The+Llechwedd++slate+mines

The Llechwedd slate mines were central to the commercial production of slate. Blaenau Ffestiniog's slate remained hidden for a long time because the angle of the beds. This meant that the slates had to be mined until recently. Throughout England and Wales, slate was commonly used to make roofing tiles.

In Northern Wales, enormous caverns were carved out underground. Tracks were laid to help move out the great blocks of slate to the surface where they were trimmed and split. The slates had to be transported to the coast where they were shipped around the country and overseas. New skills were needed to speed slate production and the owner, J.W.Greaves, was at the forefront of innovation. He devised his own sawing table and a slate-dressing engine that is still used whenever slates need trimming for roofing. This high technology of its era, the railway and the new harbor made 1850 the turning point for Greaves and Llechwedd. Hydro-electric generation was installed at Llechwedd in 1890 and in 1904 this was improved by harnessing the power from two lakes above the quarry. They remain in use, occasionally feeding power into the national grid.

 Although slate is still worked in the area the once world famous Llechwedd slate caverns now cater to visitors. Tours can be taken of the mines, taking visitors deep underground to where the miners used to work. Thousands of visitors head down underground each year to see where slate in Wales came from.

by: Jack Lohman