Conlig Lead Mine

The ivy clad building beside the footpath is all that remains of the engine house of the Conlig lead mine, constructed in 1836,[1] and the subject of a chink in Lord Dufferin’s diplomatic armour.

In 1863 he was leasing the land from Robert Ward of Bangor Castle, but with no control over the mineral rights, when Ward told him that the mining company wished to expand, writing “I should be very sorry that any part of your park were disfigured by additional buildings and shall not conclude as to terms with the mining company without giving you time for further communication on the subject.”[2]

In February 1865 Dufferin, concerned that Ward would relet the mines without giving him first refusal,[3] wrote to him, referring to the fable where the Greek sold the Trojan a donkey, but not the shadow. In this case he would lose the substance rather than the shadow as “what service will be a few acres of barren rock and bog, if their beauty, the only value they really possessed, shall have been destroyed.”[4]

Ward replied that he realised that Dufferin would take on the mine to preserve the views but had a responsibility to the public good and his successors. He also referred to Dufferin's 'asinine illustration', writing “I will end by expressing a hope that I have written as little as you have which will have an effect of making matters worse between us as than the circumstances oblige”[5]

Dufferin replied that he had spent upwards of £50,000 in making a park and it had been “the one great amusement & principal delight of my life, and this establishment of mines will be at the very centre & most beautiful portion of that park”. He stated his intention to make a drive to [Clandeboye] house as soon as the short sea passage [to Portpatrick] is open and close the road to the mines and the mines themselves.[6] A bit of a give away of his true intentions.

Soon after that the lease was put on the market and Dufferin wrote to his agent that the sale would be at Garrowy's Coffee House, with a note that “It is of vital importance that we get these mines”.[7] This was followed by another letter explaining that the sale was at Garrowy’s in London, not Belfast, so Dufferin went there himself and purchased the mining lease for £5 over the £1,000 asking price.[8]

Under the terms of the mining lease, Dufferin was obliged to operate the mine until it was exhausted. However, further exploration proved fruitless, and the mine was finally closed down in 1867,[9] ending one of the more controversial episodes of Dufferin’s landscaping exploits.

[1] S.P. Schwatrz and M. F. Critchley, "A history of the Silver-Lead Mines of County Down, Northern Ireland," Journal of the Mining Heritage Trust of Ireland 13 (2013): 83.

[2] PRONI D1071/A/K/3/B/3 (6 January 1863)

[3] PRONI D1071/A/K/1/B/15/1 (26 February 1856)

[4] PRONI D1071/A/K/3/B/6/1 (1 February 1865)

[5] Ibid (22 February 1865)

[6] Ibid (28 February 1865)

[7] PRONI D1071/A/K/1/B/15/1 (4 March 1865)

[8] Ibid (7 March 1865)

[9] Schwatrz and Critchley, "A history of the Silver-Lead Mines of County Down, Northern Ireland," 75.