Parys Mountain Copper mine

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Amlwch, Anglesey, Wales, United Kingdom

Parys Mountain copper mine

Parys penny

Contents 1 Background 2 Individuals 2.1 Owners 2.2 Miners 3 Sources

Background

• Once reputed to be the largest copper mine in the world, the opencast mining landscape belies the shafts and tunnels that were key to the peak production in the late eighteenth, early nineteenth century.
• Whilst there is evidence that parts of Parys mountain had been subjected to Bronze age fire setting techniques and that the Romans had mined areas here for lead and copper, the mines were first recorded worked in Elizabethan times (ca. 1580). A map in the Public records office (PRO SP45/36 MPF11) shows the havens of Amlwch and Dulas and gives distances to the copper works locating them on the eastern side of Parys mountain^[1].
• The more recently excavated copper mines on the Great Orme in Llandudno attest to the fact that copper was being mined 2000 BCE. The 2002 excavations at Parys showed there can be little doubt that mining started at much the same time.
• The windmill (NPRN 306041) on the summit can be seen in the picture above, and together with the Cornish engine house (NPRN 33670) are well-known landmarks though the commonest visible feature remaining (aside from spoil tips) are precipitation pits (e.g. NPRN 33753).^[2][3]
• The main phase of working began in 1761, with Parys Mountain rapidly becoming Europe's premier copper mine. The Great Lode, which contained an average of 3.5% copper, was discovered in 1768.
• There was a long and acrimonious dispute between Nicholas Bayly and the Williams and Lewis families. Bayly had granted the rights to the mine for 21 years from 1864 to Charles Roe of Macclesfield. The Hughes and Lewis families were responsible for the mine. Whether Roe ever visited the mine was disputed. Their advocate was Thomas Williams, and the case was won. Williams emerged from the dispute as the managing partner with the Revd Edward Hughes and John Dawes in the Parys Mine Company.
• The Company minted its own coins with which they paid their miners, redeemable in the company stores.
• When Williams died in 1802, 1,200 people were employed in his Parys and Mona mines; he was reported to be the richest man in the whole of Wales.
• The copper from the mine was used to sheath the British Admiralty's wooden ships of war, to prevent the growth of seaweed and barnacles and to protect the wood from attack by shipworms. This increased the speed and manoeuvrability of the vessels, and enabled them to remain at sea for longer as there was less need to return to port for maintenance.
• It is estimated that between 1768-1904, a total of 3.5 million tons of ore were raised, producing 130,000 tons of copper and around 20km of underground workings were driven. Although large opencasts remain on the hill, there is remarkably little to be seen in the way of minerals.

Individuals

Owners

• Nicholas Bayly (abt.1620-1689)
• Thomas Williams (1737-1802)

Miners

• John Davies (1791-abt.1847)
• William Bodilly (abt.1802-bef.1871)

Sources

1. ↑ see the cartographer Humphrey Lloyd's profile
2. ↑ The National Primary Record Number (NPRN) is a unique reference number for each site recorded within the Coflein database
3. ↑ Coflein is the online catalogue of archaeology, buildings, industrial and maritime heritage in Wales

• Wikidata: Item Q7141415