Editing Morda (section)

===Coal mining and brick making===

There were several good sources of [[coal]] in Shropshire and in its heyday in the 1800s the local mining industry rivalled neighbouring [[Staffordshire]] in its output. Contributing to this productivity was coal extracted from Morda, Coed-y-go and [[Trefonen]]. The coal in the area was often close to the surface and accordingly the [[bell pit]] was a common method of extraction.<ref name=":1" />

By the turn of the 19th century, the [[Ellesmere Canal]] and the [[Shropshire Union Canal|Shropshire Union]] offshoot opened up the markets to the north and for some fifty years, much coal mining would take place in Morda. In 1813, the [[Morda Tramway]] was laid down to transport coal to the canal at [[Maesbury]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://shropshirehistory.com/mining/nshropscf.htm|title=North Shropshire Coalfield|website=shropshirehistory.com|access-date=2017-12-25}}</ref> In 1860, local entrepreneur [[Thomas Savin]] constructed a railway to link the Morda pits to the main line of the [[Cambrian Railways|Cambrian Railway]] at Whitehaven, near [[Llynclys]].<ref name=":2" /> The railway opened in 1861 but Savin's bankruptcy in 1866 ended matters and his mine closed in 1869.<ref name=":2" />

As some of the mines in the area became flooded, their owners turned instead to utilising the clay dug out as a by-product of mining. This clay was most often used in the making of bricks and pottery items.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oswestry-borderland-heritage.co.uk/?page=51|title=Oswestry Borderland Heritage - Short History|website=www.oswestry-borderland-heritage.co.uk|access-date=2017-12-26}}</ref>

Coal extraction had mostly ended in the Morda field by 1900.<ref name=":2" />