Penyrorsedd Quarry Additional Records

Records of Penyrorsedd Slate Quarry Co., 1856-1979, including administrative records, 1862-1979; legal records, 1856-1978; office note books, 1880-1910; financial records, 1890-1979; production records, 1908-1979; sales records, 1930-1978; quarry vehicle documents, 1928-1977; quarry supplies records, 1905-1968; working conditions and wages agreement records, 1873-1977; health and safety records, 1909-1975; records relating to rented property owned by the quarry, 1880-1978; correspondence, 1866-1976; maps and plans, 1891-1977; plans and diagrams relating to quarry machinery, 1946-1969; books and pamphlets, 1908-1973; and photographs, 1936-1979.

The Penyrorsedd slate quarry, close to the village of Talysarn, Llanllyfni, Caernarfonshire, was first developed in 1816. The Darbishire family, who expanded the operation with three mills built in 1860, 1870 and 1898, owned the quarry. In 1882 the Penyrorsedd Slate Quarry Co. employed 230 men. In the late 19th century, the quarry was worked by 450 men and despite the decline in the slate industry, by 1937 there were still 351 workers employed at the site. The quarry was connected to the Nantlle railway, which carried slate to the quay at Caernarfon. Following the railway's closure in 1963, road transport was used. Despite modernization of methods, the quarry finally closed in the late 1970s.

Arranged into the following: Company books, documents and records; Legal documents; Office note books; Financial; Production; Sales; Quarry vehicle documents; Supplied to quarry; Working conditions and wages agreements; Health and safety; Rented property owned by the quarry; Correspondence; Maps and plans; Plans and diagrams of quarry machinery; Books and pamphlets; Photographs.

No restrictions

Compiled by Richard Burman for the ANW project. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Caernarfon Record Office, Penyrorsedd Second Additional Deposit, catalogue; Richards, Alun John, A Gazeteer [sic] of the Welsh Slate Industry (Llanrwst, 1991); Richards, Alun John, Slate Quarrying in Wales (Llanwrst, 1995).

Hard copies of the catalogue are available in Caernarfon Record Office and the National Library of Wales.

Usual copyright regulations apply.

All records deposited at Caernarfon Record Office have been retained.

Accruals are not expected

The main Penyrorsedd Quarry Archive is in Caernarfon Record Office, X/P.Y.O.