Quarryman splitting slate. Photographed at the National Slate Museum in Llanberis, north Wales.
The Penrhyn Estate and the Slate Industry
Quarryman splitting slate. Photographed at the National Slate Museum in Llanberis, north Wales.
In episode four, Kayla explores one of the most crucial and at times contested parts of Penrhyn Estate’s history: slate. Penrhyn Quarry, once the largest slate quarry in the world, employed thousands of quarrymen and brought large employment to the area. For many, slate quarrying was not just a job, it was a way of life, and a highly skilled trade that was honed over a lifetime. Though quarrying was a dangerous occupation, it was also one that created community and camaraderie amongst quarrying families.
A demonstration of a quarryman splitting slate at the National Slate Museum. Photographed at the National Slate Museum in Llanberis, north Wales.
To learn more about the significance of slate to the history, culture, and landscape of north Wales, Kayla spoke with Dr Dafydd Roberts, the former Keeper of the National Slate Museum in Llanberis. Dr Roberts has since retired after more than 40 years at the museum, giving up the role in 2021. He spoke with Kayla about working life in the quarries in north Wales, as well as the strikes at Penrhyn Quarry.
Model of a quarryman working at Dinorwic Quarry. Photographed at the National Slate Museum in Llanberis, north Wales.
The National Slate Museum is the former site of Dinorwic Quarry, another large quarry in the area. Today, the museum highlights the work and culture of quarrying, educating visitors on the history of the trade, and slate as a material. The museum puts on slate demonstrations, often by quarrymen who have deep family connections to the area. Visit the website to learn more about the National Slate Museum.
The History of Slate in North Wales
Small scale quarrying in the area goes back almost 2,000 years to the Romans, where slate was quarried for the construction of a fort near Caernarfon. King Edward I also utilised slate within the construction of the castles he erected to consolidate his conquest across north Wales. Large scale quarrying like that at Penrhyn Quarry did not come along until the 18th century, however.
Slate fencing in north Wales. Courtesy of the Institute for the Study of Welsh Estates
In the eighteenth century, travel writers such as Richard Warner and William Bingley described most of north Wales as a ‘wild’ country, with poor transportation links and rugged terrain. From the eighteenth century, Wales was a popular destination for travel, with early tourists regularly writing up their tours and journeys, commenting on the landscape, farming, local culture, and early developments to the slate industry.
To explore some of the accounts written by European travellers to Wales, a great resource is the European Travellers to Wales Project, a three year AHRC-funded project at Bangor University, which explored travelogues, guidebooks, diaries, letters, and blogs written by travellers to Wales. By the later part of the 19th century, Welsh slate had become known as a long lasting, durable, and popular roofing material and was highly sought out around the world. In episode five, we will explore how Welsh slate’s global significance earned it UNESCO World Heritage status for the slate landscapes of Gwynedd.
Lithograph print of Penrhyn Slate Quarry in 1852. Accessed via Wikimedia Commons, available from the National Library of Wales.
From producing 40,000 tons of slate in 1820 to 120,000 tons of slate by the end of the century, Penrhyn Quarry had quickly grown to the largest quarry in the area, with the main workings almost a mile long. Other slate quarries at Dinorwic, Blaenau Ffestiniog, and Berwyn popped up in the area, making north Wales the leading producer of slate worldwide at the time. Through her research on the history of Welsh slate, Kayla found Jean Lindsey’s book North Wales Slate, a comprehensive account of the industry, with detailed information on the expansion of the slate industry, the adjacent railway industry, and the growth of the quarries architecturally, economically, technically, and socially.
The Penrhyn Quarrymen
Quarrymen and quarry management photographed at Penrhyn Quarry. Courtesy of Bangor University’s Archives and Special Collections.
At the height of the slate industry in north Wales, Penrhyn Quarry employed around 3,000 men. Penrhyn Quarry was the highest producing quarry in the area, which meant Lord Penrhyn and his agents had control over setting the prices for slate in the area as well as setting the pay for quarrymen, working hours, and site conditions.
Where a quarryman worked in the quarry determined the skillset he would need to develop, as each role was specialised in one area at a time. There were men who worked on the rockface, extracting the slate from the sides of the quarry with explosives, and picks and shovels. There were also experienced splitters, who were skilled at splitting the slate into exact measurements ready to be shipped out. Below is an example of the sizes of slate splitting which is displayed at the Slate Museum.
Images of quarrymen at various stages of working with slate. Courtesy of Bangor University’s Archives and Special Collections.
The work was physically demanding and often perilous, with reports of men falling from the rock face or losing fingers whilst splitting the slate. Despite these hardships, the quarrymen and their families lived lives that were often full of cultural activity. Whilst on breaks in the quarry, men would gather in cabans for meals and breaks where they would debate politics, share poetry and sing – in Welsh of course. Men would practice their entries for upcoming Eisteddfodau, cultural festivals held locally, regionally, and nationally, with competitions in music, poetry, and other crafts in a tradition that continues to this day. To learn more about the Welsh Eisteddfod tradition, check out the website for the National Eisteddfod.
To learn more about the life of quarrymen, Kayla highly recommends the book The North Wales Quarrymen written by R. Merfyn Jones, who was a Professor of Welsh History and Vice Chancellor at Bangor University. The book is a leading source on the lives of the quarrymen, the Penrhyn Strikes, the aftermath and impact of the slate industry in north Wales, and the importance of the unique history of the Welsh speaking quarrying communities in the 18th-20th centuries.
Rising Tensions in the Quarry
North Wales Quarrymen’s Union plaque photographed at the National Slate Museum, Llanberis.
A North Wales Quarrymen’s Union was formed in 1874 in the hope of negotiating better pay and working conditions. When violence struck in the quarry in 1900, Lord Penrhyn pressed charges against twenty-six men and dismissed them before the incident went to court. To protest the dismissals, the Penrhyn Quarrymen gathered to show their support for the accused men and were then all suspended from work for two weeks. Tensions from this event led to military force being brought in. Ongoing negotiations had been going back and forth between Lord Penrhyn and the Quarrymen but on November 19, 800 men had been left out of the agreements. Three days later, 2,000 quarrymen refused to work, thus initiating the Great Strike, or the Penrhyn Lockout from 1900–03: the longest running industrial dispute in British History.
The ‘Great’ Strikes
Kayla talked with Teleri Owen, a Master’s student at Cardiff University, who conducted a research project at Llandudno Museum on women’s involvement in the strikes, as well as how the strikes affected communities like Bethesda. Teleri recommends C. Sheridan Jones’ account of his time in Bethesda during the strikes. Sheridan Jones was a journalist at the time of the strikes, and sections of his book What I Saw at Bethesda appeared in the Daily News and in The Echo, making the strikes well known events around the UK.
Pamphlet written by the President of the North Wales Quarrymen’s Union, William J. Parry. Courtesy of Bangor University’s Archives and Special Collections.
Jones detailed widespread starvation in Bethesda, with families having empty pantries and bare front rooms from having sold off what little furniture they possessed. He also talked about unrest during the strikes, with the presence of police forces in communities a particular point of contention. Those who did go back to work were offered a 5% pay increase. Those who were still striking would smash up the homes of those who broke the strike to return to work, and some quarrymen had to be escorted by police into the quarry for protection. Four hundred men returned to work, which weakened the strike effort and caused further division in communities.
Poster of Penrhyn Quarry Notice issued by Penrhyn Quarry Manager E.A. Young in English and Welsh. Courtesy of Bangor University’s Archives and Special Collections.
Quarrymen were divided into strikers and cynffonwyr (‘collaborators’) — those who went back to work. The words ‘Nid Oes Bradwr yn y Ty Hwn’ (‘There is no Traitor in this House’) were printed for strikers to display in their windows to show they had not given up the strike. The events took a toll on people physically as well as mentally, for those on both sides of the strike, as evidenced in Jones’ writings about starvation, illness, and, sometimes, suicide for strike breakers. Even for those who left to find work elsewhere, the adjustment to a new life was difficult for many.
‘Nid Oes Bradwr yn y Ty Hwn’ (‘There is no Traitor in this House’) signs that were placed in the windows of quarrymen’s homes. Obtained from Wikimedia Commons.
Money was raised at events such as festivals and choral performances for the quarrying families across the UK, as other industrial communities sympathised with the plight of the quarrymen. Women were intricately involved with the effort, putting on theatre and choral performances in north Wales as well as further afield. The Penrhyn Welsh Ladies’ Choir performed in London in 1901 and in Bristol in 1903, where they raised over £3,000 for the strike effort.
The former exhibit Merched Chawrel, which was created as part of a project about women and the slate industry, is a great resource for understanding women’s vital role in quarrying communities and their efforts during the strikes. The project, which ran from 2018 to 2019 was a traveling exhibit that was featured in Storiel Museum, Bangor, The National Slate Museum, Penrhyn Castle, Blaenau Ffestiniog Library and the Llechwedd Slate Caverns. Local artists Marged Pendrell, Jwls Williams, Lisa Hudson and Lindsey Colbourne collaborated on the project, bringing in inspiration from the quarries of north Wales where they live and work. The project combined physical elements of slate, household items from quarrying families and original artwork from the artists. Their website has stories of women in quarrying communities, photos of their past exhibitions and modern-day artists who worked on installations inspired by women in the community.
The Quarry Today
Penrhyn Quarry in Bethesda, north Wales. Photographed by Mike Hudson via Wikimedia Commons.
Though north Wales is no longer the leading slate producer, slate is still extracted from the Welsh landscape and exported around the world. At Penrhyn Quarry, there are around 200 quarry men and women that work in the quarry. Today, a lot of the slate is still produced for roofing and other building materials, but it is also used as luxury gifts and decor such as serving boards, house signs, wine racks and more.
Prominent quarrying areas now look different than they did in the late 19th century, but the impact and history of the industry has not faded away. In Bethesda, the memory of the slate industry is kept alive through performances, exhibits, music, and artwork, with many past events highlighting the influence of the slate industry in the area. Though recollections of the strikes can be painful, discussions, collaboration and education into the industry has led to many with ancestry in the area to explore more about the slate industry.
Below is a mural painted in 2021 in Bethesda, highlighting some of the key points in the village’s history, including the strikes and the choral efforts during the time. The painting was created by artist Darren Evans and was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund as a part of the successful UNESCO World Heritage Bid.
A mural painted in Bethesda by Darren Evans, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
You can explore the quarry yourself through a self-guided tour, entitled “Slate and Strikes'' through a series of QR codes through historypoints.org. The project marked the 120-year anniversary of the strikes in 2020, and 19 plaques were placed around the area with titbits of the story of the strikes. In our final episode, we will explore the success of the bid and the Penrhyn estate today, from the quarry, the castle, and the community as we wrap up the story of Podlediad Penrhyn.