Time Line
Time line of important events on the mountain.
1352
1406
Robert Parys given Mynydd
Trwysglwyn as a reward from the King for collecting taxes due from the people of
Anglesey because of their support for Owain Glyndwr.
Medleys "Great Mineral Works"
at Mynydd Parys investigations for the Mineral & Battery work on methods for
producing materials from the waters of Parys Mountain. Recorded by Sir
John Wynn of Gwydir
1693
Crown monopoly of Gold and silver
mining held by the battery works was relinquished.
1748
Lewis Morris writer and mapmaker
noted in his diaries that the mountain produced an “oakery earth” which was
used in paint manufacture.
1
Cerrig Y bleddia farm (East side of
mountain) owned by Sir Nicholas Bayly. (Plas Newydd)
Dr John Rutty gave an address to
the Royal Society on the " Vitriolic liquors" flowing out of the
mountain. They were said to be of benefit for curing ulcers, itches, internal
haemorrhaging ,worms and diarrhoea and “ the gleats”
1761
Lewis Morris records that there was
some prospecting in Anglesey including Rhosmynach and Parys.
A Cornishman called James Thomas was said to have already mined some ore at
Parys and sent it to Warrington for smelting.
In the same year the Steward of the Arch Deacon of Merionydd was also carrying
out a careful search of the Parys Mountain area. It is reported that his horse
stumbled and fell into the remains of some previous workings on the mountain.
One of the areas being investigated was that of Cerrig Y Bleiddia farm were a
Scot called Alexander Fraser had began to look for ore for the Bayly family.
The Mona Mine manuscripts records
that Bayly received £108 rent from his Agent Cartwright in October 1761
"to carry on Parys mountain copper mine"
A number of shafts were sunk in the area now known as
Hen Waith.
Copper was found but flooding was always a major problem.
1
Bayly had almost given up on mining
for copper on his land. He entered into a lease arrangement with Charles Roe and
Company from Macclesfield. They were given the right to mine for 21 years from
October 1764 at the eastern end of Parys mountain.
1768
The land at Cerrig y Bleddia was
searched for a number of years.
2nd
march 1768
"The
Great discovery" A large quantity of ore was found by a miner called
Rowland Puw. For his work he was given a bottle of Whiskey and a rent free cottage for the rest of his life
Following
the discovery it was suddenly realised that the mountain held a great deal of
wealth in copper.
Thomas William's legal work led to
the formation of the Parys Mine company in 1774.
1780
The Greenfield copper works was built to make articles out of the refined copper
from the smelters at Amlwch Port.
1784
A new patent meant that only Thomas
William’s could supply the copper bolts & sheathing used by the Navy to
protect ships from attack by a wood eating sea worm A contract for 25,000 bolts were
week was obtained by Thomas Williams who was actually supply 40,000 per week. Copper
sheathing was used on Nelson’s ship Victory at the battle of Trafalgar.
1785
Thomas Williams gained management control of the Mona Copper mine.
1786
31 smelting furnaces with chimneys 41 foot high had been built at Amlwch Port to
refine the ore.
1787
The poor quality and lack of local supply of the coin meant that by 1786
Thomas William was considering producing his own coinage with which to pay his
workers.
The observe of the coin showed a Druid's head surrounded by a wreath of oak
leaves and acorns. Thomas Williams lived at Plas LLanidan over looking the Menai
Straits. His home was close to the battle fields of the Romans and Druids
in AD61 and AD76. It is thought that this influenced the design of his
coin.
The reverse of the coin showed a PMC design which stood for the
Parys Mining Company. The design also had the words:- We promise to pay the
bearer one penny On demand in London , Liverpool or Anglesea." This served
as a reminder that the coins were "Trade tokens" and not official
coins of the realm.
1788
Thomas Williams had to get coal and other raw materials into Amlwch port
and Copper out to his customers.
1802
Thomas Williams died. At about the same time the output and quality of
ore from the great open cast declined.
1811
Lord Uxbridge, who still owned Mona mine formed a new company with the Vivian
family of Swansea. The Vivian family had a large stake in the copper ore smelting
business in Swansea and also with ore production from their mines in Cornwall.
Treweek brought with him many
experienced overseers who began to use deep shaft mining techniques like those
used in Cornwall as opposed to the open cast techniques used in the previous
century.
His methods were so successfully
that by 1816 the mine output had risen to 6 times that of 1811.
The Cornish miners experienced in dealing with the pumping of
water from mines and in 1819 the Pearl engine house was built
to help keep the mine dry.
This engine was installed and
commissioned on 27-30 March 1819 and is the oldest surviving example of a
Cornish beam engine in Wales.
A carting monopoly lead to higher prices which in
November 1825 resulted in John Sanderson the Plas Newydd agent looking at
the possibility of having a railway built from the mountain to the smelting
works at the port Treweek estimated that it would cost around £3000 for
such a railway, which it was said would pay for itself in 3 years.
It was February 1828 before further
progress was made when Mr Charles Vignoles arrived to survey the route from the
Mona mine to the smelting works.
A Direct line from the mountain to
the port was proposed with branch line to Parys and Mona kilns and to the yards
of the smelting houses. The railway would continue on to the quay and enable two
vessels to be loaded or unloaded at a time. Vignoles estimate for the cost from
mountain to port was £6350. However the railway to the mine was
never completed.
1851
James Treweek died and Charles Dyer became the Mona mine manager
1863
Work began on a passenger railway from Gaerwen to Amlwch Port. The mine owners
now found it cheaper and more reliable to transport good to and from the mine
via the railway.
The use of ships from Amlwch port began to decline.
1866
Thomas Fanning Evans takes over Mona mine.
John Taylor & Sons suspend operations at Parys mine.
1883
Underground work at Mona Mine stopped. Use of the precipitation process above
ground continued.
1901
Mainly precipitation works in which the copper in the water on the mountain was
precipitated using iron in pits.
1930s
Precipitation pits abandoned.
1960
Various Companies carry out underground exploration for copper
ore.
1980s
Anglesey Mining Company PLC prove the existence of a poly metallic ore
containing mainly Zinc.