Replacement plan for historic relic to be destroyed by Penrhyn slate quarry expansion
An historic stone sheepfold dating back hundreds of years is be demolished and replaced with a modern steel fencing. The Gwynedd structure lies in a six-acre site already earmarked for the “lateral expansion” of one of the world’s oldest slate quarries.
Bethesda’s Penrhyn Quarry secured planning consent for the expansion in November 2022. It will enable the quarry continue until 2035, securing 115 skilled jobs in the area.
Owner Welsh Slate subsequently “became aware” that, although the expansion site was already part of the active quarry, it was also part of the Mynydd Llandegai Commons. The company said it didn’t want to start excavations without some form of redress to farmers who graze sheep on the common land.
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Whilst applying to deregister commons rights from the expansion site, Welsh Slate is also applying to register an equivalent plot nearby as new common land. While this will have greater public access, the loss of historic structures in the expansion site has been controversial.
Author John Rowlands had pressed for the dry-stone sheepfold to be relocated, even suggesting the work could be done by local people. The historian said they would be “outraged” by its destruction. The structure enabled wandering mountain sheep to be gathered at shearing time and sorted according to their owners.
Penrhyn’s 16-cell sheepfold was used by a large number of quarrymen, who had to supplement their meagre incomes by running smallholdings. Each cell is roughly the same size, suggesting the local smallholders all kept similar-sized flocks. It was possibly built using stones from an earlier hut circle.
Penrhyn Quarry has been producing roofing slate since the 13th Century. The sheepfold is more recent: its origins are unknown but it is described as post-medieval. Penrhyn Estate maps show several Carneddau sheepfolds were already in existence in 1786. There's more on the area's sheepfolds here. Join the North Wales Live Whatsapp community now
Welsh Slate is proposing to supply a replacement sheepfold once the original is demolished. This would be a portable, steel facility so that it “can be moved within the replacement land to the most suitable location as required.”
Other historic features in the expansion site include an ancient hut circle settlement, possibly dating back to the Bronze Age. There’s also a possible hafod, prehistoric trackway and other undated remains. In contrast, the replacement land has few archaeological features.
Various footpaths would have once connected Penrhyn Quarry to the quarry village of Mynydd Llandegai via the replacement site. But this is currently fenced off. Under the plans, fencing will be removed to allow greater public access - though a former footpath through the quarry will not be reopened. At the expansion site, public access is banned.
All of the land included in the proposal is outside the UNESCO World Heritage area as it forms part of an operational quarry. Expansion will enable the extraction of up to 250,000 tonnes of in-demand purple roofing slate and two million tonnes of decorative red and blue slate.
The plans can be inspected at Cyngor Gwynedd’s HQ in Caernarfon or at Dyffryn Ogwen Community Library, Bethesda, until November 1. Objections must be made by this date to Planning and Environmental Decision Wales (PEDW). Get all the latest Gwynedd news by signing up to our newsletter - sent every Tuesday
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