Hendreddu quarry was a slate quarry about three miles west of

Aberangell Aberangell () is a village in Gwynedd, Wales. Geography Aberangell stands at the confluence of the Afon Angell and the Afon Dyfi, and lies within Dinas Mawddwy community. On the north side of the village, the long ridge of Pen y Clipau runs d ...

Merioneth Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is an anglicisation of the Welsh placename ''Mei ...

(now

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

, near Nant Hendreddu on the slopes of Mynydd Hendre-ddu. The quarry worked the Narrow Vein, the highest-quality slate vein in the Abercorris Group. For the majority of the quarry's existence, the Hendre Ddu Tramway was owned by the same company that owned the quarry, and the two were run as a single enterprise.

History

Early exploration

In 1856, a "take note" (permission to explore for minerals) was granted by Sir Edmund Buckley to search for slate on Mynydd Hendre-ddu. It was taken by David Hughes of Pen Pentre, Aberangell. Hughes developed at least one open pit where the narrow vein reached the surface.

Commercial expansion

Hughes' exploration proved there was high-quality slate near Nant Hendreddu. In 1864, Buckley took over the nascent quarry and began more serious work. In August 1868, the Hendreddu Slate Quarry Company was formed, managed by Edward Davies from Minllyn quarry. In 1870, a long

incline Incline, inclined, inclining, or inclination may refer to: *Grade (slope), the tilt, steepness, or angle from horizontal of a topographic feature (hillside, meadow, etc.) or constructed element (road, railway, field, etc.) *Slope, the tilt, steepn ...

was laid from the pit level down to the bottom of Hendreddu Valley, and in 1872, work started on a long tunnel from the bottom of the incline northwest to meet the vein underground. The tunnel was completed in April 1873, and mining of the slate began.

Mill and transport

A substantial mill was built east of the adit and equipped with machinery dragged from Aberangell station. A terrace of cottages was built for married quarrymen, and a barracks at the quarry was for single men. A

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...

tramway was built in 1874 to allow the transportation of slabs from the quarry to .

The Bradwell brothers

In 1876, Buckley was declared bankrupt and forced to sell most of his estate, including the tramway and quarry, which were purchased by

Dennis Bradwell Dennis Bradwell (18281897), was a British businessman who was mayor of Congleton in the 1870s. He owned silk mills in Cheshire and Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremon ...

. Bradwell was the mayor of

Congleton Congleton is a market town and civil parish in Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is on the River Dane, south of Manchester and north of Stoke on Trent. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 28,497 and the built-up area ha ...

and the owner of a silk mill at

Leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...

. He was joined by his younger brother Jacob, who took over the running of the quarry. There was significant industrial conflict between the Bradwells and the workers during the 1880s. Jacob remained in charge of the quarry until his death in 1908.

Edward Hurst Davies

Edward Hurst Davies Edward Hurst Davies (1855–1927) was a Welsh quarry manager and owner. Early life Davies was born in Corris in 1855. His father Edward Davies (1822–1874) was Edmund Buckley's quarry supervisor, who had re-opened Minllyn slate quarry at Din ...

purchased the quarry after the death of Jacob Bradwell. Davies had been the second manager at Hendreddu, before joining nearby Gartheiniog quarry. He co-founded Maesygamfa quarry with

Frederick Walton Frederick Edward Walton (13 March 183416 May 1928), was an English manufacturer and inventor whose invention of Linoleum in Chiswick was patented in 1863. He also invented Lincrusta in 1877. Early life Walton was born in 1834, near Halifax. ...

in 1886. Davies reopened Hendreddu quarry in 1914, shortly after Maesygamfa had closed. He continued limited slab production until 1916, then closed it once more. After the war, Davies sold the quarry and tramway to William Clayton Russon.

National Welsh Slate Quarries

After the war, Davies sold the quarry to National Welsh Slate Quarries Ltd. (NWSQ), a new company founded by Charles Fitzherbert Bill, the son of

Charles Bill Charles Bill (8 January 1843 – 9 December 1915) was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for the Leek (UK Parliament constituency), ...

. The company purchased the quarry and tramway from Russon in 1919. They raised more than £90,000 () through the sale of stock and refurbished the quarry. Production restarted in 1920, but NWSQs was a fraudulent scheme and closed down at the end of 1921.

Hendre-ddu Slate Quarries

The quarry continued operating after the failure of NWSQ. In 1922, C.F. Bill and William Bowley formed a new company, Hendre-ddu Slate Quarries Ltd., to take over the quarry from the receiver. The new company specialised in slabs for electrical installations. There was a large collapse of several underground chambers in 1925, but work continued in the remaining chambers. In 1927, the company was reorganized, Bill left, and Bowley became chairman. Bowley appointed

Herbert Harold Disley Herbert Harold Disley (1900–1972) was a Welsh quarry manager. Early life Disley was born in Corris, a village in Gwynedd, in 1900. His father, Henry Herbert Disley (1872–1954), was the manager of the Aberllfenni slate quarries. Career I ...

as the quarry manager. The

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

caused a drop in demand for slate, and the quarry closed in 1932.

T. Glyn Williams

The quarry remained closed until it was purchased by T. Glyn Williams in 1937. Born in 1913, Williams was the son of T.O Williams who had been the manager at several local quarries including Braichgoch, Abercorris,

Aberllefenni Aberllefenni is a village in the south of Gwynedd, Wales. It lies in the historic county of Merionethshire, in the valley of the Afon Dulas, and in the community of Corris. History Aberllefenni was built around the Aberllefenni quarries, wh ...

and Wrysgan. T. Glyn reopened the quarry with limited success. At the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the workforce was reduced as men joined the military. Williams closed the quarry in 1941.

References

{{Welsh Slate Quarries Slate mines in Gwynedd Hendre Ddu Tramway Aberangell Railway inclines in Wales