7/28/2019 The Rescue and Conservation of a Cornish Boiler from Tan Yr Allt Mine, Talybont, Ceredigion.

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Welsh Mines Preservation TrustYr Ymddiriedolaeth Cadwraeth

Mwynfeydd Cymru

History of the boilerThis was probably installed at the Tanyrallt Mine around 1873/4 inorder to serve a Cornish pumping engine within the newly erect-ed engine house. No contemporary picture of this house survives,although a B&W photograph of the stone-built remains with half of the square chimney stack s ll standing and the roo ess exter -nal boiler house with boiler in situ. was taken in 1967 by Hughes.The actual date of the engines installa on is suggested by the very

rst men on of this in Absalom Francis History of the Cardigan -hire Mines (1874).

Most likely this boiler was manufactured by George Green at hisCambrian Foundry in Aberystwyth, given its similarity to the larg -er (and s ll surviving though poorly preserved) Llwynmalus Mineboiler built around 1850, and also because of Greens personal in-volvement with the Talybont Mines around this me, such as Allty Crib, where an underground steam engine was installed in 1879.Unusually perhaps the boiler was not removed when the mine wasabandoned, and the steam engine dismantled, in 1891. One can only guess that it may have been in a poor state, with a low scrap val-ue, or else that it was le inten onally, perhaps for use as a water supply (tank) for agricultural purposes. Over the next 122 years thiswas gradually buried beneath collapsed masonry, with li le sign of vandalism or further damage. A photo of this taken in 1980 showst in a pre y similar condi on to how we nd it today.

In 2006, at the behest of S.J.S. Hughes of Talybont, a rus ngCornish boiler was rescued from the collapsed remains of anengine house at Tanyrallt Mine, Talybont during the demoli on of this site by the landowner. For a number of years this was storedat a nearby farm, but in 2011 the WMPT agreed to take on the

job of conserving this, following which the boiler was moved tothe Bryn-y-Mor (Ceredigion CC) Yard in Aberystwyth where itcould be worked upon. A conserva on condi on report has beenproduced, and the object was drawn and photographed prior towork being undertaken; this will involve cleaning the ue of ashand acidic mine waste, removing the exfolia ng rust scale, andapplying several coats of red oxide paint to the exterior and otherexposed/ accessible surfaces. It is hoped that on comple on of the work it will prove possible to display the boiler somewhere inAberystwyth, together with an interpreta on panel, and we arecurrently in discussion with the Ceredigion Museum and others asto what eventually might happen to it.

A similar (but larger) boiler as illustrated in a late 19th C Harveys of Hayle catalogue of miningmachinery

Tanyrallt Engine House in 1967 with boiler s ll in situ (photo S J Hughes)

oiler a er removal to the Bryn y Mor (Ceredigion CC) works yard in Aberystwyth 2012

THE RESCUE AND CONSERVATION OF A CORNISH BOILER FROM TAN YR ALLT MINTALYBONT, CEREDIGION

Simon Timberlake (Welsh Mines Preserva on Trust)

7/28/2019 The Rescue and Conservation of a Cornish Boiler from Tan Yr Allt Mine, Talybont, Ceredigion.

2/2

Welsh Mines Preservation TrustYr Ymddiriedolaeth Cadwraeth

Mwynfeydd Cymru

Descrip on: Apart from a number of small corrosion holes on the underside, the body of this 15 feet 6 inches (14.7m) long and 5eet (1.5m) diameter cylindrical internal ue Cornish boiler appears to be intact. The sides of this were made from 25 overlapping 6mm) thick riveted iron plates of varying sizes (ranging from standard 38x 24 to 2 x 14 for the smallest top plates; with both of he ends made from single 5 diameter plates xed onto an outer and an inner ring, with the addi on of 2 deep half-round plates riv -ted on top of these on the upper side of the boiler. The la er were probably intended as reinforcement plates, perhaps an addi onalafety measure designed to prevent steam burst.

At the front ( re door) end the internal ue (here approx. 24 diameter) was a-centrally located just 5-6 above the bo om of theboiler, the ue diameter narrowing to c.14, and rising to the mid-point of the boiler at the chimney end; this presumably a design toncourage the draw of the ue, so increase the rate of temperature rise, thus reducing the boiling me. The tube for the internal ue

was made up of three overlapping and riveted longitudinal ue plates.nside of the upturned re box at the front end can be seen three at-gently arched wrought iron supports for the now missing re

bars which formed the coal grate.

Some of the present bolts may have been inserted following the removal of s ll-func oning gauges or valves; the la er used to moni -or water level as well as steam pressure. These features can be seen more clearly on the drawing of similar boiler within the Harveysof Hayle, Cornwall) Foundry catalogue. Along the top of the boiler are two large-bore bolted pipe junc ons (approx. 6-7 internal

diameter). Both were probably for steam pipes, but only one of them (at the re box end) remains in posi on. These and a possiblenspec on chamber cover located within the middle of the boiler are mounted on smaller riveted top plates. At the far end (furthestrom the re box), an iron bolt and lead washer might indicate the posi on of another steam pressure safety valve, perhaps of the

drop pressure type. The posi on of the water inlet remains a mystery.

George Green and Aberystwyths industrial heritageDuring the 1870s when the lead mines were most ac ve someeven Aberystwyth iron foundries were producing either n -shed or component parts for ore dressing machinery, wa-

erwheels or steam engines. The most famous of these wasGeorge Greens Cambrian Foundry (now demolished) in Alex -nder Road, the site of which lies opposite the railway sta on.

No catalogue for this foundry seems to have survived, and allhe original documenta on rela ng to the works appears to

have been lost when this burnt down in 1908. The foundryhad been in opera on since about 1850, and towards the endf this century following the decline of local mining, George

Green sold mining machinery as far a eld as Colombia, Mex -co, South Africa and Russia. Equipment had to be both de -ivered and installed, and in his la er years Green travelled

widely, o en ac ng as a consultant to mining ventures. It wasn one of these visits to the Caspian Sea in 1893 that he con -racted a fever, which he succumbed to in 1895. He was bur-ed in Aberystwyth with much pomp and formality, his funeraleing one of the largest the town has ever seen.

For more informa on on Green I would strongly recommendeading S.J.S. Hughes George Green, Engineer and Entrepe -

neur, 1824-1895 in Bri sh Mining No.34, 1987.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Simon Hughes of Talybont. In addi on Graham Levins, Nigel Chapman, Robert Ireland,

and Robert Protheroe have assisted with useful informa on. Michael Freeman, Carrie Canham and Peter

Aus n of Ceredigion County Council have helped with boilers removal and discussions over its future.

oiler being removed from the remains of the Tanyrallt Engine House in 2006 (SJHughes) Views of boiler in 2012 showing re box grate and internal ue with door- bolts for valves etc- and

steam pipe at top (ST)

THE RESCUE AND CONSERVATION OF A CORNISH BOILER FROM TAN YR ALLT MINTALYBONT, CEREDIGION

Simon Timberlake (Welsh Mines Preserva on Trust)