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Home » The Domestic Sphere » Houses and homes » Quarrymen's cottages

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  • 1-4 Fron Haul. Fron Haul houses, a row of four quarrymen's houses from Tanygrisiau near Blaenau Ffestiniog, were re-erected at the Welsh Slate Museum, Llanberis, in 1998-9. The houses are typical of the narrow terraced houses which were built in the slate-quarrying areas and have been furnished to represent three of the main quarrying communities during periods of great significance to the slate industry.
Fron Haul Houses, Welsh Slate Museum
Derelict slate quarrymen's houses, Aberllefenni
External insulation on a traditional slate cottage at the Centre for Alternative Technology
  • This cottage was built in 1762 at Rhostryfan, Caernarfonshire. Cottages were the homes of people who did not own enough land to live off. They were usually farm servants, craftsmen or, as in this case, quarrymen and their families. It is solidly built of mountain boulders and a pair of stout oak trusses supports the roof of small quarry slates. Llainfadyn Cottage was re-built at the Musem of Welsh Life in 1962.
Llainfadyn Cottage, Musem of Welsh Life
1-4 Fron Haul, Welsh Slate Museum
  • No 3 Fron Haul, Tanygrisiau, 1861: The Golden Age of the Slate Industry. This house is furnished to represent the home of a quarryman from Tanygrisiau in 1861, during the golden age of the slate industry. At this time the slate industry was developing to become one of the most important industries in Wales and one of the main employers in the counties of Caernarfon and Merioneth. As the demand for slate increased, workers from the neighbouring agricultural parishes moved to work in this dirty, dangerous and difficult industry, where wages were better than those paid on local farms. Between 1831 and 1881 the population of the parish of Ffestiniog grew from 1,648 to 11,274. There were often not enough houses to meet the demand of the growing population and two or more families sometimes shared a house. It was also common for relatives or friends to find lodgings with local families. In 1861, No 3 Fron Haul was occupied by a married couple, William Williams, a quarryman who hailed from Trawsfynydd, and Elen Williams of Llanbedr, Merionethshire. William's brother and a lodger from Anglesey also lived in the house. The children of the family would share a room with their parents and would sometimes share the same bed or sleep on a makeshift bed on the floor. Poor ventilation and sanitary conditions caused considerable problems and diseases such as typhoid and tuberculosis were a constant threat to the health of the inhabitants.
No 3 Fron Haul, Welsh Slate Museum