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Home » Industry » Slate industry » Aberllefenni Quarry

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Incline at former slate quarry, Aberllefenni
Derelict slate quarrymen's houses, Aberllefenni
  • Aberllefenni slate quarry, situated in the Dulas valley, near Machynlleth, is still in use. It is an underground quarry, with some early open working, and possibly dates from the early sixteenth century - having been worked almost continuously ever since. The slate now being worked does not readily split but yields a very high quality slab. The early workings were high on the hillside, with later workings at successively lower levels, the final adit being at valley floor level. Later underground working was undertaken by sinking below this lowest adit level. An incline originally served almost the topmost levels, but as working progressed it was shortened as the lower levels were opened. Five drumhouses were used in succession. The original mill was adjacent to the foot of the incline but during the late nineteenth century a large mill was built in Aberllefenni village, near the terminus of the Corris Railway. Rubbish disposal was a problem, the valley floor having to be used. Two water-balanced inclines were employed to reach the tope of the waste banks. In 1883, 158 men were recorded as being employed, but this figure, and the recorded output of 4,814 tons, may have included quarries on the other side of the valley, then in common ownership. The Aberllefenni tramway, which connected the quarry with the mill, remained in use until the 1970s (although it was tractor powered from about 1950). Alun John Richards, 'A Gazeteer of the Welsh Slate Industry' (Llanrwst: Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 1991), pp. 180-1.
Aerial photograph of Aberllefenni slate quarry, 1993
  • Photographed by Geoff Charles.
Quarrymen at Aberllefenni Slate Quarry, 18 April 1952
  • Photographed by Geoff Charles.
Quarrymen at Aberllefenni Slate Quarry, 18 April 1952
  • Photographed by Geoff Charles.
Quarrymen at Aberllefenni Slate Quarry, 18 April 1952