Sygun Copper Mine
Encyclopedia
Sygun Copper Mine is a Victorian
copper mine that was closed in 1903 and was renovated and reopened by the Amies family as a tourist attraction in 1986, focusing on audio-visual tours of the underground workings.
in the Snowdonia
National Park
in North Wales
.
during an award ceremony. The Copper mine is now owned and managed by the Ward Family who have refurbished all aspects of the mine and its visitors attractions to the highest standards.
. The Sygun Museum of Wales also includes a Welsh mythology
and Welsh history section, the Red Dragon Heritage Centre. The museum has one of the largest art collections of any privately controlled museum in Great Britain
, small portions being exhibited at various times throughout the year. The collection is split into two main departments, antique and 20th century.
In 2002 the mine and its subsidiaries were put up for sale on the retirement of the original developers.
.
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
copper mine that was closed in 1903 and was renovated and reopened by the Amies family as a tourist attraction in 1986, focusing on audio-visual tours of the underground workings.
Location
It is located about 2 km outside of the village of BeddgelertBeddgelert
Beddgelert, or in older English spelling often Bedgellert, is a village and community in the Snowdonia area of Gwynedd, Wales. It is reputed to be named after the legendary hound Gelert. Population 617.- History:...
in the Snowdonia
Snowdonia
Snowdonia is a region in north Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three National Parks in Wales, in 1951.-Name and extent:...
National Park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
in North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
.
Prince of Wales Award 1988
The Amies family was awarded the Prince of Wales Award for "the sensitive development of visitor facilities at Sygun Copper Mine" in 1988. The award was presented to the family by the Prince of WalesPrince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
during an award ceremony. The Copper mine is now owned and managed by the Ward Family who have refurbished all aspects of the mine and its visitors attractions to the highest standards.
Attractions
The Sygun complex also includes an art museum and art galleryArt gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
. The Sygun Museum of Wales also includes a Welsh mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
and Welsh history section, the Red Dragon Heritage Centre. The museum has one of the largest art collections of any privately controlled museum in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, small portions being exhibited at various times throughout the year. The collection is split into two main departments, antique and 20th century.
In 2002 the mine and its subsidiaries were put up for sale on the retirement of the original developers.
Popular culture
The copper mine's original buildings, some of which still exist, were shown in the 1958 film The Inn of the Sixth HappinessThe Inn of the Sixth Happiness
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness is a 1958 American 20th Century Fox film based on the true story of Gladys Aylward, a tenacious British maid, who became a missionary in China during the tumultuous years leading up to World War II...
.