Penmaenmawr and Trefor Quarry Records (Additional)

Records of Penmaenmawr and Welsh Granite Company, 1911-1966, comprising papers relating to directors' affairs, 1911-1959; committees, 1919-1958; subsidiary companies, 1919-1964; federations, 1917-1963; miscellaneous papers, 1919-1966; and photographs, [c. 1905]-1956.

The Penmaenmawr and Welsh Granite Company Limited was formed in 1911 by the merger of three major granite quarries based in Caernarfonshire. The largest was Darbishires Ltd, operating at Graiglwyd after purchasing the quarry from the Kneeshaw and Lupton partnership in 1878. The others were the Brundrit and Whiteway Company that operated the Penmaen Quarry in 1830; and the Eifl Quarry of the Welsh Granite Company at Trefor, Caernarfonshire. The Darbishire family was the major force in the new organization until the 1950s. As the Company grew, other smaller quarries from North and South Wales were absorbed. The expansion of the road network allowed the Company to develop tar-coated stone, producing tarmac and asphalt. This led to a merger with the Limer and Trinidad Company to form the Penmaenmawr and Trinidad Lake Asphalt Company in 1921. The merger was dissolved in 1954, and the Granite Company continued tar production on its own. In the 1930s, the Company took an interest in the Liverpool Artificial Stone Company, taking advantage of markets for concrete products. In July 1963, the Penmaenmawr and Welsh Granite Company was absorbed by the Bath and Portland Stones Firms Ltd and ceased to exist as a separate body. The quarries are now part of the Amalgamated Roadstone Corporation, previously Kingston Minerals Ltd, in the early 1980s. The Penmaenmawr and Welsh Granite Company were members of trade associations and federations connected with the industry. Knotley Hall School, Kent, was evacuated to Penmaenmawr in the Second World War.

Arranged into the following: Penmaenmawr and Welsh Granite Company; directors' affairs; committees; subsidiary companies; federations; miscellaneous; and photographs.

Restricted access. Records are closed to inspection for a period of thirty years, from creation. Knotley Hall School correspondence and minutes are closed for 75 years.

Compiled by Seri Crawley for the ANW project. The following source was used in the compilation of this description: Caernarfon Record Office, Penmaenmawr and Trefor Quarry Records,(Additional), catalogue.

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

Usual copyright laws apply.

All records deposited at Caernarfon Record Office have been retained.

Accruals are not expected.