Bryn Hafod-y-Wern Quarry

Overview

A slate pit on the lower west slopes of Moel Wnion near Llanllechid, worked by the Pennants from at least 1780 and by the Royal Bangor Slate Company from 1845 until the water supply was cut off in 1884.

History

Bryn Hafod-y-Wern quarry lies a short way north-east of Llanllechid in the Ogwen valley, on the lower west slopes of Moel Wnion. It may have been worked as early as the 17th century and was certainly in use by 1780, when it was run by the Pennants. It was a pit working with no land below it to drain into, so every block had to be hauled up to the mill and the waste further up again to long tipping runs, and the pit grew to more than 200 feet deep. The Pennants gave it up in 1845, probably because it cost too much to work, and the Royal Bangor Slate Company reopened it the same year and built the mills.

Water was the quarry's constant problem. A leat several kilometres long brought water from the Afon Caseg to two reservoirs, and it had to be used again and again, which made for an awkward mill layout. In 1847 the directors bought a 20-horsepower engine from Tyrrell's of Deptford to work the inclines, but it failed and water wheels were used instead; in 1849 rotary drills were tried here, and by 1852 one was driven by a portable steam engine. The quarry's reliance on water drew it into dispute with Lord Penrhyn over the right to take water from the streams, and in 1884 the Pennants cut off the supply and the quarry closed. By January 1885 its quarrymen had been out for about six months and were looking to the union and other quarries for help. In 1889 the bankers Williams and Co. of Chester sued Lord Penrhyn in Chancery to make him complete an agreed purchase of the Bryn Hafod-y-Wern property for £27,760, which he had refused over a reservation of road rights to the Crown.

Geology

Unknown.

Workings

A single deep pit that could not drain by gravity, with uphaulage inclines to the mill and tipping runs above it.

Closure

Closed in 1884 when the Pennants cut off its water supply.

What remains

Relatively undisturbed: the buildings are ruinous and the pit is flooded, while the incline formations and tramroad layouts are still clear.

The flooded pit, ruined mill buildings, incline and tramroad formations, slate wagonways, the leat from the Afon Caseg with two reservoirs, and a row of leaning slab pillars that carried wooden launders.

Redevelopment

None.

Recorded claims

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

• Bryn Hafod-y-wern was in use by 1780 under the Pennants, abandoned by them in 1845 and reopened that year by the Royal Bangor Slate Company. ¹
• In 1849 rotary drills were tried at the quarry, and in 1847 its directors bought a 20-horsepower engine to work the inclines, which failed and was replaced by water wheels. ¹
• The pit could not be self-drained and was over 200 feet deep, so rock had to be hauled up to the mill. ^1,2
• Water reached the quarry by a leat from the Caseg several kilometres long, and slab pillars carried wooden launders. ^1,3
• The quarry closed in 1884 when the Pennants cut off its water supply. ¹
• In January 1885 the Bryn Hafod-y-Wern quarrymen had been out for about six months. ⁴
• In 1889 Williams and Co., bankers of Chester, sued Lord Penrhyn to enforce his agreement to buy the Bryn Hafod-y-Wern quarry property for £27,760. ⁵

Sources

1. (secondary) Bryn Hafod-y-Wern Slate Quarry (NPRN 400680) — Coflein (RCAHMW)
2. (observational) Bryn Hafod-y-Wern Slate Quarry (Geograph 827451) — Geograph Britain and Ireland
3. (observational) Launder pillars at Bryn Hafod-y-Wern Slate Quarry (Geograph 827483) — Geograph Britain and Ireland
4. (primary) Y Genedl Gymreig, 28 January 1885: Chwarelwyr Bryn-Hafod-y-Wern: cyfarfod yr undebwyr — Y Genedl Gymreig (Welsh Newspapers Online, National Library of Wales)
5. (primary) Denbighshire Free Press, 23 November 1889: The action against Lord Penrhyn — Denbighshire Free Press (Welsh Newspapers Online, National Library of Wales)

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