Llandudno’s mine explorers are nearing their goal of breaking through to an unexplored section of the town's Ty Gwyn Copper Mine. The historic Welsh town was once home to miles of tunnels which belonged to a 19th Century copper mine before it was lost to flooding.
In 1985 a group of local mine explorers came together to investigate and promote the history of The Great Orme, which is a Limestone lump that rises 207 metres out of the sea and is referred to as Llandudno’s mini-mountain. The Great Orme is two miles long and one mile wide - and miles of tunnels run beneath Llandudno streets towards it. The group has dedicated their time to hosting underground guided visits to the accessible mines and are continuing to break through to unexplored sections, North Wales Live reports.
For the past 37 years, the Great Orme Exploration Society (GOES) has been learning more about Llandudno’s famous copper mines, and for the past six months there has been a focus on the Ty Gwyn mine, which is separate from the Great Orme. GOES volunteers have worked hard to clear an old rockfall in a ventilation shaft and hope to push on towards the 300-foot-long Tyn y Fron shaft, which is still largely unexplored due to the blockage.
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Speaking to North Wales Live, GOES co-ordinator Adrian Hughes said: “It will open up a whole new subterranean world to us. We’ve long known there are more tunnels and gaining access to them was one of the main aims of the society when it was founded.”
The Ty Gwyn mine opened in 1835 and produced ore worth £93,000 for over 12 years, but due to flooding closed in the 1850s. Adrian said: “We’ve no idea how many levels there are below the highest adit. It’s possible there are dozens more, with hundreds of tunnels, some leading out beneath the sea, and now all submerged.”
The goal is to break through Tyn y Fron’s tunnels. The volunteers know that entry is possible via the Tyn y Fron shaft; however, it is not advised as it requires a 200ft abseil. The group say that if the rockfall blocking the adit can be removed, it will make reaching the area more simple.
However, GOES volunteers are making new discoveries within the accessible mines all the time. They have found artefacts such as old Bovril jars, clay pipes, cow horns, mine boots, and bottles by an 1870s Ruthin soda water company. Adrian added: “Some shafts were left uncapped and they became an easy way for residents to dispose of rubbish.
“Unfortunately this led to the death of a child who fell down an open shaft around the time of the Second World War, after which they were blocked up.”
A memorable find was when volunteers recovered an old bottle embossed with the name “T Williams, Chemist, Llandudno”. Thomas Williams was a young entrepreneur from Denbigh who opened Llandudno’s first department store in 1854, now the Empire Hotel. The then department store sold groceries, wines, spirits and a range of curious pharmaceutical commodities from fresh German leeches to Oriental Toothpaste. The store also provided gunpowder and fire insurance.
Adrian, who runs the town's Home Front Museum, said the business was the “Harrods of Llandudno”. He added: “To Thomas Williams, we in Llandudno owe a debt of gratitude. As well as this fine building, he was also instrumental in many Llandudno attractions that endure today, including Marine Drive, Llandudno Pier – of which he was a director and one-time secretary – and the town band.”
GOES offers individuals and groups the chance to visit Llandudno’s historic underworld. This month, artefacts recovered by volunteers have been arranged on an underground “shelf of curiosities” so that tourists can learn more about Ty Gwyn’s history.
To apply to visit the mine for a guided tour, email: TripsOrganiser@goes.org.uk.
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