The Light-house on Point of Air, Flintshire

:''There are two other similarly named points in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isl ...

: Point of Ayre, Isle of Man and Point of Ayre, Orkney, Scotland.'' Point of Ayr ( cy, Y Parlwr Du) is the northernmost point of mainland

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It is situated immediately to the north of

Talacre Talacre is a village in Flintshire on the north coast of Wales in the community of Llanasa and the electoral ward of Ffynnongroyw, and is the northernmost mainland settlement in Wales. The village itself has a population of 347 as of the 2011 cen ...

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

, at the mouth of the

Dee estuary The Dee Estuary ( cy, Aber Dyfrdwy) is a large estuary by means of which the River Dee flows into Liverpool Bay. The estuary starts near Shotton after a five-mile (8 km) 'canalised' section and the river soon swells to be several mile ...

. It is to the southwest of the Liverpool Bay area of the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the C ...

. It is the site of a RSPB (

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment thro ...

)

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

RSPB Dee Estuary Point of Ayr, and is part of Gronant and Talacre

Dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

Coal

For many years a

colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

operated at Point of Ayr at the northern extremity of the

Flintshire Coalfield The Flintshire Coalfield in north-east Wales is one of the smaller British coalfields. It is in the county of Flintshire and extends from the Point of Ayr in the north, along the Dee Estuary through Connah's Quay to Caergwrle in the south. A smal ...

; 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 Mostyn Colliery was a coal mine in Flintshire, North Wales, that was owned in the later part of its operating life by the influential Mostyn family. The colliery was located at Mostyn on the banks of the River Dee. Early history The Welsh write ...

, a few miles away. The borings seemed successful, and the

Prestatyn Coal Company The Prestatyn Coal Company was formed in 1865, by Lord Mostyn, owner of Mostyn Colliery, to investigate the possibility of a colliery at Point of Ayr, in Flintshire, Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom ...

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 The Western Mostyn Colliery Company was formed in 1873 with the purpose of investigating the potential of a coal mine at Point of Ayr, in Flintshire, Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered ...

, however the trial shaft was not successful, and the project was again abandoned. In 1883, a third company was formed, the

Point of Ayr Colliery Company The Point of Ayr Colliery Company was formed in 1883, and was the third company to attempt to extract coal from the North Wales Coalfield using a pit head at Point of Ayr, in Flintshire, Wales. The two previous attempts were carried out by the Pr ...

, and in 1890 they struck a seam. Coal at this time was brought to the surface by a team of 75

pit ponies A pit pony, otherwise known as a mining horse, was a horse, pony or mule commonly used underground in mines from the mid-18th until the mid-20th century. The term "pony" was sometimes broadly applied to any equine working underground.English ...

. A second shaft was also sunk around this time. According to the Inspector of Mines records, in 1896 the pit employed 356 men producing coal for domestic and industrial uses. A third shaft was sunk sometime after the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...

took over the site following

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to p ...

in 1947. The

coal field Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

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. 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

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...

from the Celtic gas-fields comes ashore. Gas is piped through a pipeline 33.5 km (20 mile) long from the Douglas Complex of gas and

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

drilling platforms in the Irish Sea. The Point of Ayr gas terminal has a gas processing capacity of per day at standard conditions. The facilities remove methanol (used for hydrate inhibition), water and condensate. The gas is sweetened with an amine solvent to remove sulphur compounds to below 3.3 ppm and chilled to reduce the hydrocarbon dewpoint. The processing plant was originally part of the BHP development of the Liverpool Bay area, but now owned and operated by

Eni Eni S.p.A. () is an Italian multinational energy company headquartered in Rome. Considered one of the seven "supermajor" oil companies in the world, it has operations in 69 countries with a market capitalization of US$54.08 billion, as of 11 Ap ...

. Gas is transported through a 27-km (17 mile) underground pipeline at 30 bar along the North Wales coast to Connah's Quay. After further processing, the gas is sold to

Uniper Uniper SE �juːnipɚis an energy company based in Düsseldorf, Germany. The name of the company is a portmanteau of "unique" and "performance" given by long-term employee Gregor Recke. Uniper was formed by the separation of E.ON's fossil f ...

, for their

combined cycle A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas tur ...

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directio ...

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

at Connah's Quay, on

Deeside Deeside ( cy, Glannau Dyfrdwy) is the name given to a predominantly industrial conurbation of towns and villages in Flintshire and Cheshire on the Wales–England border lying near the canalised stretch of the River Dee that flows from neig ...

, in Flintshire.

Lighthouse

Point of Ayr also gives its name to a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses m ...

, built in 1776, though inactive since 1883. It stands on

beach, at the entrance to the River Dee

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

. The lighthouse once displayed two lights. The main beam, at 63 feet, shone seaward towards

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craig ...

. A secondary beam shone up the River Dee, towards the hamlet of Dawpool, in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

, on the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

side of the estuary. Whilst in service, the lighthouse was painted with red and white stripes, and had a red lantern housing. It was replaced in 1844 with a metal

pile lighthouse A pile lighthouse is a type of lighthouse found in Australia and the United States. In the United States they are found primarily in Florida, including on open coral reef, reefs adjacent to the Florida Keys. The pile lighthouses on the reefs in ...

, bearing a white light, put up by order of the

Corporation of Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...

. This new structure was itself replaced in 1883 with a lightship.

References

External links

Trinity House
{{Flintshire Headlands of Flintshire Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserves in Wales Undersea collieries in the United Kingdom 1952 disasters in the United Kingdom

Coal

Gas

Lighthouse

See also

References

External links