I intend to write a number of times on a variety of subject areas relating to the old mines in mid Wales when I can get around to it, but I've just come across one of the old fact sheets written by Peter Lloyd Harvey in the 1970's for the old Llywernog Silver Lead mine Museum. Its in part about people who moved to another country to work in the mines... Here's the first part. (very slightly edited by me.)

The Cardiganshire Lead Miner, How he lived and worked.

Introduction.

The mines of old Cardiganshire were often located in the most remote places, high up in the mountains and far away from the existing centers of population along the coast and in the lowlands. At each period in the development of the industry, labour was imported from other mining areas, not only in Britain, but overseas as well. Completely new villages grew up to serve the needs of the mining folk, creating a pattern of settlement which strongly contrasted with the local agrarian society. The 'typical' lead miner may have been Cardiganshire born and a part-time farmer; he may equally well have been from distant Cornwall or Derbyshire, and a professional, full-time, mine worker. In this Factsheet we try and take a closer look at this hardy breed of men & women who pioneered metal mining in the Plynlimmon Mountains of Mid-Wales over the centuries.

The Immigrants.

Cardiganshire (Ceredigion) is still one of the most remote of all the Welsh districts. Traditionally, few route ways traversed the barrier formed by the 'Cambrian Mountains' and the easiest line of communication lay seawards through the western oceans. The area is still one of the strongholds of the Welsh language, and in former times, most of the local inhabitants were only Welsh speakers. Against that background it can be seen that any immigration was bound to cause something of a social upheaval. Mining did just that and left a profound mark on the little communities. The first, and perhaps the most strange, influx of miners came in the 16th century, following the incorporation of the Elizabethan 'Society of the Mines Royal.' Queen Elizabeth brought in two German mining experts to help in the development of British mineral resources. Daniel Hochstetter and Christopher Schutz were instrumental in recruiting many more of their fellow countrymen for field operations. When the Cwmsymlog Mine was being worked by 'Customer' Thomas Smythe between 1586 and 1597, the majority of the workers were of German origin, confusingly referred to as 'Hollanders.'

Convict Labour.

In the I8th century, the 'Company of Mine Adventurers' tried an experiment by employing '27 condemned criminals' from prisons on the Norfolk Circuit. Life must have proved a great deal harder than being in gaol and at least two escaped. A plan to bring captured 'Pyrates' to the mines of Mid-Wales was scotched by a public outcry!

Derbyshire miners started to appear in Cardiganshire at this time, including John Paynter, John Roose and Sir Thomas Bonsall of Bakewell. Another, Job Sheldon, was Mayor of Aberystwyth on no less than 12 occasions between 1804 and 1833. The rich discoveries of lead at the Old Darren Mine in 1731 were made by a Cornish engineer called Edmund Moore. He and his small band of fellow Cornishmen had a brief 'skirmish' with Flintshire miners over the disputed ownership of the Cwm-Darren Level.

The Napoleonic Wars .

The Napoleonic Wars started in 1793. The effects on lead mining in Cardiganshire were disastrous, for not only did the traditional overseas markets disappear overnight, but the pool of skilled labour was called away to fight with Nelson & Wellington. After 1815, growing numbers of miners from the West Country moved in to fill the vacuum, although the industry was still in a depressed state.

Cornish management moved in too, not only in Mid-Wales, but also in Flint & Denbigh. In 1824, the Williams family of Scorrier House, near Gwennap in Cornwall, arrived complete with Cornish mine 'Captains' and most of their underground staff. They appear to have been accepted by the few Cardiganshire miners still left, unlike their counterparts in Flintshire who deeply resented the presence of the Cornishmen. Two years earlier, Sir George & Sir Thomas Alderson, arrived at the great Cwmystwyth Mines bringing with them a small army of Yorkshire lead miners. One of this group, James Raw from Swaledale , was to become one of the best-known of the Cwmystwyth mine 'Captains'. The Raw family still Farm in Cwmystwyth.

The Cornish.

1834 saw the arrival of the biggest ever influx of Cornish miners under the general direction of John Taylor and his engineer sons. Suddenly, everything became Cornish, the surnames, the entire 'language' of mining', even Cornish-made machinery was shipped in to Aberystwyth from such places as the Perran Foundry, and Sandys, Vivian & Company. The first official Census dates from 1851 and shows us that there were 343 Cornish & Devon born people then living in the mining district of Cardiganshire, together with 424 from Flintshire. By 1871, the ratio had changed in favour of the Cornish with 523, as compared with 245 from Flint and 173 from Yorkshire. The Cornish domination of the industry continued until the great slump of the I880's. Many Cornishmen returned home but there were also those who stayed, inter-marrying with local Welsh families. Alf Jenkins of Yspyty Cynfyn is one such Cardiganshire-Cornishman, whose family name was Trevethan in the I9th century.

THE 'LANGUAGE' OF MINING.

In the I8th C., most of the technical terms used in the mines of Mid-Wales were based on those used in the ancient 'High Peak' lead mining district of Derbyshire. For example, Bunnings were timber stagings on which broken material, or Bouse, was allowed to accumulate in the stopes; cranches were unworked pillars of vein; the forefield was the furthermost part of the workings on the vein; a Liberty was the district in which the mineral lord could grant the right to work minerals; a sough was a drainage tunnel; a stemple was a support timber; a stowe was a small hand windlass, and a waygate was a main haulage way. In addition a mine was always operated under the direction of agents or managers, and the unit of underground measurement was the yard.

Now see what happened after the Cornish 'invasion' of the Mid-Wales mines in the I820's. A mine was managed by a Captain, and the account ledgers (kept in the Count House or office) were looked after by the Purser in a Cost-Book Company. Ore was hoisted in an iron bucket, or kibble, the forefield became the fore breast , the sough became an Adit, the stemple became a stull and depths and horizontal distances were measured in fathoms. The nautical flavour of the Cornish mining 'language' was the result of the intermingling of the sea and work in the bal (mine). Nowhere in Cornwall was the sea very far away and in places like St Just and St Agnes, miners were often part-time pilchard fishermen too. The standardisation of terms made good common sense.

To be continued!