Amlwch Church and Mona Mine Dispute Papers

Comprising papers relating to the dispute between representatives of Amlwch parish church and the Mona and Parys Mountain mining companies over the rebuilding of the church.

• Copy of a letter from Bishop Warren to the churchwardens, referring to a promise made to the writer by Thomas Williams regarding the demolition of the church and the building of a new one at the expense of the proprietors of the mine companies, 5 October 1793. Attached: copy of a letter from the bishop to the churchwardens of Caernarfon drawing their attention to the dirty and indecent condition of the parish church and directing them to summon a vestry for the purpose of putting it into good order, 5 October 1793.
• Copy of a letter from Thomas Williams to the bishop referring to the letter which the latter addressed to the churchwardens (5 October 1793) and denying that any promise had been made that the church would be built at the expense of the mine proprietors etc.
• Copy of undated letter from the churchwardens to the bishop enclosing a copy of a letter received by them from Thomas Williams, 30 November 1793, remarking on the contents of the bishop's letter of 5 October 1793.
• Resolutions of a vestry meeting held at Amlwch church, 13 January 1794, the consequence of a letter received from the bishop of Bangor.
• Copy of an undated letter from the churchwardens to the Earl of Uxbridge thanking him for this promise towards the building or repairing of the church.

The town of Amlwch, situated on the north eastern corner of Anglesey, north Wales, grew with the development of copper mining on nearby Parys Mountain, at its height the most productive copper mine in the world.

Copper was rediscovered at Parys Mountain between 1761 and 1768 on the estate of Sir Nicholas Bayly (1707-1782) of Plas Newydd, who owned Cerrig-y-bleiddia Farm, on the east of the hill and also had a share in Parys Farm on the western part. A legal dispute between Sir Nicholas Bayly and the other owners of Parys Farm resulted in the engagement of solicitor Thomas Williams (1737-1802) of Llanidan. In 1778 Sir Nicholas Bayly leased his share in the Parys Mine to a Macclesfield company in which Thomas Williams was partner. By 1785, the lease had run out and Sir Nicholas' son and heir, Henry Bayly, Earl of Uxbridge (1744-1812) went into partnership with Thomas Williams to form the Mona Mine Company. Production began to decline around 1850 although it continued until 1883 and ore recovery carried on into the twentieth century on a small scale.

Circa 1793 a dispute arose involving John Warren (1730-1800), the bishop of Bangor and rector of Amlwch, the churchwardens of Amlwch and the Parys and Mona Mine companies relating to the demolition and rebuilding of Amlwch parish church. The bishop alleged that the mining companies were reneging on a promise to rebuild the church; Thomas Williams denied that any such agreement had ever been made, however his co owner, the Earl of Uxbridge did offer to contribute towards the cost of rebuilding or repair.

Material is arranged in chronological order and incorporated into the General Collection of Bangor Manuscripts .

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Description compiled by Anne Lenaghan, September 2002.

Item level word-processed list is available at the Archives Department, University of Wales, Bangor. Reference numbers: General Collection of Bangor Manuscripts: 13547-13551

Usual copyright conditions apply. Reprographics are made at the discretion of the Archivist.

Also held at the Archives Department of the University of Wales, Bangor are the Mona Mine Papers and Mona Mine Records (Plas Newydd Papers) . Collection level descriptions are available on the Archives Hub.