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Clwyd Metal Mines Survey


Talargoch Central Area

Talargoch Central Area lies in the community of Prestatyn in the county of Denbighshire. It is located at Ordnance Survey national grid reference SJ05808050. The mine is recorded in the CPAT Historic Environment Record as number 18240 and this number should be quoted in all correspondence.

Lead/Silver/Zinc/Copper (Early 18th century-1905)

Geology
Carboniferous Limestone.

Workings
The Talargoch Mines worked the Talargoch, Pantons and Coetia Llys Veins, which ran parallel in a north-westerly direction, being intersected in the southern end of the mine by various strings, which can be seen openly cutting the sides of Graig Fawr. The central area of the mine was where the main surface buildings were sited. The area had been continuously mined from the early 18th century at least and powered by very early fire engines and waterwheels. The 19th century main site was worked by the Talargoch, Smedley's, No.1 and Engine Shaft, which had an 80" engine. Most of the archaeology was destroyed in the 1960's and only spoil mounds remain on the area cleared of waste at SJ05908057, being the area around the Talargoch shaft. Several former mine related buildings are incorporated into modernised housing.

Transport
Horse drawn iron tram waggons were in operation on a surface railway. A siding from the Prestatyn-Dyserth Railway (1869) ran to the main mine site.

Power
To the west of the former mine office, being below the mineral railway track, the substantial stone walls possibly of an engine house form part of a private garage. A paved area alongside it is unusually raised, possibly as a platform created to mask another large feature. Alongside the siding of the mineral railway, at SJ80600597 substantial stonework remains at the corner of a small caravan site. It has been incorporated into the enclosure walls on one side, but is the possible engine house for the Talargoch shaft. It remains alongside an area of wasteground and levelled spoil tips, where there are several scattered large slabs of limestone, some holding metal rods.An 80" pumping engine was in operation fed by six 'egg-end' boilers and a 22" horizontal engine for operating the capstan and winding; all working Engine Shaft on the main site. In 1874 there were fifteen steam engines at work at Talargoch; being the 100", 80", two 24", three 18", a 36", 12" and five donkey engines. They were fed by nineteen boilers supplied with coal from the 1869 Prestatyn-Dyserth Railway. On the sett the 20ft and 40ft waterwheels were serviced by the 1750s and 1844 leats. Some evidence of the two leats remain on the Talargoch sett. The leats ran from a sluice on Afon Ffyddion, to the west of Pandy Mill Farm. The best preservation of the 1750s leat remains in the woodland below Graig Bach at SJ06057980, where the stonework walls form a approx 2m wide cut.

Processing
The Talargoch Dressing Floors were at Coetia Llys and Maesyrerwddu.

Other features
The 19th century centre of the mine contained offices, smithy, joiners' and fitters' shops, changing rooms and stabling for horses. The terrace of Talargoch Cottages, once a row of four miners' dwellings, now remains modernised as two cottages constructed of local limestone at SJ80650586. To the south of them, the former mine office remains as a private dwelling. Many of its original architectural features are lost.


This HTML page is reproduced from the Powys and Clwyd Metal Mine Surveys which were undertaken between May 1992 and December 1993 by Mark Walters and Pat Frost of the Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust with financial support from Powys County Council, Clwyd County Council and Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments. Further information about this site is available in CPAT's Regional Historic Environment Record.
Page produced by Rachel Stebbings and Chris Martin.