and Pembroke Rural District Council, was completed in 1972 and the lease was acquired by the National Park Authority in 1984 and improvement work has continued. It is hoped to get at least the south wheel turning some of the auxiliary machinery in the future. We then returned to the hotel and in the evening had a quiz.
MONDAY 6th MAY
On our way home on Monday we visited the Dolaucothi Gold Mines – a National Trust property. It is thought that the mines were first worked in the late Bronze Age and they were certainly worked by the Romans. They were then forgotten for 1200 years until the 17th century when trial shafts were dug but without success. Gold was rediscovered in 1844 and for the next 94 years various companies worked the mines. Flooding, high production costs and a lack of gold meant that little money (if any) was made by these companies and in 1938 the mines closed down for good.
I can remember in the 1960s when a student at St David’s College Lampeter crawling round the workings in the hope of striking gold but we only ever found “Fool’s Gold”.(Iron Pyrites). The estate had been given to the Trust in 1943 by Mr. Herbert Lloyd Johnes and the current exhibition was developed in the 1970s. The surface buildings came from the Halkyn Lead Mine in 1987 and visitors can go on underground tours and even pan for gold. We had a comprehensive underground tour and then lunch at the café before heading home via a run round the Elan Valley and its reservoirs built over a hundred year ago for Birmingham Corporation.
Hover over images for captions.
