Fire-setting is a method of traditional mining used most commonly from prehistoric times up to the Middle Ages . Fires were set against a rock face to heat the stone , which was then doused with liquid, causing the stone to fracture by thermal shock . Rapid heating causes thermal shock by itself—without subsequent cooling—by producing different degrees of expansion in different parts of the rock (and in other materials). In practice, rapid cooling may or may not have been helpful to produce the desired effect. Some experiments have suggested that the water (or any other liquid) did not have a noticeable effect on the rock, but rather helped the miners' progress by quickly cooling down the area after the fire. This technique was best performed in opencast mines where the smoke and fumes could dissipate safely. The technique was very dangerous in underground workings without adequate ventilation. The method became largely redundant with the growth in use of explosives .
39-460: Llanymynech Golf Course is situated atop Llanymynech Hill overlooking the villages of Llanymynech and Pant , approximately 9 miles (14 km) from Welshpool , right on the Welsh /English border. From the course it is possible to view 12 of the old ' shire counties ', including Shropshire , Cheshire , Flintshire and Denbighshire . The course is also surrounded by sheer cliffs and steep banks. There
78-456: A few. As for antique written sources, fire-setting is first described by Diodorus Siculus in his Bibliotheca historica written about 60 BC, about methods of mining used in ancient Egyptian gold mines. It is also mentioned in greater detail by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia , published in the first century AD. In Book XXXIII, he describes mining methods for gold , and the pursuit of
117-580: A population of 323 of which 29% could speak, read and write Welsh. In 1961 the parish of Llanymynech had a population of 763. On 1 April 1967 the parish was abolished to form "Llanymynech and Pant". Llanymynech Hill is now the site of Llanymynech Golf Club perched on top of the cliffs, whose 18-hole course is the only one in Europe to straddle a country border, being partly in England and partly in Wales. The village
156-437: A vein had been found. Fire-setting was used to break up the hard rocks of the vein and the surrounding barren rock, and was much safer to use in above ground workings since the smoke and fumes could dissipate more easily than in a confined space underground. Pliny also describes undermining methods that were used to facilitate the removal of hard rocks, and probably softer alluvial deposits as well. The method continued in use in
195-533: Is a section of Offa's Dyke on the western edge of the course, and the Offa's Dyke Path crosses the course. The course has a unique claim to fame since it straddles the English-Welsh border, with 15 holes in Wales and three in England. On holes one to four golfers tee-off in Wales, and then reach England on the fourth green. They remain in England until returning to Wales for the seventh tee. As of 11 May 2020
234-613: Is home to one of only three remaining Hoffmann kilns in the British Isles, and the only one with a chimney. The kiln at Llanymynech was used for lime burning. The area around the kiln is designated as the Llanymynech Heritage Area . The former limestone quarry which fed the kiln is now the Shropshire Wildlife Trust 's Llanymynech Rocks Nature Reserve, and its cliff face is popular with rock climbers . Due to
273-611: Is in the civil parish of Llanymynech and Pant , and in the electoral ward of Llanymynech in Shropshire. This ward had a population at the 2011 census of 3,988. The 2011 census output area covering the English part of the village has a population of 477. The Welsh part of the village is in the community of Carreghofa in Powys. The 2011 census output area covering the Welsh part of the village has
312-527: The 12th and 13th centuries. In 1187 the castle was captured by Owain Fychan , prince of Powys, who was then murdered at the castle by his cousins Gwenwynwyn and Cadwallon. In 1194, the castle was recaptured by the English with the purpose of reopening the mines on Llanymynech Hill and extracting silver. Richard I had been captured and held for a ransom of £100,000, and the Bishop of Salisbury , Hubert Walter , heard of
351-699: The CR took over the Nantmawr branch, agreeing to rebuild the southern end of the Potts so that it now formed a junction through Llanymynech. After failing to create a junction with the GWR and the LNWR at Shrewsbury, the Shrewsbury and North Wales Railway suffered from low traffic and continual financial difficulties, having now also lost its main revenue stream from the Nantmawr branch. Taken over by
390-407: The English side of the village and play in a kit consisting of red shirt, red shorts and white- and red-hooped socks. Fire-setting Although fire-setting was frequently used before modern times , it has been used sporadically since then. In some regions of the world, notably Africa and Eurasia , fire-setting continued to be in use until the 19th and 20th centuries. It was used where rock
429-517: The GWR under the Railways Act 1921 , it was again closed to passengers on 6 November 1933, but remained open as a military freight route until 1960. The Cambrian Railways mainline from Whitchurch to Welshpool (Buttington Junction), via Ellesmere , Whittington , Oswestry and Llanymynech, closed on 18 January 1965 in favour of the more viable Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway route. This also resulted in
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#1732884828114468-658: The Welsh Diocese of St Asaph , and was transferred to the Diocese of Lichfield , so remaining part of the Church of England. The two halves of Llanymynech were subject to different restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic , as Wales and England set different legal restrictions on travel and business. The English–Welsh border runs through the village, approximately following the A483 through
507-403: The Welsh bar. Two of the remaining open pubs in the village are entirely in England and the third is entirely in Wales. Just to the north of the village is Pant . Further north is the English market town of Oswestry . The community of Llanymynech and Pant had a population of 1,675 as of the 2011 census. Llanymynech Hill is one of Wales' earliest mining sites. Evidence suggests that copper
546-627: The Welsh town of Welshpool . The name is Welsh for " Llan of the Monks". The village is on the banks of the River Vyrnwy , and the Montgomery Canal passes through it. The border runs for the most part along the frontages of the buildings on the east (English) side of the village's main street, with the eastern half of the village in England and the western half in Wales. The Church of England parish church of St Agatha lies just in England, although
585-545: The authorising act of parliament to avoid flat crossing of the existing canal and Tanat Valley Light Railway (TVLR), bridges had to be constructed to enable operations. The later Potteries, Shrewsbury and North Wales Railway (Potts) , which ran to Shrewsbury Abbey , originally ran under the O&;NR and the canal to enable the Nantmawr branch for similar mineral extraction purposes. However, after it ran into financial difficulties,
624-618: The canal is dry; to the south the canal is isolated by lowered bridges. The main line of the Oswestry and Newtown Railway (O&NR) arrived from the south in 1860, a later constituent part of the Cambrian Railways (CR). In 1863, the Cambrian completed the construction of the Llanfyllin branch , a railway constructed to enable distribution of minerals in competition with the canal. Stipulated in
663-520: The castle was destroyed and the stones were eventually removed and used to construct nearby Carreghofa Hall. Very little remains of the castle today. The Welsh Church Act 1914 disestablished the Church in Wales from the Church of England. During the period while the enactment was delayed by the Suspensory Act 1914 , and even though the parish church is situated on the English side of the border, because
702-538: The closure of the Llanfyllin branch. The Nantmawr branch remained in operation until the 1998, with the track from Oswestry still in place today. Although no railway now serves Llanymynech, both the Cambrian Heritage Railways and the enthusiast-revived TVLR plan to reconnect Llanymynech with their heritage railway schemes. The A483 trunk road is the main road through the centre of Llanymynech. A bypass
741-682: The club was seeking legal advice as to whether it could reopen during the Coronavirus pandemic . Different rules applied regarding lockdown to England and Wales. The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson had announced that golf clubs could reopen but this applied only in England. The club is governed by England Golf , which was expecting clubs to reopen on 13 May 2020, but in Wales the regulations then remained unchanged. In Wales people were banned from driving to exercise outside their local area or with anyone outside of their household and gatherings of more than two people were an offence. The Welsh Government suggested
780-509: The conditions were not yet right to resume golf in Wales. However, the club reopened with safeguards and restrictions in place. It would be another year until cross-border restrictions were relaxed. This golf club or course-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Llanymynech Llanymynech is a village and former civil parish straddling the border between Montgomeryshire / Powys , Wales, and Shropshire , England, about 9 miles (14 km) north of
819-464: The discovery of silver at the Carreghofa Mine on Llanymynech Hill; he decided to develop the mine and reopen the mint at Shrewsbury to refine the silver and make it into coins. Unfortunately, the total amount of silver produced only came to the value of £20, 11 shillings and 11 pence. This mine was located north of the present quarry, and just south of the present golf course clubhouse. In the 1230s,
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#1732884828114858-478: The ecclesiastical parish straddled the border, Llanymynech was one of the nineteen border parishes that were balloted by the Welsh Church Commissioners to decide whether it should remain with the Church of England or join the disestablished Church in Wales . The parishioners of Llanymynech voted in 1915 by 315 to 130 to remain part of the Church of England. The parish therefore ceased to be part of
897-518: The entire village lies in the same ecclesiastical parish. The border also passed right through the now closed Lion pub , which had two bars in Shropshire and one in Montgomeryshire. At one time Welsh counties were referred to as "wet" or "dry" depending on whether people could drink in pubs on Sundays. When Montgomeryshire was dry it was legal to drink on Sundays in the two English bars of the Lion but not
936-466: The gold-bearing veins underground using tunnels and stopes . He mentions the use of vinegar to quench the hot rock, but water would have been just as effective, as vinegar was expensive at the time for regular use in a mine. The reference to vinegar may come from a description by Livy of Hannibal 's crossing of the Alps , when it was said that the soldiers used vinegar in fire-setting to remove large rocks in
975-560: The hill, together with a large number of shallow pits and shaft-mounds. The main entrance to the mine is still the Ogof. A number of Roman artefacts have been found in the mine including a number of bones and burials, and a hoard of 30 first and second century silver coins of Roman currency found in 1965 by some schoolboys, now conserved at the National Museum of Wales . The mine was probably abandoned c. 200 AD In Anglo-Saxon times, Offa's Dyke
1014-584: The local limestone and mineral deposits, Llanymynech became a transport hub. First to arrive was a branch of the Ellesmere Canal , where it joined the eastern section of the Montgomeryshire Canal at Carreghofa. Today the canal is known as the Montgomery Canal, and the section through Llanymynech is isolated, with an 800 metres (2,600 ft) section being navigable to boats. To the north to Pant
1053-432: The medieval period, and is described by Georg Agricola in his treatise on mining and mineral extraction, De re metallica . He warns about the problem of the "foetid vapours" and the need to evacuate the workings while the fires are lit, and presumably for some time afterwards until the gases and smoke had cleared. The problem raises the question of ventilation means in the mines, a problem often solved by ensuring that there
1092-534: The mine, and housed the labourers employed in the extraction of copper. The Bronze Age British miners would have used fire-setting mining techniques, but with the arrival of the Romans the cavern was extended and more extensively mined. According to the Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust, before the hill was landscaped for the current golf course, at least ten shafts were visible on the southern part of
1131-445: The mine, there are three adits at different heights which have been driven through barren rock to the gold-bearing veins for some considerable distance, and they would have provided drainage as well as ventilation to remove the smoke and hot gases during a fire-setting operation. They were certainly much larger in section than was normal for access galleries, and the draught of air through them would have been considerable. Fire-setting
1170-417: The number and complexity of the underground workings increased, care was needed to channel the air draught to all parts of the tunnels and faces. It was usually achieved by installing doors at key points. Most of the deaths in coal mine disasters were caused by inhalation of the toxic gases produced by firedamp explosions. The method continued in use for many years afterwards until finally made redundant by
1209-499: The path of his army. The effectiveness of strong acetic acid solutions on heated limestone has been demonstrated in laboratory experiments. Pliny also says that the method was used both in opencast and deep mining. This is confirmed by remains found at the Roman gold mine of Dolaucothi in west Wales , when modern miners broke into much older workings during the 1930s where they found wood ashes near worked rock faces. In another part of
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1248-408: The village. Therefore, Llanymynech is served by both an English and a Welsh service for everything. Dyfed-Powys Police cover the Welsh side of the village, West Mercia Police cover the English side; Powys County Council are responsible for waste collection, recycling, and other council services on the Welsh side, Shropshire Council on the English side, and so on. The English part of the village
1287-457: Was a continuous path for escape of the noxious fumes, perhaps aided by artificial ventilation. Agricola mentions the use of large water-powered bellows to create a draught, and continuity of workings to the surface were essential for a stream of air to run through them. In later times, a fire at the base of a shaft was used to create an updraught, but just like fire-setting, it was a hazardous and dangerous procedure, especially in collieries . As
1326-560: Was announced in the 2020 budget . A football club was formed in the village as far back as May 1858 in a field near Glanverniew House on the English side of the border. There is no further mention of a football club in the village until November 1879 when a club was formed following a meeting at the school room. Llanymynech F.C. was reformed in 2011. They currently compete in Salop Leisure League 1, into which they were elected in 2022. They play their home games at Station Road on
1365-495: Was built by the Earl of Shrewsbury around 1101. The place where the castle was probably built, at Tanat Camp, just to the west of Llanymynech Hill and overlooking the Tanat valley, implies it was defending the hill which was being mined for copper and lead, as well as silver. Being situated directly on the borderlands, the castle changed hands between the English and Welsh numerous times during
1404-634: Was built c. 430 and 652, through what is probably the main street in Llanymynech, on the east side of the road. It is thought the west wall of St Agatha's churchyard was built on the raised part of the dyke. Today, the Offa's Dyke Path passes through the village. Under the Normans, the village came under the rule of the Marcher Lord (Lord of the March or border counties), and a fortification called Carreghofa Castle
1443-416: Was mined and smelted here in the late Bronze Age , and that ores were used to make bronze weapons and other implements. The hill above Llanymynech is crowned with an extensive Iron Age hillfort , which extends over 57 hectares, and surrounds a cave opening known as the Ogof. The size of this hillfort is probably explained by the presence of the copper mines. The hillfort would have served as protection for
1482-680: Was too hard to drill holes with steel borers for blasting or whenever it was economic because of cheapness of wood. The oldest traces of this method in Europe were found in southern France (département of Hérault ) and date back to the Copper Age . Numerous finds exist from the Bronze Age , such as in the Alps , in the former mining district of Schwaz - Brixlegg in Tyrol , or in the Goleen area in Cork , to name
1521-410: Was used extensively during opencast mining, and is also described by Pliny in connection with the use of another mining technique known as hushing . Aqueducts were built to supply copious amounts of water to the minehead, where they were used to fill tanks and cisterns . The water was unleashed to scour the hillside below, both soil in the case of prospecting for metal veins, and then rock debris after
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