Derelict Slate Industry Mining Landscape

Derelict building ruins stand on Welsh a mountain top, a century after it was part of the slate industry, on 5th October 2021, in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales. The derelict slate mines around Blaenau Ffestiniog in north Wales were awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in 2021. The industry’s heyday was the 1890s when the Welsh slate industry employed approximately 17,000 workers, producing almost 500,000 tonnes of slate a year, around a third of all roofing slate used in the world in the late 19th century. Only 10% of slate was ever of good enough quality and the surrounding mountains now have slate waste and the ruined remains of machinery, workshops and shelters have changed the landscape for square miles.

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Filename: blaenau_ffestiniog-95-05-10-2021.jpg
Copyright: Richard Baker
Image Size: 5315x3543 / 5.8MB; www.photoshelter.com/support/license; https://www.bakerpictures.com/contact; 90% Blaenau Ffestiniog Britain British British Isles Cymru Great Britain Snowdonia UK UNESCO United Kingdom World Heritage below derelict dumped dumped slate era gwynedd height heritage heyday historical history industrial industrial revolution industrial waste industry landscape materials mines mining mountain ninety percent percentage remains site slate slate industry slate mining sunlight tons town village wales walls wastage waste welsh
Contained in galleries: Blaenau Ffestiniog

Derelict building ruins stand on Welsh a mountain top, a century after it was part of the slate industry, on 5th October 2021, in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales. The derelict slate mines around Blaenau Ffestiniog in north Wales were awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in 2021. The industry’s heyday was the 1890s when the Welsh slate industry employed approximately 17,000 workers, producing almost 500,000 tonnes of slate a year, around a third of all roofing slate used in the world in the late 19th century. Only 10% of slate was ever of good enough quality and the surrounding mountains now have slate waste and the ruined remains of machinery, workshops and shelters have changed the landscape for square miles.