National Slate Museum
Llanberis, Gwynedd
The National Slate Museum is on the shores of Llyn
Padarn, and at the terminus of the
Llanberis
Lake Railway,
one of the
'Great
Little Trains of Wales',
which runs along the shoreline.
These buildings once housed the workshops for
the former Dinorwig Quarry. Built in 1870, and are on a pattern
similar to a British Empire Fort. The central courtyard, clock tower and
detailed windows give them their unique character.
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Quick Guide
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workshops, which served all the needs of the quarry and its locomotives,
were built in 1870 on land created from the continuous tipping of spoil
from the adjacent Vivian Quarry.
So what can you see:
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Close-up exploration of the largest
working waterwheel in mainland Britain.
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Slate-splitting demonstrations by
craftsmen revealing the skills and artistry of generations of quarry
workers.
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The perilous ups and downs of a
19th-century incline plane, a unique restoration of the machinery that
transported slate.
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A tour of the workshops, iron
and brass foundry, forges, loco shed and the water powered machinery
that made the tools for quarrying slate.
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Four quarrymen's houses, rescued
from demolition in Blaenau Ffestiniog. One house is furnished to
reflect 1860, another the Penrhyn Strike of 1901 and a third the time
of the quarry's closure in 1969. The fourth offers interactive
learning facilities for schools, children and their families.
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Chief Engineer's House, refurnished
to reflect life in 1911.
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more ... see the links below.
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National slate museum
Click on the image to
see a larger version |
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Slate not Gold is at the bottom of
this rainbow |
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Before the large quarries came, local
people had been working the mountain for centuries before Dinorwig Quarry
opened. In 1788 Asheton Smith paid bailiffs to evict these people out of
their tiny quarries. By the end of the 19th century, almost all the land in
Gwynedd was owned by just five families.....
click here
 to
read more of the quarry's history, and how employer and employee got on well.
From this link you can also find out about the slate, and quarry life.
About the buildings - click on one of the links
below to find out about any of interest
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CIN Page Ref: national_slate_museum |
Classification:
Living History |
Date Updated: 07/2008 |
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