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over it, but for want of fuel and skilful Miners it is of no use at present.

To work for Gold the Mines Royal Society granted two leases on Mines, one at Pullox-hill, in Bedfordshire, the other at Little Taunton, in Gloucestershire, but they were not eventually successful.

Of Silver we have none but intermixed with other metals, especially in Lead, and in the time of the late war Mr. Bushel set up mills at the Mines in Cardiganshire, and made out of these Lead Mines £20 of Silver out of every ton of Lead, and at the late usurpation his Majesty caused a Mint to be erected at Shrewsbury to coyn the Silver from Wales; and the Lessees of the Mines Royal Society Work the Mines of Corisumlock and Talibont, in Cardiganshire in Wales (two Roman Mines); every year there were sent from hence (London) at least 800 tons of Bone Ashes by sea; our merchants for every 1000 Bones they send abroad pay 6s. 8d., and we pay for their bringing them unto us £1 5s. for every

barrel of their Ashes.

Iron is not in our Patent, only from Wire, for the making of which we have Mills at † Tintern, in Monmouthshire.‡

Of Lead we have the government both in England and Wales, and the Society of Mines Royal have Lead Mines in Wales. Of Black Lead I know but of one Mine in Cumberland, and of late, it is curiously formed in cases of deal and cedar, and so sold as dry pencils, something more useful than pen and ink.§

* Smiles in his "Hugenots," says that in 1565, a Christopher Schutz first started the Wire Works near Tintern Abbey, while Godfrey Box of Leige, began the like business at Esher, in Surrey, where it was afterwards continued by two other Germans named Monineca and Demetrius. Was this last any connection of him named at p. 42, ante? As may be seen in most collections of English coins. Which Works are still in operation, I believe.-1880.

§ An interesting fact as to the period when Black-lead Pencils were first brought into use, and made practically valuable.-G. G. F.

We have mountains of Lapis Calaminaris, especially in Gloucestershire, Somersetshire, and Nottinghamshire, but we let the Calaminaris go as ballast into foreign parts in very great quantities. The best Brass beyond seas is made of our Stone rather than their own, which deserves further consideration.

I remember about 30 years ago that one Demetrius, a German,* did set up a Brass Work in Surrey, and with the expense of £6000 (so he told me), made it compleat and to good profit, but the Foreign Merchants, joyning with ours, found ways to bring him into suits. He was at last necessitated to abandon the work, to his own ruin and the unspeakable loss to the Kingdom in the destruction of so beneficial a work.

The above concludes all I took out of Pettus's work as connected with the Mines Royal Company, and interesting to our purpose herein.

Robert Place (son of Isaac Place, Vicar of Haslingden, in Lancashire) was married to Catherine Swaine, daughter of Sampson Swaine, gentleman, Refiner of Copper, at Newlyn, in Cornwall, 4th March, 1754. His son John was born at Poole, in Cornwall, 15th June, 1756, and Edward his son was born at Neath Abbey, 29th August, 1758. Robert Place may have acquired the knowledge of Copper Smelting from his father-in-law, and between 1756 and 1758 came over to start and manage the smelting of Copper at the Mines Royal Works. There is some tradition that the Mines Royal Company had previously smelted Copper Ores at Redbrook, in Monmouthshire. Their Lease expired in 1862, and 5 terms of 21 years

* This is conclusive against my suggestion in page 42 that he was a Greek. He must be added to the many Germans to whom we are so manifestly indebted for our present position in metallurgy.

Feby. 19, 1869. To-day, referring to the Original of Grose's Tour in 1775, in B. Museum, I observed in his Diary, that "after passing Troy "House belonging to the Duke of Beaufort, I ascended a very steep hill "and passed some Copper and Iron Works, the walls of which were coped "with the scoriæ of the metal cast into cubes or bricklike forms, (so common near Swansea) and could see at a distance the village of "Redbrook.”— -G. G. F.

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would date 1757 as the starting of the Works under Place's management for the Mines Royal, and there is the date 1759 impressed in a cast slag in one of the old buildings.

Price, in his "Minerologica Cornubiensis," pub. 1778, mentions that the above-named Sampson Swaine, with some gentlemen of Camborne, in Cornwall, erected in 1754, Copper Furnaces at Entral, in that Parish, but afterwards removed them to Hayle, and that the then existing Copper Companies did all they could to "traduce the credit and stab the vitals of the undertaking." One of the Swaines came to Wales with Robert Place as an assayer, and his office is still at Mines Royal Works, Neath: but is now converted into a carpenter's shop.

I know nothing further of the Mines Royal Company till the 21st Sept., 1794, when they had 1277 tons of ore in stock; 230 tons of Copper Ore smelted weekly; about 1.30 tons produce from 7 to 8 per cent. ; make of copper about 18 tons per week.

The following extracts from the orig. Books at the Mines Royal Works show the progress of events, and those relating to the old roof from the Copper Works at Melincrethyn, near Gnoll, at Neath, make a curious coupling of the two oldest works in existence in this county, and it is further interesting to note that a serious fear of the Nuisances created by the Smoke* existed, so far back as 1796†—a nuisance only now [1865] about to be diminished, if not terminated, by Gerstenhöfer's patent, recently purchased and put into practice at great cost by Messrs. Vivian, in their Swansea and Taibach Works.‡

* That "Copper Smoke" is a doomed nuisance is pretty clear, for Messrs. Nevill and Co., at Llanelly, are adopting similar Calciners to those at Hafod, while Messrs. Grenfell and Son, White Rock, Swansea, and the Governor and Company of Copper Miners in Cwmavon, are about to patronise the plans of another German, Gurlt, for the utilization of the sulphur now thrown out as damaging Smoke on the lands near, and far from their respective Works. All other like Works should soon follow such unanswerable evidences.

+ Vide p. 77, post.

I am sorry to learn from Mr. Hussey Vivian, that as yet (Sept., 1868) the other Smelters have done nothing towards improving their works in this respect, neither have they down to 1881 !—G. G. F.

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January.-By 736ft. of Roofing and Pantiles from Gnoll Wks.

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EXTRACTS.

FROM MR. JOHN PLACE, MANAGER TO THE MINES ROYAL COMPANY. 1795.

30 March.-Sent 38 tons Copper to Rose Copper Co. Birmingham, and 17 tons to the East India Co.

28th Dec.-The Ores smelted for the Rose Copper Co.* are kept separate.

1796. II Jan.

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By a Stack falling an arch gave way, bringing down seven others and the roof also.

-Bought the old roof at Gnoll Works to replace our fallen one.t -Bought Barley for the workmen, but it is now selling at 5s. per bushel, or sixpence under what the Company paid for theirs.

14 March.-Barley too high in price for our consumption, so caused some of it to be sold in Neath market.

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-35 furnaces working.

-Coal so bad men left the works for two days,

-Made 20 tons Copper this week.

The Branch of the Neath Canal will not be ready before
next June, it appears.

-Ores smelted this week, 136 tons; Copper made, 17 tons;
Furnaces working, 38; Coals burnt, 315 tons.

-I applied to Mr. Miers, who acts for his sister (Lady
Mackworth) during her minority, as to a Lease of the Gnoll
Works, with Rent and price of Coals. He is to consult
with Mr. Hanbury, of Pontypool, to whom Lady Mackworth
is to be married next March, when she will be of age.
-Mr. Miers, for Lady Mackworth, is
Lease of the Gnoll Copper Works.
supplied to the late Gnoll Company.

ready to treat for a Coal 42s. per wey, as

26 Dec. -Lady Mackworth objects to sign the Lease, as she thinks the Copper Smoke will waste the Gnoll House.‡

1797. 2 Jan.

-The accident that happened by the Stack falling, in January last, was more fortunate than otherwise, as the Roof that fell required to be made entirely new, and buying the materials at Gnoll Works for one third of what they would

* Mr. Keates writes "this proves that the Mines Royal Co. were at this time Smelting Ores for hire on account of the Rose Copper Co." † Vide Account therefor on the previous page.

The word "Waste " must be read here in its legal sense of injury, or mischief.

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