Penrhyn Quarry
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The Penrhyn quarry is a
slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...
located near Bethesda,
North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
. 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 It has since been superseded in size by slate quarries in China, Spain and the USA. Penrhyn is still Britain's largest slate quarry but its workforce is now nearer 200.


History

The first reference to slate extraction at Penrhyn is from 1570, when the quarry is mentioned in a Welsh poem. The quarry was developed in the 1770s by Richard Pennant, later
Baron Penrhyn Baron Penrhyn is a title that has been created twice. The first creation came in the Peerage of Ireland in 1783 in favour of Richard Pennant, who had previously served as a Member of Parliament for Petersfield and Liverpool. This creation becam ...
. Much of his early working was for local use only as no large scale transport infrastructure was developed until Pennant's involvement. From then on, slates from the quarry were transported to the sea at
Port Penrhyn Port Penrhyn ( cy, Porth Penrhyn) is a harbour located just east of Bangor in north Wales at the confluence of the River Cegin with the Menai Strait. It was formerly of great importance as the main port for the export of slate from the Penrh ...
on the
narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
Penrhyn Quarry Railway The Penrhyn Quarry Railway was a narrow gauge railway in Caernarfonshire (now Gwynedd), Wales. It served the Penrhyn quarry near Bethesda, taking their slate produce to Port Penrhyn, near Bangor. The railway was around long and used a gaug ...
built in 1798, one of the earliest railway lines. In the 19th century the Penrhyn Quarry, along with the Dinorwic quarry, dominated the Welsh slate industry. In 1868 eighty workers were sacked for failing to vote for George Douglas-Pennant, the son of the owner, in the general election.


The "Great Strike"

The quarry is significant in the history of the British
Labour Movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...
as the site of two prolonged strikes by workers demanding better pay and safer conditions. The first strike lasted eleven months in 1896. The second began on 22 November 1900 and lasted for three years. Known as "The Great Strike of Penrhyn", this was the longest dispute in British industrial history. During the strike, the community was divided between those who laid down their tools and those who crossed the picket line. Many locals wrote "''Nid oes bradwr yn y tŷ hwn''" or "There is no traitor in this house" in their front windows. William John Parry, one of the founders of the North Wales Quarrymen's Union, and an
alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...
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. In the longer term the dispute cast the shadow of unreliability on the North Welsh slate industry, causing orders to drop sharply and thousands of workers to be laid off. In 2003, on the centenary of the strike, the
Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate its ...
unveiled a plaque in memory of those who participated.


Recent history

From 1963 until 2007 the quarry was owned and operated by
Alfred McAlpine Alfred McAlpine plc was a British construction firm headquartered in Hooton, Cheshire. It was a major road builder, and constructed over 10% of Britain's motorways, including the M6 Toll (as part of the CAMBBA consortium). It was listed on the ...
. 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 Blaenau Ffestiniog is a town in Gwynedd, Wales. Once a slate mining centre in historic Merionethshire, it now relies much on tourists, drawn for instance to the Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns. It reached a population of 12,00 ...
, the Cwt Y Bugail quarry and the Pen Yr Orsedd quarry. The Lagan Group was itself acquired by the
Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
-based
Breedon Group Breedon Group plc (formerly Ennstone plc) is an AIM-listed British construction materials company headquartered at Breedon on the Hill, Leicestershire, England. In 2016 Breedon became the UK's largest independent construction materials firm follo ...
in 2018. 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 Zip World is a Welsh outdoor adventure activity company based in Llanrwst, Wales, United Kingdom. The company operates four sites in Wales, primarily focused on zip lines and outdoor adventure activity courses. History Zip World was create ...
. The
zip line A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable cargo or a person propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the bot ...
Velocity 2 flies over an abandoned and partially flooded part of the quarry. Welsh slate such as that quarried at Penrhyn was designated by the
International Union of Geological Sciences The International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) is an international non-governmental organization devoted to international cooperation in the field of geology. About The IUGS was founded in 1961 and is a Scientific Union member of the Inte ...
as a '
Global Heritage Stone Resource The Global Heritage Stone Resource (GHSR) designation seeks international recognition of natural stone resources that have achieved widespread utilisation in human culture. Details of the “Global Heritage Stone Resource” proposal were first pr ...
' early in 2019 in recognition of its significant contribution to world architectural heritage.


Railways


See also

*
Blondin (quarry equipment) Blondins (also known as Henderson Inclined Cableways) were a type of material ropeway; they were named after the famous tightrope walker Charles Blondin. Description Blondins are a specialized type of material ropeway that incorporates a me ...
– originated at Penrhyn * The 2nd Baron Penrhyn – who closed the quarry in response to a strike in 1897


References

*


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.org website
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
{{Authority control Bethesda, Gwynedd Llandygai Open-pit mines Slate mines in Gwynedd The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales