68-723: Rhiwbach quarry (also known as Rhiw-bach quarry ) was a slate quarry located to the east of Blaenau Ffestiniog in North Wales . The quarry was a remote site; it was nearly 4 miles (6.4 km) to north-east of Duffws , the Festiniog Railway 's terminus in Blaenau Ffestiniog. It was the connected to the Ffestiniog Railway by the Rhiwbach Tramway . Commercial operation began around 1812, and it finally closed in 1952. It
136-528: A five-man partnership. The quarry was sold to Robert Owen Mousdale of Bryndyffryn, Llanrwst in 1849, and two men worked it for him. The quarry was located in the parish of Penmachno, and the finished slates were exported by boat down the Conwy River . In order to get the slates to the river, they used an old trackway, previously used by drovers taking their cattle to markets in England. The trackway reverted to being
204-735: A footpath after the Rhiwbach tramway reached the quarry. In 1852, the Rhiw Bach Slate Quarries Company was set up in Manchester, with Charles Edward Cawley as its civil engineer, but by 1855 the company working the quarry was the Cambrian Slate Quarrying Company . In 1853, the Manchester & Ffestiniog Slate & Slab Co Ltd was created, to buy out the quarry for £28,000 (equivalent to £3,305,102 in 2023). This
272-472: A further 10 miles (16 km) on the river. A shorter route to the south was possible, carting the slates to the Afon Dwyryd at Maentwrog , a journey of about 7 miles (11 km), and a further 8 miles (13 km) by boat to Ynyscyngar. However, from the quarry, there was a climb of 250 feet (76 m) in order to cross the watershed. Consequently, most product used the northern route to begin with, but from
340-517: A loop, with sand and water used as the cutting agent. Despite Humphries' enthusiasm, the trials were unsuccessful, because the materials used were not sufficiently robust. Rhiwbach was the first slate quarry in Britain to try them, and although further trials were carried out at Oakeley Quarry in 1901/02, it would be another 60 years before they were used for cutting slate, first at Llecwedd and then at Penrhyn , Maenofferen and Aberllefenni . From 1902,
408-474: A meeting room, which was used as a school and a chapel. The company also provided some barracks for men who travelled to the quarry and lodged there during the week. There were barracks with two or three bedrooms, but whereas some larger concerns such as the Dinorwic quarry provided such accommodation free of charge, the men at Rhiwbach had to pay rent of between 2s 4d and 5s 8d (12p and 28p) per month. Such provision
476-515: A rock fall in the quarry caused the company to fall into debt and it went into receivership in 1899. The receiver sold the quarry to Cadwalader Owen Roberts of Betws-y-Coed for a nominal sum. The quarry continued operating under the name the New Welsh Slate Quarry. Cadwalader Pierce took over as manager in 1911 repairing some of the damage from the rock fall. The quarry continued producing until 1912 but after that only already worked slate
544-609: A series of downhill mountain biking trails by Antur Stiniog . A kilometre-long zip-wire has been erected at Llechwedd Slate Caverns , which is popular with thrill-seekers. If plans go ahead, Blaenau Ffestiniog will have the UK's first vélo-rail , which is popular in France. Many artists come to Blaenau Ffestiniog for the landscape around it, perhaps inspired by the harshness of the slate tips. They include Kyffin Williams and David Nash . During
612-621: A small scale. The original quarry has been wiped out by subsequent mining, but it was probably at or near Diphwys Casson Quarry . Led by Methusalem Jones, eight Cilgwyn partners took a lease on Gelli Farm for their quarry. In 1800, William Turner and William Casson from the Lake District bought the lease and expanded production. Turner also owned Dorothea quarry in the Nantlle Valley , adjacent to Cilgwyn. In 1819, quarrying began on slopes at Allt-fawr near Rhiwbryfdir Farm, on land owned by
680-639: A watershed between the River Lledr flowing north as a tributary of the River Conwy and the River Dwyryd flowing west. Ysgol y Moelwyn is the main secondary school, covering Blaenau, Manod, Tanygrisiau, Llan Ffestiniog, Trawsfynydd, Gellilydan, Maentwrog and stretching into the Vale of Ffestiniog and Dolwyddelan . It had 309 pupils in 2016. Some pupils travel to neighbouring towns. There are five primary schools in
748-474: A wharf at Porthmadog in 1861, and carriage of their slates on the Ffestiniog Railway was first recorded in 1863, when 3,964 tons were transported. During the 1860s, the main mill had a large roof supported by columns made of slate waste, and in a departure from established practice in the slate industry, Rhiwbach used corrugated iron sheets to fill in the spaces between the columns, becoming the first user of this new material in that context. The original company
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#1732870081565816-597: Is twinned with Rawson in Argentina. Cwt y Bugail quarry The Cwt y Bugail quarry is a former slate quarry located east of Blaenau Ffestiniog in Wales . It was first worked as a trial pit around 1840. Continuous production began in 1863 and continued until closure in 1961. The quarry was connected to the Ffestiniog Railway at Duffws Station via the Rhiwbach Tramway . Cwt y Bugail means "Shepherd's Hut", and
884-461: Is a town in Gwynedd , Wales . Once a slate mining centre in historic Merionethshire , it now relies much on tourists, drawn for instance to the Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns . It reached a population of 12,000 at the peak development of the slate industry, but fell with the decline in demand for slate. The population of the community , including the nearby village Llan Ffestiniog ,
952-453: Is situated in the Cwm Machno (Machno Valley), the obvious route for exporting its products was northwards down the Cwm Machno and Dyffryn Conwy to Trefriw quay. From there, slates could be loaded into river boats for onward transfer to Conwy, or directly into sea-going vessels. Although it was downhill, it was not ideal, as it involved around 14 miles (23 km) by cart to Trefriw, and then
1020-487: The BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names is / ˈ b l aɪ n aɪ f ɛ s ˈ t ɪ n j ɒ ɡ / , but the first word is pronounced [ˈbleɨna] in the area, reflecting features of the local Welsh dialect. Before the slate industry grew, present-day Blaenau Ffestiniog was a farming region, with scattered farms working the uplands below the cliffs of Dolgaregddu and Nyth-y-Gigfran. A few of
1088-566: The Ffestiniog Railway and the Llechwedd Slate Caverns , a former slate mine open to visitors. Llechwedd is often placed among Wales's top five visitor attractions. Near Blaenau Ffestiniog there are miles of mountain landscape with derelict quarries, rivers, various lakes and walking routes. Several mountain biking trails have been created, some suitable for competitions. Bikes are available for hire. The town centre has recently been regenerated, as funding from organisations, grants and
1156-514: The Welsh Government of £4.5 million are spent. A new bus station has been built along with new viewing areas for neighbouring mountain ranges. Several slate structures have been built with poetry engraved on them. These are about 40 ft tall and intended to respond visually to the slate hills and mountains. Poetry and local sayings have also been engraved on slate bands set in pavements in the town centre. Various walkways have been installed, and
1224-608: The 1830s, the southern route via Maentwrog was used. In 1862, the Rhiwbach Tramway was built, which connected the quarry to the Festiniog Railway at Blaenau Festiniog . This in turn gave the Rhiwbach quarry a rail link to Portmadoc , a major port on Cardigan Bay . The quarry used the Rhiwbach Tramway for the rest of its life, until closure in 1952. [REDACTED] Media related to Rhiwbach quarry at Wikimedia Commons Blaenau Ffestiniog Blaenau Ffestiniog ( Welsh pronunciation: [ˈbleɨ̯naɨ̯ fɛstˈɪnjɔg] )
1292-516: The 1980s and 1990s, such as Llwybr Llaethog and Anweledig , and more recent bands such as Gai Toms , Frizbee and Gwibdaith Hen Frân . The local alternative-music training school Gwallgofiaid has over a dozen bands at its centre at the Old Police Station in Park Square, served by five rehearsal rooms, a 24-track studio and Cwrt performance space. In birth date order: Blaenau Ffestiniog
1360-641: The A470 climbs steeply to the Crimea Pass and meets the A5 at Betws-y-Coed , giving access to Llangollen , Wrexham and Shrewsbury in the east and Bangor and Holyhead in the west. Town bus services are mainly provided by Arriva Buses Wales and Llew Jones, with routes to Porthmadog, Dolgellau and to Llandudno via Betws-y-Coed and Llanrwst . Town circular services via Tanygrisiau are operated hourly on weekdays by John's Coaches. Blaenau Ffestiniog railway station , on
1428-420: The Ffestiniog Railway closed. In August 1945 the secluded farmhouse of Bwlch Ocyn at Manod, belonging to Clough Williams-Ellis , became the home for three years of the writer Arthur Koestler and his wife Mamaine. While there, Koestler became a close friend of his fellow writer George Orwell . The remaining quarries served by the Rhiwbach Tramway closed in the 1950s and 1960s. Oakeley closed in 1970, with
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#17328700815651496-792: The North Vein, the Back Vein, the Narrow Vein, the Main (or Old) Vein, and the South (or New) Vein. As they head eastwards, the lower three thin out and disappear, so that by the time Cwt y Bugail quarry is reached, only the North Vein and Back Vein are left. Immediately to the east of the Cwt y Bugail main adit, the strata are cut by the Dolwyddelan fault . The same two veins re-appear at Rhiwbach, 0.6 miles (1 km) further to
1564-572: The North Vein, which continues past the northern edge of the quarry. The Dolwyddelan fault crosses the site from north to south immediately to the east of the main adits, and the veins end abruptly at its location. There were two main areas where the slate was extracted. One was called the Front Quarry, which was worked on the Front Vein and southwards; the other was called the Back Quarry, and worked
1632-507: The Oakeley family from Tan y Bwlch . Within a decade, three slate quarries were operating on Allt-fawr. These amalgamated to form Oakeley Quarry , which became the largest underground slate mine in the world. Quarrying grew fast in the earlier 19th century. Notable quarries opened at Llechwedd , Maenofferen and Votty & Bowydd , while Turner and Casson's Diphwys Casson flourished. Further off, Cwmorthin and Wrysgan quarries were dug to
1700-605: The Second World War, the National Gallery stored art treasures in one of the mines in the town, to protect them from damage or destruction. The large steel gates are still standing preserving the paintings that remain in the caverns. Blaenau Ffestiniog has a strong musical tradition from quarrying days, ranging from the Caban, male voice choirs and brass bands , to Jazz/Dance bands like "The New Majestics", popular rock bands of
1768-525: The area. Most Blaenau Ffestiniog people habitually speak Welsh. At the 2011 census, 78.6 per cent over the age of three said they could speak it, as against 80.9 per cent at the 2001 census. The latest inspection reports of the town's primary schools, Ysgol Maenofferen and Ysgol Y Manod, both in 2016, put the proportion of pupils speaking Welsh at home at 87 and 85 per cent. At the town's secondary school, Ysgol y Moelwyn, 82 per cent of pupils came from Welsh-speaking homes in 2014, making its Welsh-speaking intake
1836-399: The armed forces and production fell. There was a short post-war boom, but the long-term trend was towards mass-produced tiles and cheaper slate sourced from Spain . Oakeley Quarry took over Cwmorthin, Votty & Bowydd and Diphwys Casson, while Llechwedd acquired Maenofferen. Despite this consolidation, the decline continued. The Second World War brought a further loss of workforce. In 1946,
1904-447: The arrangement of using one engine to power several includes was unique in the Welsh slate industry. At some point, this engine also powered the main mill, as well as a rope-hauled vertical shaft with a cage, although this had been abandoned by 1888. A second engine, "Injan Fach" (the little engine), later powered the main mill, situated near the bottom of the exit tramway, and a smaller mill to
1972-480: The carriage of Rhiwbach slates, and the construction of an Extension Railway, on which the Ffestiniog would supply the rolling stock for a period of 21 years. The extension, known as the Rhiwbach Tramway , was financed by the quarry, but built by the Ffestiniog Railway. It was largely completed in 1861, as two quarries began using it in early 1862, but it was not fully completed until 1863. In the meantime, Rhiwbach built
2040-687: The eastern part of Blaenau Ffestiniog , and approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) south-east of Cwm Penmachno . It was located at the head of the Cwm Machno , to east of the watershed between the Afon Machno , a tributary of the Afon Conwy , and the Afon Teigl , a tribritury of the Afon Dwyryd . There are five main veins of Ordovician slate which pass through Blaenau Ffestiniog , longitudinally (from east to west). From north to south, these veins are called:
2108-553: The highest among secondary schools in the former county of Meirionnydd and fourth highest among those in Gwynedd . The main access to Blaenau Ffestiniog is the A470 road north to Llandudno and south to Dolgellau and beyond. The A496 runs south to the coastal resorts of Harlech and Barmouth and connects with the A487 towards Porthmadog and the Llŷn Peninsula . Just north of the town,
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2176-573: The historic farmhouses survive at Cwm Bowydd, Neuadd Ddu, Gelli, Pen y Bryn and Cefn Bychan. Much of the land was owned by large estates. Blaenau Ffestiniog town arose to support workers in the local slate mines. At its peak, it was the largest in Merioneth. In 1765, two men from the long-established Cilgwyn quarry near Nantlle began quarrying in Ceunant y Diphwys to the north-east of the present town. The valley had long been known for slate beds worked on
2244-562: The incline up to the tramway and other inclines to raise rock from the workings. A 600-yard (550 m) adit was cut in the 1890s, which provided natural drainage for much of the underground workings. The quarry manager, Henry Humphries, investigated the use of wire saws around 1900. They had been used in an Italian marble quarry at Carrera since 1898, and in the Pyrenees, had been used in the Labassere slate quarry. Three steel wires were formed into
2312-404: The junction with the tramway. This was operational by 1888, and initially got its power from the portable steam engine which powered the mill. Later it was powered by an air winch, supplied with compressed air by an Ingersoll Rand single cylinder compressor. After 1912, when the quarry was not operating, but slates were still being exported from the stackyard, the haulier on the Rhiwbach Tramway
2380-590: The land and mineral rights to Cwt y Bugail in 1985. Ffestiniog Slate Quarries also owned the Oakeley quarry in Blaenau Ffestiniog and in 1997 was taken over by the McAlpines group . McAlpine's slate interests were subsequently taken over by Welsh Slate Ltd. , the owners of the Penrhyn quarry . The nearby Manod quarry has been renamed 'Cwt-y-Bugail' since Cwt y Bugail quarry's closure. Despite its remote location, Cwt y Bugail
2448-475: The late 1940s a series of internal combustion locomotives are known to have worked in the quarry: Of the five main slate veins that can be found at Blaenau Ffestiniog, only two stretch as far eastwards as the Cwt y Bugail quarry. These are the veins known, in Blaenau, as the Back Vein, and the North Vein; in this quarry they were called the Front Vein (or Red Vein, or Small Vein), and the Back Vein, respectively. This
2516-461: The loss of many local jobs. It re-opened in 1974 on a much smaller scale and was reworked until 2010. Maenofferen and Llechwedd continued, but Maenofferen finally closed in 1998. Llechwedd is still a working quarry, working the David Jones part of Maenofferen (level two-and-a-half). As the slate industry shrank, so did the population of Blaenau Ffestiniog, which fell to 4,875 in 2011. Tourism became
2584-457: The mill via lightly laid tramways using bridge and flat bottom rail. Although the majority of this track was laid to 1 ft 11 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 597 mm ) narrow gauge to match the Rhiwbach Tramway, there is some evidence that the earliest tramways in the quarry were laid to 2 ft 2 in ( 660 mm ) gauge. For most of the quarry's existence, the internal tramways were worked by hand or horse power. From
2652-418: The primary transport link for the quarry for nearly a hundred years. When the Rhiwbach quarry closed in 1953, Cwt y Bugail became the sole remaining user of the upper portion of the tramway, continuing until the quarry closure of 1961. Internally the quarry connected to the tramway via a cable hauled incline that lifted the loaded slate wagons approximately 10 feet (3 m) from the quarry's mill level to
2720-480: The quarry was extended underground, and was eventually worked on eight floors. Major development in the 1860s included the installation of a single-cylinder steam engine and two Cornish boilers, which provided the steam. The equipment was manufactured by the Haigh Foundry of Wigan, and the engine, known as "Injan Fawr" (the big engine) was connected to several inclines, including the main exit incline which rose up from
2788-526: The site of the former Great Western station, is used by the Ffestiniog Railway and the Conwy Valley Line , their previous stations being no longer in use. The Conwy Valley line runs to the North Wales coast at Llandudno Junction , with links to Chester , Holyhead and Manchester. At various times the town has been the terminus for four independent railway lines, each with its own station or stations: Blaenau Ffestiniog's tourist attractions include
Rhiwbach quarry - Misplaced Pages Continue
2856-506: The site to the Rhiwbach Tramway. Unlike most quarries in the area, this was a powered incline, because the loaded wagons had to ascend it, whereas at most local quarries, the weight of the loaded wagon descending the main incline was sufficient to raise the empty wagons back up to the quarry. The engine house was built by the contractor Owain Gethin Jones, who was based locally in Penmachno, and
2924-555: The site. This company worked the quarry until 1875 when the quarry was sold to the Bugail Slate Quarry Company Ltd. under the chairmanship of Thomas Scott of Edinburgh ; during this period the quarry was known locally as 'y cwmni Ysgottiad' ("the Scottish Enterprise"). Around 1877 the quarry was taken over by Owen Williams from the nearby village of Penmachno . He ran Cwt y Bugail for the next thirty years and
2992-471: The south east, at a considerably lower altitude. These same veins are also worked by the Penmachno quarry immediately north of Rhiwbach. There were two sets of workings in the Rhiwbach quary: The 'old' workings, which are located on the North Vein, are just to the south on the exit incline, and the 'new' workings on the Back Vein, a little further to the south. With the opening of the Rhiwbach Tramway in 1853,
3060-535: The south of the town, while at the head of Cwm Penmachno to the north-east, a series of quarries started at Rhiwbach , Cwt y Bugail and Blaen y Cwm . To the south-east another cluster worked the slopes of Manod Mawr . The workforce for these was drawn initially from nearby towns and villages such as Ffestiniog and Maentwrog . Before the arrival of railways, travel to the quarries was difficult and workers' houses were built nearby. These typically grew up round existing farms and roads between them. An early settlement
3128-461: The south-east also had its own engine. New underground workings were started in 1899, to the east of the main mill, and the incline to raise the slate was again powered by the Injan Fawr. The peak output of the quarry was in 1869, when nearly 8,000 tons of finished slates were produced, although this had reduced to below 4,000 tons within a few years. A steam engine powered the mill, and also powered
3196-529: The steam engine also drove an air compressor, which enabled compressed air rock drills to be used. The manager enquired about other methods of modernisation in 1906, consulting pamphlets on electric rock-drilling machinery published in Cleveland, and one called La Puleggia Penetrante , published in Rome, the title of which means 'the penetrating pulley'. By 1935, the annual output had dropped to 1,000 tons, and steam power
3264-504: The town hall, was completed in 1864. By 1881, its population had reached 11,274. The slate boom gave way to a sharp decline. The 1890s saw several quarries lose money for the first time, and several fail entirely, including Cwmorthin and Nyth-y-Gigfran. Blaenau Ffestiniog hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1898. The slate industry recovered only partly from the recession of the 1890s. The First World War sent many quarrymen into
3332-586: The town is in the centre of the Snowdonia National Park , the boundaries exclude it and its substantial slate-waste heaps. Blaenau Ffestiniog has one of the highest rainfalls in Wales. It has several reservoirs, one of which supplies the Ffestiniog Hydro Power Station. Stwlan Dam lies between two of the mountains in the area, Moelwyn Bach and Moelwyn Mawr . The mountains round the town form
3400-732: The town's largest employer, with the development of Gloddfa Ganol in the Oakeley quarry and the Slate Caverns at Llechwedd quarry. The revived Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd remain popular attractions, as does the Antur Stiniog downhill mountain-biking centre, and more recently the Zip World Titan zip-line site, which includes the Bounce Below slate-mine activity centre. Some local villages, notably Tanygrisiau and Manod , are sometimes taken to be parts of Blaenau Ffestiniog. Although
3468-401: The tramway were relaid, and they continued to operate the quarry until 1952. By the 1920s, workers had become increasingly reluctant to walk the distances required to reach the quarry. A lorry was purchased, and fitted with rudimentary seats made from planks of wood. It reduced the distance that the men had to walk, rather than eliminating it, as the climb from the Cwm Machno quarry to Rhiwbach
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#17328700815653536-415: The villagers. Some idea of what the housing looked like can be gained from a painting of the site, created by an unknown artist. It shows that the "Barracks Mawr" consisted of two-storey buildings, and that there were workshops in the centre of the hamlet, while the schoolroom was constructed of corrugated iron. Because of its remote location , transport was a problem for the quarry in its early years. As it
3604-565: Was 4,875 at the 2011 census: the fourth most populous in Gwynedd after Bangor , Caernarfon and Llandeiniolen . The population not including Llan is now only about 4,000. The meaning of Blaenau Ffestiniog is "uplands of Ffestiniog". The Welsh word blaenau is the plural of blaen "upland, remote region". Ffestiniog here is probably "territory of Ffestin" (Ffestin being a personal name) or could possibly mean "defensive place". The English pronunciation of Blaenau Ffestiniog suggested by
3672-506: Was able to transport its production via the Rhiwbach Tramway which fed the Ffestiniog Railway at Blaenau Ffestiniog. The tramway was built by the Festiniog Slate Quarry Co. Ltd. in 1863 to connect its Rhiwbach quarry with the Ffestiniog Railway. As part of the agreement that allowed the construction of the tramway over private land, Cwt y Bugail was allowed to use the tramway for its slate output. The tramway continued to be
3740-453: Was at Rhiwbryfdir, for the Oakeley and Llechwedd quarries. As early as 1801, new roads were built specifically for the quarries. By 1851, there were 3,460 people living in the new town of Blaenau Ffestiniog. During the 1860s and 1870s the boom in the slate industry fed the nascent town of Blaenau Ffestiniog. It gained its first church and first school and saw much ribbon development along its roads. The Old Market Hall , which also served as
3808-414: Was because of positioning of the workings which worked on it. The slate beds dip to the north at an angle of about 35 degrees. The back vein is around 90 feet (27 m) thick at the surface, and increases in thickness to around 180 feet (55 m) at the level of floor D. To the south of it is a layer of hard rock called "whinstone", and another layer of hard rock, some 72 feet (22 m) separates it from
3876-470: Was condemned by a doctor's report on the state of mines in Merionethshire published in 1895, which stated that most barracks were overcrowded, dirty, and lacked sanitary arrangements, but whether the barracks at Rhiwbach fitted this general pattern is unknown. The manager's house was unusual, as it was sited close to the workers' houses and to the workings. Two rows of lavatories were also provided for use by
3944-509: Was dispatched and the quarry closed again in April 1914. Roberts reopened Cwt y Bugail in 1919 after the end of the First World War and worked it for three more years, but again the enterprise failed and the quarry closed. In 1923 Tudor Roberts of Glanypwll set up the Cwt y Bugail Slate Quarries Ltd. to purchase and work the quarry. This company owned the quarry until 1961, though from 1946 it
4012-499: Was followed in 1858 by the incorporation of the Festiniog Slate Quarry Co Ltd , with a capital of £100,000 (equivalent to £12,711,931 in 2023), which consisted of several directors from a similarly named company which was set up in 1853, to buy out the Penmachno quarry , a little to the north, and construct a tramway to it from Blaenau Ffestiniog. In 1860, agreement was reached with the Ffestiniog Railway on rates for
4080-451: Was paid 3 pence per waggon to haul them up to the tramway with his horse. From the 1930s, waggons were removed by the Tramway locomotive. This was limited to two waggons at a time, as the gradient from the stackyard to the tramway was roughly 1 in 50. Within the quarry were eleven or twelve inclines used at various periods to access the slate workings and tipping areas. These were connected to
4148-523: Was probably the only notable feature in the vicinity, and hence was used for the name of the quarry. Adam Gregory leased the Blaen y Cwm quarry above Blaenau Ffestiniog from 1838 to 1849. During this time he made several trial workings at Cwt y Bugail. In 1863 Hugh Beaver Roberts sold half his interest in the Cwt y Bugail land to a consortium who formed the New Cwt y Bugail Slate Company Ltd. to begin production on
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#17328700815654216-406: Was replaced by electricity. There were problems with obtaining men prepared to work the quarry, and it closed in 1952. At the time there were two men still living in barracks on the site, the last to do so in the Welsh slate industry. As the only connection to the outside world was initially a rough track, a community developed within the quarry site. Houses were built, to which were added a shop and
4284-576: Was sub-leased to the nearby Maenofferen quarry to which it was connected by the Rhiwbach Tramway. From 1956 onwards the quarry was sub-leased to Manod Slate Quarries Ltd. which operated the Graig Ddu quarry to the south. In 1961 the Cwt y Bugail company was taken over by a consortium led by Dafydd Price, who also purchased Graig Ddu which at this time was a much more productive quarry. Some sporadic slate extraction continued at Cwt y Bugail until 1972. A subsidiary of Ffestiniog Slate Quarry Ltd. purchased
4352-558: Was the great-grandfather of Owen Glyn Williams who managed the quarry in the 1980s. Production of slate peaked in 1877 and began dwindling significantly from 1884 onwards. By 1887 the quarry was closed, but Owen Williams formed a worker's cooperative and began working the quarry in 1888. The cooperative purchased the quarry from the Bugail Slate Quarry Co. for a nominal fee in 1892 Modest production with 60 men employed continued until 1898 when another gradual decline set in. In 1908
4420-435: Was the last Welsh slate quarry where workers lived in barracks on the site. 'Rhiwbach' is Welsh for 'Little Hill'. The land on which it was located was owned by Lord Newborough , and small scale working of the site by local people needing roofing materials was carried out in the eighteenth century. More organised working of the site began in 1812, by two men from Penmachno and Ysbyty Ifan , which gradually developed into
4488-455: Was too steep for the lorry to negotiate. The lorry therefore stopped at Cwm Machno, and the workers still had to walk the final uphill section. In 1952, the quarry closed for the final time. The tramway was lifted from the Rhiwbach quarry to the junction with the tramway from Cwt y Bugail quarry , which continued to use the tramway for several more years. The quarry lay approximately 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (5.6 km) east of Bethania ,
4556-403: Was wound up and the quarry closed. Some slate was exported via the Ffestiniog Railway in 1918, despite the fact that the quarry was officially closed, and the First World War legislation concerning labour still applied. In the following year the Festiniog Slate Quarries Company Limited was incorporated to work the quarry, and in 1928, the enterprise was sold to the Maenofferen quarry . Parts of
4624-419: Was wound up in 1877, and re-constituted as the Festiniog Slate Company Limited . Operation was sporadic until the company was liquidated in 1891. However, work continued at the quarry, under the direction of H Humphries, who traded as " Rhiw Bach Quarry Owners ". By 1896 there were 95 employees recorded at the site, of which 29 worked underground. Humphries continued to work the quarry until 1913, when his company
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