O’r golwg mewn cilfach dawel yng Nghwm Einon yng ngogledd Ceredigion mae un o emau diwydiannol cudd Cymru, sef mwynglawdd metelau Ystrad Einon. Bu pobl yn cloddio am blwm, arian a metelau eraill yma ar raddfa fach ers y 18fed ganrif, ond degawdau olaf y 19eg ganrif a welodd y gweithgarwch mawr yno. O weld cyfle i wneud arian, aeth y mentrwr o Sir Gaerhirfryn, Adam Mason, ati i gael prydles ar y tir a gwario dros £3000 ar brynu’r offer diweddaraf.
Mwynglawdd cymharol fach oedd hwn. Yn ôl adroddiad a luniwyd ym 1891, doedd ond 11 o fwyngloddwyr yn gweithio yno: naw dyn yn gweithio dan ddaear a dau lanc 13 ac 18 oed ar yr wyneb. Colledion enbyd a wnaed yn Ystrad Einon ac o edrych yn ôl gallwn weld i Adam Mason a’i offer gyrraedd yno’n rhy hwyr. Roedd y mwynau ar fin dod i ben, costau mwyngloddio’n cynyddu a mewnforion rhad o dramor wrthi’n bygwth ac, yn y pen draw, yn dinistrio mwyngloddio ym Mhrydain. Ym 1903 fe gaewyd y mwynglawdd am y tro olaf a gwerthu neu sgrapio llawer o’r peiriannau.
Gall y cyhoedd ymweld â mwynglawdd metelau Ystrad Einon, a bydd ffrwyth gwaith dehongli newydd i’w weld ar y safle erbyn haf 2011.
Mae gwaith y Comisiwn Brenhinol yn Ystrad Einon wedi’i gyflawni mewn partneriaeth â Chyngor Sir Ceredigion a’u prosiect PLWM, ynghyd ag Ymddiriedolaeth Cadwraeth Mwynfeydd Cymru.
Cysylltau:
Tucked away in a quiet corner of Cwm Einion in North Ceredigion, lies one of Wales’ hidden industrial gems, Ystrad Einion metal mine. Mining for lead, silver and other metals had been carried out here in a small way since the 18th century, but the main period of activity came in the final decades of the 19th century, when seeing an opportunity to make money, Lancastrian entrepreneur Adam Mason leased the land and sank over £3000 in state-of-the-art equipment.
This was a relatively small mine, a report of 1891 notes just 11 miners working at the site, nine men labouring underground and two lads, aged between 13 and 18 above ground. It also proved spectacular unprofitable and looking back we can now see that Adam Mason and his high technology arrived at Ystrad Einion too late. The ores were becoming exhausted, mining costs were increasing, and British production was being threatened, and eventually destroyed, by cheap foreign imports. The mine was finally closed in 1903, when much of the machinery was sold or scrapped.
Ystrad Einion metal mine is accessible to the public, and the results of new on-site interpretation work will be in place by Summer 2011.
The Royal Commission’s work at Ystrad Einion has been carried out in partnership with Ceredigion County Council and their PLWM project, together with the Welsh Mines Preservation Trust.
Links:
- Ystrad Einion Coflein entry
- Plwm
- The Welsh Mines Preservation Trust
BBC2 Wales - Hidden Histories - Series 3
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