Welsh miner's Lantern
SlateGriff
emblazoned on the front, and Cymru under the Dragon. It is a fine lamp, works
but fairly dimly, considering working in the mines must have been so difficult
when this was in use (must have been prior to 1930 or so when battery packs
came into use--and probably much earlier than that) I understand these lamps
were safety lamps for the coal mines where fire could ignite gas and well,
disasaster. It is cleverly designed, after the first Davy Lamp.
I was particularly interested in the lamp because of the very well turned
dragon. My ancestors worked in Llechwedd, where water was a problem, not gas,
and likely did not use this kind of lamp, though I would like to know what kind
of lamps were used in the underground slate mines such as Llechwedd in
Bl.Ffestiniog.
If anyone knows any more history of Welsh mining tools, especially the lamps, I
would like to know, such as collecting, companies that built them, etc.
diolch yn fawr,
Richard Griffith
Slate...@aol.com
jmp
made in Wales
phoenix supply Bishopston
Swansea
I have what from your description sounds like the same type of
lamp, I found it at a garage sale in Los Angeles. From what
I know about it I believe it is a replica and not an actual
used miner's lamp, it was given to the previous owner as a birthday
gift.
My uncle had a real one and it had his miner's number on it,
the numbers were checked as each miner came up out of the pit to make
sure nobody had been left behind.
My uncle was in charge of lamps at Gresford Colliery before it closed.
Regards
J M Pritchard
>
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Before you buy.
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> ...It is cleverly designed, after the first Davy Lamp.
>
> If anyone knows any more history of Welsh mining tools, especially the lamps, I
> would like to know, such as collecting, companies that built them, etc.
>
> diolch yn fawr,
>
> Richard Griffith
> Slate...@aol.com
I believe I am right in saying that the Royal Society organised a competition
in the early 19th Century to design a safety lamp for use in mines.
Stevenson (of railway fame) invented a workable lamp for use in Northumbrian
mines. Sir Humphrey Davy also invented his lamp based on the same principle
some time later. The Royal Society chose the Davy lamp as the winner
because, inter alia, it gave out a better light. Some say that the eminence
of the designer played a part. There is debate as to whether Davy knew about
Stevenson's design before designing his lamp. BTW: My wife came back from a
trip to Wales bearing gifts - including a statuette of a miners lamp carved
out of a block of coal. Customs gave her a hard time!
Trefor Jones
My father worked in Maenofferen in Blaenau Ffestiniogand was manager there
when he had to leave because of poor health in 1945. I remeber he had a
helmet on the front of which was a "carbide" lamp. I understand that
carbide when wet gives off acetylene which burnt in the lamp to give light.
Before the advent of lamps and helmets, a candle was held in place with a
lump of clay . You may know that Llechwedd is now open for tourists and I
went there some years ago. To give you an impression of what conditions
were like they takeyou to one of the old workings and turn the lights off
and you can see the tiny pin pricks of lights from the candles. It's well
worth visiting.
Hwyl Goreu
Trefor
SlateGriff <slate...@aol.com> wrote in article
<19991019192716...@ng-fn1.aol.com>...
My ancestors worked in Llechwedd, where water was a problem, not gas,
> and likely did not use this kind of lamp, though I would like to know
what kind
> of lamps were used in the underground slate mines such as Llechwedd in
> Bl.Ffestiniog.
>