Stamp Art: The Llechwedd ‘Slate Caverns’ project

The Stamp Art Llechwedd ‘Slate Caverns’ in Wales. Presents an infomative and educational showcase of Llechwedd Slate Caverns and the mining of slate that took place in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales. The showcase of Stamp Art is displayed in unique MINT sheets of postal stamps presented in Artwork Layouts available for private commission exhibition’s only. For more information, please contact info@stampartist.co.uk.
 

Buried deep under the mountains of Snowdonia lies an extraordinary story: a rock revolution that shaped the look and feel of the world as we know it. A way of life which built communities and defined generations of families in North Wales.

The story of slate began 500 million years ago, with deposits of mud and clay on an ancient seabed. Slate was used by Romans in the first century AD and by medieval kings to shore up their defence. But it wasn’t until the advent of the Industrial Revolution that demand for the mighty grey rock really exploded. At its peak, the slate industry in Wales employed an army of 17,000 men. By the end of the 19th century they were extracting half a million tonnes of slate per year and their hand-split wares were being exported to all four corners of the earth.

lechwedd is a visitor attraction near Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales. It details the history of slate quarrying in the town and specifically the Llechwedd quarry in which it is located. The main aspect of Llechwedd is its Llechwedd Deep Mine Tour which has the steepest narrow gauge railway in the UK and travels over 500 feet underground to the disused slate caverns, and the Quarry Explorer Tour which heads out to the furthest reaches of the Llechwedd site to explore the history of mining in the area.

GB LLECHWEDD SLATE CAVERNS RAILWAY stamps. Presented as the original sheets of issue, in ‘Fine Mint’ condition, with printers colours and numbering LSCR-10 and LSCR11, G310 ‘The Musicians’, Very Rare and collectable.

The Miners’ Tramway at Llechwedd Slate Caverns was opened in 1972.  On 24 March 1973 the BEV battery-electric locomotives were taking the tourist wagons about 800 metres into the mountain.   Eventually a funicular railway to the “Deep Level” was opened, and the Tramway closed in 2014.

GB LLECHWEDD SLATE CAVERNS RAILWAY stamps. Presented as the original sheets of issue, in ‘Fine Mint’ condition, with printers colours and numbering 000173, Honouring The Regiments of Meirionnydd 6th July 1983 ‘The Regiments’, Very Rare and collectable.

Kerr Stuart supplied many locomotives for use in the 1914-1918 War, and No. 3014 of the “Joffre” class had been built in 1916.  In the 1970s it was obtained for a proposed tourist line at Pen-yr-Orsedd Quarry, which did not materialise, and it moved to Gloddfa Ganol, at Blaenau Ffestiniog, where it was photographed on 15 March 1980.  It was most recently seen in 2018 at Apedale, operating under the care of the Moseley Railway Trust.

GB LLECHWEDD SLATE CAVERNS RAILWAY stamps. Presented as the original sheets of issue, in ‘Fine Mint’ condition, with printers colours and numbering LSCR-14 and LSCR15, ‘Engineering’, Very Rare and collectable.

Nearby at Llechwedd an interesting electric locomotive was on display on 3 June 1983.  This had been built by W G Bagnall in 1895 as a steam locomotive, but was rebuilt as an electric locomotive by the General Electric Company in 1927, gaining the name “Eclipse” to commemorate the Total Eclipse of that year, and used at Llechwedd.  It later moved to the Ffestiniog Railway, where it was stored, and eventually reached Statfold Barn, where it awaits restoration.

GB LLECHWEDD SLATE CAVERNS RAILWAY stamps. Presented as the original sheets of issue, in ‘Fine Mint’ condition, with printers colours and numbering LSCR-6 and LSCR-7, D2 333 ‘Loco’, Very Rare and collectable.

Up to the end of the 18th century, slate was extracted on a small scale by groups of quarrymen who paid a royalty to the landlord, carted slate to the ports, and then shipped it to England, Ireland and sometimes France. Towards the close of the century, the landowners began to operate the quarries themselves, on a larger scale. After the government abolished slate duty in 1831, rapid expansion was propelled by the building of narrow gauge railways to transport the slates to the ports.

Conclusion

Llechwedd is a visitor attraction near Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales. It details the history of slate quarrying in the town and specifically the Liechwedd quarry in which it is located. The main aspect of Llechwedd is its Llechwedd Deep Mine Tour which has the steepest narrow gauge railway in the UK and travels over 500 feet underground to the disused slate caverns, and the Quarry Explorer Tour which heads out to the furthest reaches of the Llechwedd site to explore the history of mining in the area.

The Llechwedd slate quarry was opened in 1846 by John Whitehead Greaves, a successful quarry owner. Greaves had a history with the slate quarries at Blaenau Ffestiniog, and had proposed a railway to link the quarries with the river wharf at Dwyryd as early as 1836. When the Ffestiniog Railway was opened in 1836, connecting Blaenau Ffestiniog with the sea at Porthmadog, Greaves travelled on the historic first train.

Private commission for exhibition’s and corporate display, in large format artworks with accompanying messaging are available by request. Please contact info@stampartist.co.uk. for more information.

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