Oakeley Quarry
Encyclopedia
Oakeley Quarry is a slate mine
in the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog
, north Wales
.
to send slates to the wharves at Porthmadog
. By 1840 underground working had begun and a large steam-driven cutting mill was opened around 1860. By the mid-1870s over 14,000 tons of finished slate was being produced annually.
During the same period, Nathaniel Mathew had leased land between Cesail and Rhiwbryfdir and opened up Gloddfa Ganol (in English: Middle Mine). Gloddfa Ganol, also known as Mathew's Quarry, was a pioneer of the use of slate dressing machines and was an early user of steam powered mills and inclines. By the mid-1870s Gloddfa Ganol was producing more than 10,000 tons of finished slate annually.
There was a third major quarry nearby. The Lord Palmerston Quarry was located below and south of Gloddfa Ganol. Its extensive underground workings were connected to the Ffestiniog Railway by 1838 and it opened the first steam-driven cutting mill in the district around 1840. By the 1870s annual production was around 50,000 tons of finished slates.
The leaseholds for both Cesail and Gloddfa Ganol expired in 1878 and the landowner, W.E. Oakeley consolidated the Upper and Middle quarries into a single operation.
The Lord Palmerston Quarry continued as an independent quarry, but had been pursuing aggressive and dangerous mining methods. A number of underground collapses culminated in several significant rock falls in 1882 and 1883 which threatened to destabilize the two Oakeley-owned quarries above. Oakeley sued the owners of the Lord Palmerston Quarry and took ownership of it, amalgamating all three into a single operation known as the Oakeley Quarry.
At the end of the nineteenth century, Oakeley acquired the adjacent Nidd-y-Gigfran and the nearby Cwm Orthin Quarry. At their peak these combined quarries produced 60,000 tons of slate annually and were the third largest in the United Kingdom
.
Extensive use was made of stationary steam engine
s to run the cutting mills, dressing sheds and inclines
in the quarry, although from 1906 hydro-electric power was introduced.
Oakeley continued to produce significant tonnages of slate through World War II
, but experienced a rapid decline in the 1960s, along with the remainder of the British slate industry. The quarry closed in 1970.
The quarry re-opened as a working quarry and tourist attraction in 1978 under the name Gloddfa Ganol. This enterprise was sold to McAlpines in 1997 and the tourist side of the business was closed, but the quarry continued to operate.
In March 2010 Welsh Slate announced the quarry's closure, due to the discovery of subsidence. The remaining workers would be transferred to another of the company's quarries.
Slate industry
The slate industry is the industry related to the extraction and processing of slate. Slate is either quarried from a slate quarry or reached by tunneling in a slate mine. Common uses for slate include as a roofing material, a flooring material, gravestones and memorial tablets, and for electrical...
in the town 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...
, 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...
.
History
Oakeley Quarry originated in 1818 when Samuel Holland leased a small quarry at Rhiwbryfdir farm. This venture was successful and was sold in 1825 to the Welsh Slate Company. Holland then opened a new quarry at Cesail, above Rhiwbryfdir. In 1839 Holland's Cesail quarry (also known as the Upper Quarry) became one of the first users of the Ffestiniog RailwayFfestiniog Railway
The Ffestiniog Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park....
to send slates to the wharves at Porthmadog
Porthmadog
Porthmadog , known locally as "Port", and historically rendered into English as Portmadoc, is a small coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd, in Wales. Prior to the Local Government Act 1972 it was in the administrative county of Caernarfonshire. The town lies east of...
. By 1840 underground working had begun and a large steam-driven cutting mill was opened around 1860. By the mid-1870s over 14,000 tons of finished slate was being produced annually.
During the same period, Nathaniel Mathew had leased land between Cesail and Rhiwbryfdir and opened up Gloddfa Ganol (in English: Middle Mine). Gloddfa Ganol, also known as Mathew's Quarry, was a pioneer of the use of slate dressing machines and was an early user of steam powered mills and inclines. By the mid-1870s Gloddfa Ganol was producing more than 10,000 tons of finished slate annually.
There was a third major quarry nearby. The Lord Palmerston Quarry was located below and south of Gloddfa Ganol. Its extensive underground workings were connected to the Ffestiniog Railway by 1838 and it opened the first steam-driven cutting mill in the district around 1840. By the 1870s annual production was around 50,000 tons of finished slates.
The leaseholds for both Cesail and Gloddfa Ganol expired in 1878 and the landowner, W.E. Oakeley consolidated the Upper and Middle quarries into a single operation.
The Lord Palmerston Quarry continued as an independent quarry, but had been pursuing aggressive and dangerous mining methods. A number of underground collapses culminated in several significant rock falls in 1882 and 1883 which threatened to destabilize the two Oakeley-owned quarries above. Oakeley sued the owners of the Lord Palmerston Quarry and took ownership of it, amalgamating all three into a single operation known as the Oakeley Quarry.
At the end of the nineteenth century, Oakeley acquired the adjacent Nidd-y-Gigfran and the nearby Cwm Orthin Quarry. At their peak these combined quarries produced 60,000 tons of slate annually and were the third largest in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Extensive use was made of stationary steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
s to run the cutting mills, dressing sheds and inclines
Cable railway
A cable railway is a steeply graded railway that uses a cable or rope to haul trains.-Introduction:...
in the quarry, although from 1906 hydro-electric power was introduced.
Oakeley continued to produce significant tonnages of slate through World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but experienced a rapid decline in the 1960s, along with the remainder of the British slate industry. The quarry closed in 1970.
The quarry re-opened as a working quarry and tourist attraction in 1978 under the name Gloddfa Ganol. This enterprise was sold to McAlpines in 1997 and the tourist side of the business was closed, but the quarry continued to operate.
In March 2010 Welsh Slate announced the quarry's closure, due to the discovery of subsidence. The remaining workers would be transferred to another of the company's quarries.