Aberllefenni Slate Quarry
Encyclopedia
Aberllefenni Slate Quarry is the collective name of three slate quarries
, Foel Grochan (sometimes misspelt as Foel Crochan), Hen Chwarel and Ceunant Ddu, located in Aberllefenni
, Gwynedd
, North Wales
. It was the longest continually operated slate mine in the world until its closure in 2003. Foel Grochan is the quarry on the eastern side of the valley, facing Ceunant Ddu and Hen Gloddfa on the west; all three were worked as a single concern throughout their history. Technically all three of these are mines
, not quarries, since all rock extraction takes place underground, though they are often referred to as quarries.
By 1879 the quarry employed 169 men and produced nearly 4700 tons of finished slate and slab. The number of employees peaked in 1890 at 190.Production fluctuated by was trending downwards during the 1890s and 1900s. In 1908 the number of employees fell below 100. The First World War saw a downturn in production at Aberllefenni as in the whole industry. After the war there was a short boom into the early 1920s, but then prices of slate began to fall.
By the early 1930s the industry was in a deep depression, with a 3 day week being worked for part of 1933. In 1935 the quarry was leased by Sir Henry Haydn Jones
, owner of the Bryn Eglwys
quarry near Abergynolwyn
. The Second World War brought further drops in production, with the number of men employed falling from 120 in 1939 to 40 in 1944.
After the war, the industry continued a slow decline, with industrial action closing the quarry for part of 1947. During the 1950s only about 40 men were working, all in Foel Grochan quarry. In 1956, brothers Gwilym and Dewi Lloyd took over the quarry under the name Wincilate Ltd. Rapid modernization and mechanisation of the quarry allowed it to continue to produce slate into the 1990s. Aberllefenni was the last working slate mine south of Blaenau Ffestiniog
.
However by 2002 it was no longer economical to extract slate at Aberllefenni and the mine closed. The slate mill continues to operate to this day, processing slate imported from Blaenau Ffestiniog
and Penrhyn
. Small pieces of Aberllefenni slate are still available for name plates..
One of the reasons for Aberllefenni Slate Quarry's continued use was the high quality of the slate extracted. There are two major "bands" of slate running parallel to each other through this region of mid-Wales, the "broad vein" and the "narrow vein", the latter of which Aberllefenni extracted. The broad vein is of considerably poorer quality than the narrow vein, and the slate it produces is of little use in roofing slates or polished surfaces. Instead it was used in walls, fences and hardcore. The narrow vein was of much better quality and could be used in much higher quality applications and fetched higher prices.
Slate extracted from the narrow vein at Aberllefenni is deep blue and extremely hard and dense. It resists fine splitting, so most of the mines' product was large cut slabs rather than split roofing slates. Foel Grochan mine consists of eight near-horizontal tunnels at approximately 60 feet (18.3 m) vertical separation. These were bored into the valley side just to the north of the near-vertical narrow vein. Each tunnel connected to a large chamber from which the rock was extracted. These chambers ranged from 100 to 187 ft (30.5 to 57 m) to in length with 24 to 30 ft (7.3 to 9.1 m) of rock left between the bottom of one chamber and the top of the next lower chamber. As more slate was extracted, several of the upper chambers were joined vertically to form an extremely large cavern known as Twll Golau which is open at the top.
, a narrow gauge railway which carried slate down the Dulas Valley to Machynlleth. There it was transferred to the standard gauge
Cambrian Railways
and shipped throughout Great Britain
. In the 20th Century the railway's use was discontinued, instead the slate carriages were pulled by a tractor. The railway has now been removed.
Slate industry in Wales
The slate industry in Wales began during the Roman period when slate was used to roof the fort at Segontium, now Caernarfon. The slate industry grew slowly until the early 18th century, then expanded rapidly until the late 19th century, at which time the most important slate producing areas were in...
, Foel Grochan (sometimes misspelt as Foel Crochan), Hen Chwarel and Ceunant Ddu, located in Aberllefenni
Aberllefenni
Aberllefenni is a village in the south of Gwynedd, Wales. It lies in the valley of the Afon Dulas.Part of the ancient county of Merionethshire, it is the location of Foel Grochan, a slate quarry which together with Hen Chwarel and Ceunant Ddu formed the Aberllefenni Slate Quarry, which extracted...
, Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
, North Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It was the longest continually operated slate mine in the world until its closure in 2003. Foel Grochan is the quarry on the eastern side of the valley, facing Ceunant Ddu and Hen Gloddfa on the west; all three were worked as a single concern throughout their history. Technically all three of these are mines
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
, not quarries, since all rock extraction takes place underground, though they are often referred to as quarries.
History
Aberllefenni Slate Quarry may have started operating as a slate mine as early as the 14th century. The earliest confirmed date of operating is 1500 when the local house Plas Aberllefenni was roofed in slates from the mine. In the seventeenth century the Lloyd family owned the quarry, and passed to the Campbell family in 1725. In 1806 John Davies gained control which passed to the executor of his estate Pryce Jones in 1824. In 1859 the quarry was sold to Colonel Robert Davies Jones, trading under the name Aberllefenni Slate Quarries.By 1879 the quarry employed 169 men and produced nearly 4700 tons of finished slate and slab. The number of employees peaked in 1890 at 190.Production fluctuated by was trending downwards during the 1890s and 1900s. In 1908 the number of employees fell below 100. The First World War saw a downturn in production at Aberllefenni as in the whole industry. After the war there was a short boom into the early 1920s, but then prices of slate began to fall.
By the early 1930s the industry was in a deep depression, with a 3 day week being worked for part of 1933. In 1935 the quarry was leased by Sir Henry Haydn Jones
Henry Haydn Jones
Sir Henry Haydn Jones was a Welsh Liberal Party politician.- Upbringing :Henry Haydn Jones was born in Ruthin, Wales. He was the son of Joseph David Jones , a schoolmaster in the town and a respected Welsh musician and composer...
, owner of the Bryn Eglwys
Bryn Eglwys
Bryn Eglwys was a remote slate quarry located near Abergynolwyn in Gwynedd mid-Wales.- History :The quarry was first worked on a small scale in the early 1840s. In 1864 William McConnel leased the quarry, forming the Aberdovey Slate Company Limited. McConnel planned to increase production at Bryn...
quarry near Abergynolwyn
Abergynolwyn
Abergynolwyn is a village in southern Gwynedd, Wales, located at the confluence of the Nant Gwernol and the Afon Dysynni.Historically, the village was part of Merionethshire and its main industry was slate quarrying and the village was founded in the 1860s to house workers at the nearby Bryn...
. The Second World War brought further drops in production, with the number of men employed falling from 120 in 1939 to 40 in 1944.
After the war, the industry continued a slow decline, with industrial action closing the quarry for part of 1947. During the 1950s only about 40 men were working, all in Foel Grochan quarry. In 1956, brothers Gwilym and Dewi Lloyd took over the quarry under the name Wincilate Ltd. Rapid modernization and mechanisation of the quarry allowed it to continue to produce slate into the 1990s. Aberllefenni was the last working slate mine south of Blaenau Ffestiniog
Blaenau Ffestiniog
Blaenau Ffestiniog is a town in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It has a population of 5,000, including Llan Ffestiniog, which makes it the third largest town in Gwynedd, behind Caernarfon & Porthmadog. Although the population reached 12,000 at the peak of the slate industry, the population fell due to...
.
However by 2002 it was no longer economical to extract slate at Aberllefenni and the mine closed. The slate mill continues to operate to this day, processing slate imported from Blaenau Ffestiniog
Blaenau Ffestiniog
Blaenau Ffestiniog is a town in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It has a population of 5,000, including Llan Ffestiniog, which makes it the third largest town in Gwynedd, behind Caernarfon & Porthmadog. Although the population reached 12,000 at the peak of the slate industry, the population fell due to...
and Penrhyn
Penrhyn Quarry
The Penrhyn Slate Quarry is a slate quarry located near Bethesda in north Wales. At the end of the nineteenth century it was the world's largest slate quarry; the main pit is nearly long and deep, and it was worked by nearly 3,000 quarrymen. It has since been superseded in size by slate quarries...
. Small pieces of Aberllefenni slate are still available for name plates..
Operations
Slate extracted from the narrow vein at Aberllefenni is deep blue and extremely hard and dense. It resists fine splitting, so most of the mines' product was large cut slabs rather than split roofing slates. Foel Grochan mine consists of eight near-horizontal tunnels at approximately 60 feet (18.3 m) vertical separation. These were bored into the valley side just to the north of the near-vertical narrow vein. Each tunnel connected to a large chamber from which the rock was extracted. These chambers ranged from 100 to 187 ft (30.5 to 57 m) to in length with 24 to 30 ft (7.3 to 9.1 m) of rock left between the bottom of one chamber and the top of the next lower chamber. As more slate was extracted, several of the upper chambers were joined vertically to form an extremely large cavern known as Twll Golau which is open at the top.
Transportation
From the mid 1850s the quarries at Aberllefenni were connected to the Corris RailwayCorris Railway
The Corris Railway is a narrow gauge preserved railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire in Mid-Wales....
, a narrow gauge railway which carried slate down the Dulas Valley to Machynlleth. There it was transferred to the standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
Cambrian Railways
Cambrian Railways
Cambrian Railways owned of track over a large area of mid-Wales. The system was an amalgamation of a number of railways that were incorporated in 1864, 1865 and 1904...
and shipped throughout 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...
. In the 20th Century the railway's use was discontinued, instead the slate carriages were pulled by a tractor. The railway has now been removed.