Point of Ayr
| Talacre | |
|---|---|
 The beach at Talacre | |
  Talacre Location within Flintshire | |
| OS grid reference | SJ1202 8530 |
| Principal area | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HOLYWELL |
| Postcode district | CH8 |
| Dialling code | 01745 |
| Police | North Wales |
| Fire | North Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
Delyn | |
- There are two other similarly named points in the British Isles: Point of Ayre, Isle of Man and Point of Ayre, Orkney, Scotland.
Point of Ayr (
.Coal
For many years a
colliery operated at Point of Ayr at the northern extremity of the Flintshire Coalfield; it was one of the last remaining operational deep mines in Wales. The first trial borings took place in 1865, under the direction of Lord Mostyn, owner of Mostyn Colliery, a few miles away. The borings seemed successful, and the Prestatyn Coal Company was formed to commence operations proper, however the project was abandoned before it got off the ground. In 1873, the site was investigated a second time, by a newly formed company, the Western Mostyn Colliery Company
, however the trial shaft was not successful, and the project was again abandoned.
In 1883, a third company was formed, the
coal field extended northwards under the Irish Sea. Six men have been killed during the sink of a new shaft on the 4th of July 1952. By 1953, 738 men were producing 213,000 tons of coal annually. Point of Ayr colliery closed on 23 August 1996.[3][4][5]
Nothing now remains of the colliery. However, like many former coal mines, the name is retained by "Point of Ayr Colliery Band", a Brass Band competing at Championship level.
The site was chosen in the early eighties for a demonstration "Oil from Coal" plant jointly funded by the government, the National Coal Board and others. Bench scale trials was carried out on site but the project became a victim of the miners strike and the subsequent cut back in research funding for this and clean burn technology. The plant never became operational and was scrapped.
Gas
Point of Ayr is also the place where
Lighthouse
Point of Ayr also gives its name to a
lightship.[11]
See also
References
- ^ "RSPB Dee Estuary Point of Ayr". Rspb.org.uk.
- ISBN 978-0-9522755-6-5
- ^ Point of Ayr, Miners Advice, retrieved 2 December 2007
- ^ Point of Ayr Colliery, BBC Wales Coalhouse, retrieved 2 December 2007
- ^ Point of Ayr Colliery, Welsh Coal Mines, retrieved 2 December 2007
- ^ Point of Ayr Gas Terminal, Offshore Technology, retrieved 2 December 2007
- ^ Hughes, Owen (1 April 2014). "300 jobs secured with deal for Point of Ayr terminal and oil and gas fields". North Wales Live.
- ^ Offshore Industry, Virtual Prestatyn, retrieved 2 December 2007
- ^ Cliffe, Charles Frederick (1851), The Book of North Wales: Second Edition, p. 55
- ^ Parry, Edward (1851), A Guide to North Wales, p. 229
- ^ Point of Air (sic) Lighthouse, Lighthouse Depot Online, retrieved 2 December 2007
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Point of Ayr.
