This short account is courtesy of Mr. Blake of Shocklach, Cheshire. On acquiring what is thought to be an early nineteenth century servant’s chest from a sale in Wrexham, he discovered that its inside was lined with a selection of old newspapers. The extract below caught his eye, and as he felt it was of historical importance to the Mold area, he contacted the Mold Civic Society in the hope of having it recorded for local history enthusiasts. Here it is :- ‘The Mynyddissa Colliery is situated in the neighbourhood of Mold, in the County of Flint, and is distant about 600 yards from the nearest railway siding, a tramway to which can be laid at a comparatively small cost. The take consists of about 160 acres held under lease for 21 years ( but terminable at the end of 5 years at the Lessee’s option), from the 1st and 2nd years, £120[7] each for the 3rd and 4th years, and £150 each for the 5th and succeeding years, merged into a royalty is 1/9″‘ the selling price on the Pit Bank.
There is one pit sunk 45 yards to the cannel, about a quarter of an acre of which is worked. A second shaft is commenced and can be completed in two months. This seam is from 4 feet 4 inches in thickness, being about 3 feet of excellent Gas Coal, and from 1 foot 4 inches to 1 foot 6 inches of cannel. The whole of this seam can readily be sold, through and through for gas, at from 17s to 20s per ton.
The cost of raising, including all surface expenses, Royalty, etc, will not exceed 6 s per ton.
The next seam is the “Wall and Bench ” or “King Coal, ” lying 24 yards below the cannel, 4 ‘ feet thick, the excellent quality of which is well known. I estimate these two seams will produce 10,000 tons of available Coal and Cannel per acre, or 1,600,000 tons on the take. The two lower seams, “Smiths” and the celebrated Arley Mine, being together 8 feet in thickness, will produce nearly as much, or a total of about 3,200,00 tons at a depth of , not exceeding, 150 yards from the surface. An additional outlay of £1,250 is all that is needed to make this one of the most profitable investments of the day, for it should be borne in mind that Cannel from its scarcity is not likely to decline in value. During the last three years, while the demand and the price have gradually increased, the supply has decreased.

The present price of the best Curly Cannel is £2 per Ton on the Pit Bank.

R. Richards, Mining Engineer

Pentre House, Mold, 5th February, 1873.’

The advert was taken from the Denbigh’s radical Welsh language newspaper Baner ac Amserau Cymru
( 12 Mawrth 1873 ).

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