A
brief history of the quarry.
Slate
was first discovered here in the 1830's when quarrying commenced on a very
small scale. The first major workings were at a site known as the
West Twll (twll = pit or hole), begun in the 1840's, about a mile south
and nearly 300 feet higher than the final main workings at Bwlch Cwmorthin.
This pit was enlarged and deepened over the years to a depth of over 200
feet. As the workings went deeper, adits and tunnels were driven
north to win more slate and to drain the workings. A similar but
smaller East Twll was also begun a few years later. Eventually the
easier won slate became exhausted and the quarry developed into an underground
working following the vein of slate northwards and downwards. The
quarry developed to encompass 14 floors underground, numbered from the
top, with a total of 170 chambers from which the slate was won. As
the workings progressed northwards so did a succession of surface workings
and access tunnels and it is this aspect of Rhosydd which is part of its
uniqueness. In other quarries the development is less easily visible
or is obscured by later workings. As an indication of what lies beneath
one's feet, the final main workings at Bwlch Cwmorthin are on level 9 and
all 5 levels below this are now flooded. (continued)
The
West Twll - oldest part of the quarry
This
was the first part of the quarry to be developed and has
been
disused since the 1860's.
The quarry
was operated by a string of different owners each developing and enlarging
the workings. But the story is not one of steady expansion. The ups
and downs of the slate trade, the difficulties of raising capital, geological
problems and dangerous underground working practices also brought periods
of closure and industrial unrest. Peak output occurred in the 1880's
when over 6000 tons per year of saleable slate was mined. This
was also the period of greatest employment when over 200 workers were engaged.
A major blow to the quarry occurred in 1900 when the "Great Fall" occurred
underground, in the south eastern section of the workings. This destroyed
a large part of the most profitable reserves. From this major blow
the quarry never fully recovered. (continued)
The
East Twll - showing evidence of the collapse.
The
"Great Fall" of 1900 occurred beneath the East Twll causing the collapse
of much of the south eastern part of the underground workings.
The first
world war brought about a period of complete closure followed by reopening
in 1919 and a brief flurry of activity. A slow lingering existence
followed until final closure in 1930. However in the
hope of the market for slate improving it was decided to keep the underground
pumps working. This proved to be a futile gesture and the pumps were
finally turned off in 1948 causing much of the underground workings to
flood. The life of the quarry had ended and the scrapmen moved in.
The final ignominy being the wholesale demolition of many of the
quarry buildings to recover the workable slate. This accounts for
the ruinous state of much of the surface remains today.
At
some point in the future, life could return to Rhosydd. Planning
permission has been granted to untop the underground chambers to remove
the slate pillars. This would entail building a new road up Cwmorthin
and to extract the slate using modern earth moving machinery.
Whether this ever happens depends on many factors, however such a development
would change the unique character of this site for ever.
The
Rhosydd Tramway - looking towards the quarry
The
well preserved trackbed of the tramway is now a footpath. In the
right distance are the remains of the Gunpowder Store. It was situated
here so that explosives could be unloaded from rail wagons and stored away
from the quarry in comparative safety. Further views of the tramway
route may be seen on the
Photo
Gallery pages.
Continue
to: Water - the lifeblood of the quarry