Tyddyn Gwladys Mine

Location	Tyddyn Gwladys, Afon Mawddach, near Ganllwyd, Coed y Brenin, about 7 miles north of Dolgellau, Gwynedd — 52.8234, -3.8786 (approximate)
Commodities	Gold, Lead, Silver, Zinc
Type	Metal
Worked	Before 1862 (lead and zinc)–Unknown; site reused as gunpowder works 1887-89
Maximum depth	Unknown.
Operators	William Pritchard Morgan (1887–1889)

Overview

A small mine on the Afon Mawddach at Tyddyn Gwladys, near Ganllwyd in Coed y Brenin, worked first for lead and zinc and then, from 1862, for gold, without success. Its lodes were known for patches of rich silver ore. In 1887-89 William Pritchard Morgan, the 'Welsh Gold King', built a gunpowder works on the failed mine's site, and by 1893 its buildings were barracks for the men of nearby Gwynfynydd gold mine. The ruins lie beside a forest car park on the Waterfalls and Goldmines Trail.

History

Tyddyn Gwladys lies in the Dolgellau gold belt, on the Mawddach about 1.5 km from Gwynfynydd. Before 1862 it was mined for lead and zinc. In 1862 it was worked exclusively for gold, which Buddlepit's database calls a wholly unsuccessful enterprise in a horizon not favourable for gold. The lodes were long known for localised but high-grade silver: discrete silver minerals were recognised in the late 19th century, and in 1968 J.W. Gilbey used ore microscopy and electron microprobe analysis to identify pyrargyrite, argentian tetrahedrite, electrum and polybasite intergrown with galena. William Pritchard Morgan, a solicitor who had made a fortune from Queensland gold, took over Gwynfynydd in 1887 and struck a rich pocket that made him famous as the Welsh Gold King. Between 1887 and 1889 he established a gunpowder works on the site of the failed Tyddyn Gwladys mine, fourteen buildings strung along the Mawddach and linked by water leats and a tramway. By 1893 the buildings were serving as barracks for Gwynfynydd's miners; a photograph in the Meirionnydd Archives shows the interior of gold miners' barracks there. The ruined buildings now stand in Coed y Brenin Forest Park, where Natural Resources Wales runs a car park, an audio trail about the gunpowder works and the Waterfalls and Goldmines Trail past Gwynfynydd.

Geology

Mesothermal quartz veins of the Dolgellau gold belt carrying galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite, with localised silver minerals: pyrargyrite, argentian tetrahedrite, electrum and polybasite as intergrowths in galena. The silver-gold-antimony-lead ore may be a variant of the gold-bearing oreshoots elsewhere in the belt.

Geological setting: Veins and Lodes (historical documentary reference)

Workings

Unknown in detail; Buddlepit notes the possible remains of a mill on the track up from the riverside cottage.

Closure

The 1862 gold venture failed; the closing date of mining is not given in the sources read. From 1887 to 1889 the site was a gunpowder works, and by 1893 barracks for Gwynfynydd.

What remains

Ruined buildings of the gunpowder works along the Mawddach, beside a Natural Resources Wales car park and waymarked trail in Coed y Brenin Forest Park.

Fourteen ruined gunpowder works buildings linked by water leats and a tramway; possible mill remains beside the track.

Redevelopment

Forestry recreation site: car park, picnic area, audio trail and the Waterfalls and Goldmines Trail.

Related mines

Gwynfynydd Gold Mine — Tyddyn Gwladys's buildings became barracks for Gwynfynydd's miners by 1893; both were Pritchard Morgan sites.
Turf Copper Mine — Neighbouring Coed y Brenin mine sites about 1.4 km apart.

Nearby mines

Gwynfynydd Gold Mine — 1.4 km SE
Turf Copper Mine — 1.4 km SE
Cefn Coch Gold Mine — 1.6 km S
Glasdir Mine — 6.6 km SW
Clogau Gold Mine — 9.0 km SW

Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.

People

William Pritchard Morgan (1844–1924) · owner, 1887–1889 — via the operator record

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

A photograph in the Meirionnydd Archives shows the interior of gold miners' barracks, identified with a query as Tyddyn Gwladys. (uncertain) ⁴

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

Mined for lead and zinc before 1862; in 1862 it was mined exclusively for gold, unsuccessfully. ¹
The mine worked mesothermal veins in the Dolgellau gold belt and was long known for localised but high-grade silver mineralisation; Gilbey (1968) identified pyrargyrite among the silver minerals. ²
Tyddyn Gwladys Gunpowder Works were established by William Pritchard Morgan in 1887-89 on the site of a failed gold mine; by 1893 the buildings were barracks for Gwynfynydd Gold Mine. ³
The site has fourteen ruined buildings along the Mawddach valley linked by water leats and a tramway. ³
A photograph in the Meirionnydd Archives shows the interior of gold miners' barracks, identified with a query as Tyddyn Gwladys. (uncertain) ⁴

Photographs & further reading

Coflein: Tyddyn Gwladys Gunpowder Works (reference)

RCAHMW record of the gunpowder works built on the failed gold mine and later used as Gwynfynydd barracks.

View source

Museum Wales: Pyrargyrite (reference)

Mineralogy of Wales entry on the rare silver minerals found at Tyddyn Gwladys.

View source

Natural Resources Wales: Tyddyn Gwladys (reference)

Visitor page for the car park, audio trail about the gunpowder works and the Waterfalls and Goldmines Trail.

View source

Sources

(secondary) Tyddyn Gwladys — Buddlepit Mine Database
(secondary) Pyrargyrite (Mineral Database) — Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales, Mineralogy of Wales
(secondary) Tyddyn Gwladys Gunpowder Works, Ganllwyd (NPRN 91694) — RCAHMW Coflein
(primary) Tyddyn Gwladys Gold Mine, Merionethshire — People's Collection Wales (Meirionnydd Archives)

Record created: 17 September 2026 · Last researched: 17 September 2026