Welsh Journals

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16 1855 Hafod Sale Catalogue (conditions of sale). 17The Hafod Sale Catalogues of 1864 and 1870 list various 'mines' then operating on the estate. Papers of the Waddingham collection (donated to N.L.W. in 1939) include contract books and accounts, 1859-68, for mines named South Hafod, Bwlchyranos and Nant-y-cai, but plans of these mines which formed part of the collection cannot be traced. 18 In a letter (30/12/40) Tarrant remarked that the estate owner who succeeded Chambers-i.e. John Waddingham- hated mines'. "Abstract of Title of J. J. Rennie to the Hafod estate, 1948. 20 It was some time before Tarrant became aware that it was zinc rather than lead that was being sought. 21 Letter (28/3/41) from Thomas Pryor, President of the I.M.M., to N.F.M.O.C. "Tarrant had probably found the name 'South Hafod Mine' in the 1870 Catalogue, which states that it was leased out for 40 years from 1866 and was paying rent and royalties to the estate. Its location was not given, and one cannot tell whether Tarrant had correctly identified it. 23From the footpath to the Cavern Cascade (or 'Level Lampwll') one can observe the exposed lodes, traced by Williams, where lines of quartz cross Nant Gau. One such lode outcrops just below the Cascade, which raises the possibility that, when creating his picturesque cavern, Thomas Johnes simply enlarged an existing trial level of some antiquity. "The Abstract of Title (1948) shows that Tarrant mortgaged the estate back to the representatives of the late owner, T. J. Waddingham, in exchange for an advance of £ 15,000. He later took out further mortgages (amounts not specified) with C. W. M. Price, and William Evans & Co. of Manchester. 25 A winze is an underground shaft, excavated downwards. 26 Bryn-yr-afr, a very remote mine, operated only from 1879-1912, but produced high grade ore, both galena and blende (Bick, Old Metal Mines, Part 3, p. 52). 27 A stope is an underground chamber created by ore extraction. 28Tarrant's letter of 22 November 1941 explains that the existence of this level had been drawn to his attention by 'the old hermit'. Mr. John Postings has identified this hermit as a man who lived alone in the semi-derelict Henffordd cottage (SN 773751) and was befriended by Tarrant. 20Bick, op. cit. (Old Metal Mines, Part 1), p. 33. "Bick, op. cit. (Fron-goch), p. 24.