Dylife
| Dylife | |
|---|---|
 Approaching Dylife |
|
 Dylife
|
|
| Dylife shown within Powys | |
| OS grid reference | SN863940 |
| Principal area | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LLANBRYNMAIR |
| Postcode district | SY19 |
| Dialling code | 01650 |
| Police | Dyfed-Powys |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | |
Dylife is a former mining settlement in Powys, Wales, located at the head of Afon Twymyn in the Cambrian Mountains, one mile west of the road between Llanidloes and Llanbrynmair (B4518). The nearby lead mines intermittently sustained mining communities from Roman times until the early 20th century. During the late 19th century, as mining declined after the 1860s so did Dylife's population. The remaining buildings are two former chapels converted into homes and the Star Inn.
Lead mining around Dylife took place in Roman times (there is a Roman fort on nearby Penycrocbren) and recommenced in the 17th century on a small scale until the early 19th century. In 1809, the two managers, Hugh Williams and John Pughe, started to negotiate for the lease which they obtained in 1815. The two men operated the mines until the 1850s, although not harmoniously.
The mines were expanded with new shafts and machinery was brought in to assist productivity by bringing ore to the surface, pumping out the shafts and processing the ore on the surface. Large waterwheels provided the power source, including Rhod Goch (Red Wheel), which, at 63 feet in diameter, was one of the largest in Britain.
The high price of lead and the low wages paid to the workers, compensated for high transport costs over difficult country to the nearest port at Derwenlas on the Afon Dyfi.
The difficulties between the operators, Williams and Pughe, eventually led to the sale of their mining interests to The Dylife Mining Co. Ltd in 1858. Two prominent politicians, Richard Cobden, Williams' son-in-law, and John Bright, were involved in the transfer. In the next few years, conditions greatly improved at the mines. New vertical shafts, lifts, cable systems to move ore to the processing areas and waterwheels to power them were installed as were changing rooms for the workers, a highly innovative change for the time. In 1864, the new railway from Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury, with a relatively easily accessible station at Llanbrynmair, provided an easier route to the smelters in north-west England.
...
Wikipedia