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

Simon Timberlake (Welsh Mines Preservation Trust)

In 2006, at the behest of S.J.S. Hughes of Talybont, a rusting Cornish boiler was rescued from the collapsed remains of an engine house at Tanyrallt Mine, Talybont during the demolition of this site by the landowner. For a number of years this was stored at a nearby farm, but in 2011 the WMPT agreed to take on the job of conserving this, following which the boiler was moved to the Bryn-y-Mor (Ceredigion CC) Yard in Aberystwyth where it could be worked upon. A conservation condition report has been produced, and the object was drawn and photographed prior to work being undertaken; this will involve cleaning the flue of ash and acidic mine waste, removing the exfoliating rust scale, and applying several coats of red oxide paint to the exterior and other exposed/ accessible surfaces. It is hoped that on completion of the work it will prove possible to display the boiler somewhere in Aberystwyth, together with an interpretation panel, and we are currently in discussion with the Ceredigion Museum and others as to what eventually might happen to it.

Boiler after removal to the Bryn y Mor (Ceredigion CC) works yard in Aberystwyth 2012

History of the boiler

This was probably installed at the Tanyrallt Mine around 1873/4 in order to serve a Cornish pumping engine within the newly erected 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 still standing and the roofless external boiler house with boiler in situ. was taken in 1967 by Hughes. The actual date of the engines installation is suggested by the very first mention of this in Absalom Francis History of the Cardiganshire Mines (1874). Most likely this boiler was manufactured by George Green at his Cambrian Foundry in Aberystwyth, given its similarity to the larger (and still surviving though poorly preserved) Llwynmalus Mine boiler built around 1850, and also because of Greens personal involvement with the Talybont Mines around this time, such as Allt y Crib, where an underground steam engine was installed in 1879. Unusually perhaps the boiler was not removed when the mine was Tanyrallt Engine House in 1967 with boiler still in situ (photo S J Hughes) abandoned, and the steam engine dismantled, in 1891. One can only guess that it may have been in a poor state, with a low scrap value, or else that it was left intentionally, perhaps for use as a water supply (tank) for agricultural purposes. Over the next 122 years this was gradually buried beneath collapsed masonry, with little sign of vandalism or further damage. A photo of this taken in 1980 shows it in a pretty similar condition to how we find it today.

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

Welsh Mines Preservation Trust Yr Ymddiriedolaeth Cadwraeth Mwynfeydd Cymru

THE RESCUE AND CONSERVATION OF A CORNISH BOILER FROM TAN YR ALLT MINE, TALYBONT, CEREDIGION
Description: Apart from a number of small corrosion holes on the underside, the body of this 15 feet 6 inches (14.7m) long and 5
feet (1.5m) diameter cylindrical internal flue 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 the ends made from single 5 diameter plates fixed onto an outer and an inner ring, with the addition of 2 deep half-round plates riveted on top of these on the upper side of the boiler. The latter were probably intended as reinforcement plates, perhaps an additional safety measure designed to prevent steam burst. At the front (fire door) end the internal flue (here approx. 24 diameter) was a-centrally located just 5-6 above the bottom of the boiler, the flue diameter narrowing to c.14, and rising to the mid-point of the boiler at the chimney end; this presumably a design to encourage the draw of the flue, so increase the rate of temperature rise, thus reducing the boiling time. The tube for the internal flue was made up of three overlapping and riveted longitudinal flue plates. Inside of the upturned fire box at the front end can be seen three flat-gently arched wrought iron supports for the now missing fire bars which formed the coal grate.

Simon Timberlake (Welsh Mines Preservation Trust)

Boiler being removed from the remains of the Tanyrallt Engine House in 2006 (SJHughes)

Some of the present bolts may have been inserted following the removal of still-functioning gauges or valves; the latter used to monitor water level as well as steam pressure. These features can be seen more clearly on the drawing of similar boiler within the Harveys (of Hayle, Cornwall) Foundry catalogue. Along the top of the boiler are two large-bore bolted pipe junctions (approx. 6-7 internal diameter). Both were probably for steam pipes, but only one of them (at the fire box end) remains in position. These and a possible inspection chamber cover located within the middle of the boiler are mounted on smaller riveted top plates. At the far end (furthest from the fire box), an iron bolt and lead washer might indicate the position of another steam pressure safety valve, perhaps of the drop pressure type. The position of the water inlet remains a mystery. During the 1870s when the lead mines were most active some seven Aberystwyth iron foundries were producing either finished or component parts for ore dressing machinery, waterwheels or steam engines. The most famous of these was George Greens Cambrian Foundry (now demolished) in Alexander Road, the site of which lies opposite the railway station. No catalogue for this foundry seems to have survived, and all the original documentation relating to the works appears to have been lost when this burnt down in 1908. The foundry had been in operation since about 1850, and towards the end of this century following the decline of local mining, George Green sold mining machinery as far afield as Colombia, Mexico, South Africa and Russia. Equipment had to be both delivered and installed, and in his latter years Green travelled widely, often acting as a consultant to mining ventures. It was on one of these visits to the Caspian Sea in 1893 that he contracted a fever, which he succumbed to in 1895. He was buried in Aberystwyth with much pomp and formality, his funeral being one of the largest the town has ever seen. For more information on Green I would strongly recommend reading S.J.S. Hughes George Green, Engineer and Entrepeneur, 1824-1895 in British Mining No.34, 1987.

Views of boiler in 2012 showing fire box grate and internal flue with door- bolts for valves etc- and steam pipe at top (ST)

George Green and Aberystwyths industrial heritage

Acknowledgements I am grateful to Simon Hughes of Talybont. In addition Graham Levins, Nigel Chapman, Robert Ireland, and Robert Protheroe have assisted with useful information. Michael Freeman, Carrie Canham and Peter Austin of Ceredigion County Council have helped with boilers removal and discussions over its future. Welsh Mines Preservation Trust Yr Ymddiriedolaeth Cadwraeth Mwynfeydd Cymru