Braich Slate Quarry

Also known as	Braich Quarry
Location	South-west slopes of Moel Tryfan, south of Rhosgadfan, above Y Fron, Gwynedd — 53.0748, -4.2245 (exact)
Commodity	Slate
Type	Slate
Worked	c. 1820s–1911
Maximum depth	Unknown.

Overview

An open-pit slate quarry on the south-west slopes of Moel Tryfan, worked on a small scale from the 1820s, developed in the 1870s with a mill and a link to the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway, and closed in 1911.

A large round pool of dark water fills a quarry pit ringed by grey rock faces and slate waste under a pale sky. — The flooded pit of Braich Slate Quarry Bill Harrison, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph

History

Braich quarry lies on the lower south-west slopes of Moel Tryfan, south of Rhosgadfan and above Y Fron, in the upland quarrying district between the Nantlle and Gwyrfai valleys. It was an open pit, worked on a small scale from about the 1820s, its slate probably sent out by way of Cilgwyn to the Nantlle side. In the 1850s it was one of the first quarries to try drilling shot holes with a rotary machine drill rather than by hand.

In the 1870s it was developed in earnest: a mill was built, water and later steam power drove the pumps, steam hauled the rock up a chain incline, locomotives worked the tips, and a line was made to the head of the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway's Bryngwyn incline. In 1882 it produced 2,614 tons with 124 men. Work in the deepening pit had its dangers: in 1887 Griffith Evans of Groeslon was killed when a charge fired on him at the Braich, in 1890 Hugh Williams, aged 62, fell twenty yards to a level below, and in May 1905 William Parry of Rhostryfan was killed when a link broke in the chain of the hoist as a loaded wagon was being raised. The quarry closed in 1911.

Geology

Unknown.

Workings

A single deep open pit, worked from the 1870s with a chain incline and an aerial hoist on a fixed wire rope for raising wagons.

Closure

Closed in 1911.

What remains

The pit is flooded to a large, reputedly deep pool ringed by rock faces and slate waste.

The flooded pit and its waste tips.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Nearby mines

Moel Tryfan Quarry — 0.4 miles (0.6 km) NE
Alexandra Quarry — 0.7 miles (1.1 km) NE
Pen-yr-Orsedd Quarry — 1.0 miles (1.6 km) S
Pen-y-Bryn Quarry — 1.1 miles (1.7 km) S
Cilgwyn Quarry — 1.1 miles (1.8 km) SW

Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

Braich was an open pit worked on a small scale from about the 1820s, with material probably sent out via Cilgwyn. ¹
Early attempts were made at Braich in the 1850s to drill charge holes with a rotary machine drill instead of by hand. ¹
In the 1870s Braich gained a mill, steam pumping and haulage by chain incline, locomotives and a connection to the head of the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway's Bryngwyn incline. ¹
In 1882 Braich produced 2,614 tons with 124 men. ¹
In September 1890 Hugh Williams, aged 62, was killed at Braich quarry, Moel Tryfan, by a fall of twenty yards. ²
In May 1905 William Parry of Rhostryfan was killed at Braich Quarry when a chain link broke as a loaded wagon was being hoisted. ³
Braich quarry closed in 1911. ¹
The Braich pit is now a large, reputedly deep pool. ^4,5

Sources

(secondary) Braich Slate Quarry (NPRN 400648) — Coflein (RCAHMW)
(primary) Y Llan, 26 September 1890: Damwain angeuol yn chwarel y Braich — Y Llan (Welsh Newspapers Online, National Library of Wales)
(primary) The North Wales Express, 12 May 1905: Fatal quarry accident: inquest at Rhostryfan — The North Wales Express (Welsh Newspapers Online, National Library of Wales)
(observational) Flooded slate quarry (Geograph 8235512) — Geograph Britain and Ireland
(observational) Flooded pit at Braich slate quarry (Geograph 5558054) — Geograph Britain and Ireland

Record created: 20 October 2026 · Last researched: 20 October 2026