Point of Ayr Colliery Company
Encyclopedia
The Point of Ayr Colliery Company was formed in 1883, and were the third company to attempt to extract coal
from the North Wales
coal field using a pit head at Point of Ayr
, in Flintshire
. The two previous attempts were carried out by the Prestatyn Coal Company
, 1865, under the direction of Lord Mostyn
, owner of the nearby Mostyn Colliery
, and the Western Mostyn Colliery Company
, 1873.
This new company made use of a shaft sunk in 1873, which had been abandoned because the heading driven out from that shaft had struck a fault. The Point of Ayr Colliery Company decided to strike out in another direction, where they struck a seam in 1890. The original shaft, of 100 yards (91.4 m), was deepened to 215 yards (196.6 m), and a second shaft was sunk to the same depth - these became known as No. 1 and No. 2 shafts respectively.
According to contemporary figures from the Inspector of Mines, by 1896 356 men were employed by the company, which produced coal for domestic and industrial applications.
The British
coal industry was nationalised in 1947.
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
from the North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
coal field using a pit head at Point of Ayr
Point of Ayr
Point of Ayr is the northernmost point of mainland Wales. It is situated immediately to the north of Talacre in Flintshire, at the mouth of the Dee estuary. It is to the southwest of the Liverpool Bay area of the Irish Sea...
, in Flintshire
Flintshire
Flintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders...
. The two previous attempts were carried out by the Prestatyn Coal Company
Prestatyn Coal Company
The Prestatyn Coal Company was formed in 1865, by Lord Mostyn, owner of Mostyn Colliery, to investigate the possibility of a colliery at Point of Ayr, in Flintshire, North Wales....
, 1865, under the direction of Lord Mostyn
Baron Mostyn
Baron Mostyn, of Mostyn in the County of Flint, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1831 for Sir Edward Lloyd, 2nd Baronet, who had earlier represented Flint Boroughs and Beaumaris in the House of Commons. His son, the second Baron, sat as a Member of Parliament for...
, owner of the nearby Mostyn Colliery
Mostyn Colliery
Mostyn Colliery was a pioneering coal mine in Flintshire, North Wales, which was owned in the later part of its operating life by the influential Mostyn family. The mine was located on the banks of the River Dee.-Early history:...
, and the Western Mostyn Colliery Company
Western Mostyn Colliery Company
The Western Mostyn Colliery Company was formed in 1873 with the purpose of investigating the potential of a coal mine at Point of Ayr, in Flintshire, North Wales....
, 1873.
This new company made use of a shaft sunk in 1873, which had been abandoned because the heading driven out from that shaft had struck a fault. The Point of Ayr Colliery Company decided to strike out in another direction, where they struck a seam in 1890. The original shaft, of 100 yards (91.4 m), was deepened to 215 yards (196.6 m), and a second shaft was sunk to the same depth - these became known as No. 1 and No. 2 shafts respectively.
According to contemporary figures from the Inspector of Mines, by 1896 356 men were employed by the company, which produced coal for domestic and industrial applications.
The British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
coal industry was nationalised in 1947.