Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales

A photographic exhibition by local Camera Clubs, Eryri and Caernarfon, revealing some of the diverse beauty of North Wales’s slate quarry industry, its villages and its people, as it was and as it is today.

Depicting the theme of 'Quarry' in a new light -the exhibition explores abstracts, landscapes, characters of the quarry, ruins and much more!

The North Wales Slate Industry

People have been quarrying slate in north Wales for over 1,800 years.

Slates were used to build parts of the Roman fort in Segontium in Caernarfon, and in Edward I's castle at Conwy.

But it was with the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century that the slate industry really took off.

Slate quarrying was once one of Wales's most important industries. Wales produced over four-fifths of all British slates in this period, with Caernarfonshire the biggest producer among all Welsh counties.

In 1882 the county's quarries produced over 280,000 tons of finished roofing slates, and in 1898 the slate trade in Wales as a whole reached its peak with 17,000 men producing 485,000 tons of slate.

At the height of the slate industry in Caernarfonshire, Llanberis and the surrounding district were a hive of activity of all kinds.

If you would like to learn more about the North Wales Slate Industry why not view our museum guidebook online, and remember to view the 3-D presentation 'To Steal a Mountain' when you visit.