Conglog Slate Quarry
| Conglog Slate Quarry | |
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The ruins of the mill (centre) and Tan-yr-Allt Cottages (left)
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 Conglog Slate Quarry
 Conglog Slate Quarry shown within Gwynedd |
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| OS grid reference | SH669465 |
| Coordinates | 53°00′00″N 3°59′01″W / 52.9999°N 3.9836°WCoordinates: 53°00′00″N 3°59′01″W / 52.9999°N 3.9836°W |
Conglog Slate Quarry was a small enterprise situated to the north-west of Tanygrisiau near Blaenau Ffestiniog in Wales. It was overshadowed by the much bigger Rhosydd Quarry a little further to the west. It was active from 1854 to 1910, and was operated by an individual, two partnerships and four separate companies over this period.
Prior to 1854, the land on which the Conglog Quarry was established was part of Cwmorthin Ucha farm, and was owned by William Ormsby-Gore, whose son, the Conservative politician John Ormsby-Gore, became Lord Harlech in 1876. He granted a two-year take-note to Robert Roberts and John Williams, both of Ffestiniog. Roberts was one of the surgeons at Oakeley Quarry, and became the proprietor. He is thought to have provided the working capital to enable quarrying to begin. Williams was a quarryman. The take-note acted as temporary permission for the two men to extract minerals, in this case slate, and both men were named when the note was renewed in 1856 and in 1863. It is not known whether other men were employed to work the quarry during this period.
In 1866, only Roberts was named when the take-note was renewed, and he began trading as the Conglog Slate Company. The land he leased covered 177 acres (72 ha), and was mainly to the north of the stream and the track that ran through the site to reach Rhosydd Quarry. Shortly afterwards, Roberts was in possession of a 21-year lease, for which he was required to pay 2 shillings (10p) per ton for rock removed from the site, with a minimum charge of £25, corresponding to 250 tons, and an additional £2 per acre (£5 per ha) for any land used for tipping waste rock. The Rhosydd Quarry had been operating since 1853, and their quarry manager's house, Plas Cwmorthin, was located to the east of the Conglog site. In 1865/6, they also built Tan-yr-Allt, a row of cottages close to the Conglog mill site, to house some of the Rhosydd workers and their families. Conglog's new lease covered a larger area than the earlier take-notes, and in 1871 there was a dispute with Rhosydd Quarry over land in the south-west corner of the leased land. Agreement was eventually reached, with each undertaking keeping a part of the disputed land, and further land to the south of the river could be used for tipping by both companies. Tan-yr-Allt cottages were retained by Rhosydd, although there were to be surrendered if Roberts should require them.
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Wikipedia