Industry salte quarry in Wales

The beginnings of the industry salte quarry with the Wales go back to the conquest of the United Kingdom by the Romans, at the 1st century, when those extremely had recourse to slate for the cover of the Toit of the of Segontium, on the site of the current town of Caernarfon. The slate was then used in a sporadic way until the beginning of the 18th century, time as from which its exploitation was implemented at more large scales, until reaching its apogee at the end of the 19th century. The most important salte quarries were then located in the North-West of Wales, with in particular the career S of Penrhyn (in the surroundings of Bethesda), of Dinorwig (close to Llanberis) and those of the Vallée of Nantlle, without forgetting the underground mines of Blaenau Ffestiniog. Penrhyn and Dinorwig constituted at the time the largest slate quarries of the world, and undermines it of Oakeley with Blaenau Ffestiniog, the mine the most important salte quarry on a sphere scale. If the slate is used mainly for the roof, it is also used for other uses, in particular the paving of the grounds and the manufacture of schemes of work or tomb stones, for which it is produced in the shape of thicker flagstones.

Until the end of the 18th century, the slate was extracted in minor amounts by groups from workmen carriers who paid a royalty with the owners of the fields. The slates were then conveyed by Chariot until the ports and, from there, exported towards the England, the Ireland or, to a lesser extent, the France. It is starting from the Années 1780, when the owners are reflected to exploit themselves their salte quarries, that the production truly started to take off, to take full sound rise as from the Années 1830, following abrogation in 1831 of the tax of State on slate exports. The expansion of industry salte quarry was then all the more fast as it profited from the construction of railroads to narrow gauge railway, which made it possible to largely facilitate the routing of the production to the ports.

During second half of the 19th century, industry salte quarry was without question the economic sector dominating of the North-West of Wales, the production being much less important in the remainder of the country. It reached its zenith in 1898, with the production of a half-million tons of slate by a total labor of 17.000 workmen, for then starting to decline at the dawn of the 20th century, with the bursting of a major social conflict which lasted three years, of 1900 with 1903. Then, the First World War involved an important reduction of the number of employees in the sector, then the Crise of 1929 and the Second world war led to the closing of many small salte quarries. Lastly, the competition of other materials of roof, in particular the Tile, led to the closing of the majority of the large salte quarries in the Années 1960 and 1970. Today, industry salte quarry is always present at Wales, but on a scale much more restricted than formerly.

Origins

The slate layers in Wales were formed with the first three periods courses of the geological era of the Paléozoïque: the Cambrien, the Ordovicien and the Silurien. The layers of the period of Cambrien extend, in the South-west of Wales, the seaboard town of Conwy around Criccieth; these layers were exploited in the careers of Penrhyn and Dinorwig, and in the valley of Nantlle. One in addition finds layers of this period of less importance in the area of Anglesey, in the extreme north of Wales. The layers of the geological period of Ordovicien, also located in South-west, extend from the town of Betws-y-Coed at the coastal town of Porthmadog; those were exploited in the mines of Blaenau Ffestiniog. One finds more other slate benches going back to this geological era in the South, of Llangynnog at the village of Aberdyfi, exploited mainly in the surroundings of Aberdyfi; one finds also some outcrops of with dimensions of Pembrokeshire. The layers of the period of Silurien, as for them, are located more at the East, in the valley of Dee and with the accesses of Machynlleth.

The first uses of slate like roof and building machinery go back to the Romaine period. The roof of the fort of Segontium, located at the site of the current town of Caernarfon, at the origin was made of tiles, but the higher level of the fort was composed of slate, being used at the same time with the roof and the pavement. The layers of slate closest being located at less eight kilometers in the area to Cilgwyn, slate, being on the spot, only was little used. During the medieval time small-scale farmings salte quarries in various places appear. The career of Cilgwyn in the valley of Nantlle dates from the 12th century, and it is thought that it constitutes the oldest career of Wales.

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