Penrhyn quarry
Location | |
---|---|
Location in Gwynedd | |
Location | near Bethesda |
County | Gwynedd (formerly Caernarfonshire) |
Country | Wales |
Coordinates | 53°10′01″N 4°04′01″W / 53.167°N 4.067°W SH 61840 65347 |
Production | |
Products | Slate |
Type | Quarry |
Greatest depth | 1,200 feet (370 metres) |
History | |
Opened | pre-1570 |
Owner | |
Company | Welsh Slate Ltd. |
Website | www |
Year of acquisition | 2007 |
Railways | |
History | |
Opened | 25 June 1801 |
Closed | 24 July 1962 |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 1 ft 10+3⁄4 in (578 mm) |
The Penrhyn quarry is a
History
The first reference to slate extraction at Penrhyn is from 1570, when the quarry is mentioned in a Welsh poem.
In 1868 eighty workers were sacked for failing to vote for
The "Great Strike"
The quarry is significant in the history of the British
William John Parry, one of the founders of the North Wales Quarrymen's Union, and an alderman in Bethesda, organised a co-operative to take over several other local quarries and employ locked-out Penrhyn quarrymen. He eventually included Pantdreiniog, Moel Faban and Tanybwlch quarries in his operation, all on the north side of the town.[4]
Historically, most accounts of the strike have mainly looked at its effects on male workers, owners, management, economy, and trade unions. However, modern historians are working to broaden this focus. They aim to shed light on the wider community's experiences during the strike, paying special attention to the often ignored roles and perspectives of women.[5]
In the longer term the strike lessened confidence in the Welsh slate industry, leading to declining orders and greater unemployment.[6]
In 2003, on the centenary of the strike, the Transport and General Workers' Union unveiled a plaque in memory of those who participated.
Recent history
From 1963 until 2007 the quarry was owned and operated by Alfred McAlpine.[7]
In 2007 it was purchased by Kevin Lagan (an Irish businessman who is the owner and chairman of the Lagan Group) and renamed Welsh Slate Ltd. Kevin Lagan and his son Peter (MD of Lagan Building Solutions Ltd) are now directors of Welsh Slate Ltd which also includes the Oakeley quarry in Blaenau Ffestiniog, the Cwt Y Bugail quarry and the Pen Yr Orsedd quarry. The Lagan Group was itself acquired by the Leicestershire-based Breedon Group in 2018.[8]
A part of the site no longer in use for slate extraction is the site of a new adventure tourism facility operated by Zip World. The zip line Velocity 2 flies over an abandoned and partially flooded part of the quarry.[9]
Welsh slate such as that quarried at Penrhyn was designated by the International Union of Geological Sciences as a 'Global Heritage Stone Resource' early in 2019 in recognition of its significant contribution to world architectural heritage.[10]
Railways
See also
- Blondin (quarry equipment) – originated at Penrhyn
- The Great Strike, 1900-1903 (Penrhyn Quarry)
References
- ^ Bowles, Oliver (1922). The technology of slate. Washington Government Printing Office.
- ISBN 0-8262-0203-9.
- ^ "Penrhyn Castle and the Great Penrhyn Quarry Strike, 1900-03". The National Trust. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- hdl:10107/3837192.
- ^ Owen, Teleri (2019–2020). ""Yn Ddirgel ac yn Gyhoeddus: Rôl, Effaith, a Phortreadaeth Merched yn ystod Streic Fawr y Penrhyn, 1900–1903"". Llafur. 12 (4): 146–166.
- ISBN 9781915069153.
- ^ National Slate Museum Archived 28 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Quarry firm Welsh Slate sold as part of multi-million pound deal". Daily Post. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- ^ "Experience adventure at Penrhyn quarry". Zipworld. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- ^ "Welsh Slate's Cambrian slate wins international recognition". Breedon Group plc. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- Hughes, J. Elwyn; Hughes, Bryn; Wood, Dennis S. (1979). The Penrhyn quarry: Yesterday and Today. Penrhyn Quarries.
External links
- The official website of Welsh Slate Ltd., the owners of Penrhyn quarry
- The quarry's entry (including much description of the site, location map, etc.) on the National Monuments Record of Wales (NMRW)'s https://coflein.orgwebsite
- History and photos
- "The Penrhyn Slate Quarry," in Saturday Magazine, No. 12, 8 September 1832, pp. 93.
- The Penrhyn Slate Quarries in North Wales circa 1858, in The Illustrated London News, Vol. XXXII, No. 913, Saturday, 17 April 1858, pp. 392–393.
- History of Bangor Blue Slates In Ireland