Hanes Dyffryn Dulas
We are collecting images, recordings and documents to capture all aspects of life in the valley before, during and after the slate industry.
Project Information
Dyffryn Dulas reflects the vast and sudden changes which took place throughout the country during the Nineteenth century; changes which greatly affected the economic and social structures of many towns, villages and rural areas. These changes were characterised by great movements of population, from old stable areas to areas of new economic viability and potential change is reflected in many ways.
This project aims to bring together a collection of images, recordings and documents to capture all aspects of life in the valley before, during and after the slate industry.
History
Up until the early part of the Nineteenth century, little change had take place in the economic and social life of Wales – the economy of the country had been centred on farming, and the absence of easy communication resulted in a patterns of virtually self-contained, isolated villages, unchanging, settled in a routine which was unvaried from year to year, from generation to generation.
However during the nineteenth century, and with dramatic suddenness, this was all changed. The ancient patterns was disrupted with construction of roads and railways giving rise to the emergence of industries other than the traditional pattern of farming.
Join us!
We welcome your help with this project .
If you have any new historical material – photographs, documents, maps etc to share, please send it to us. We would love to add this to the website.
Slate mines
Slate quarrying generally has been carried on since Elizabethian times and in Dyffryn Dulas there is a mention of quarrying as early as 1500 in the vicinity of Aberllefenni. It is probable that in these early days quarrying was carried out on a small scale by individuals with people extracting slate from outcrops on their own land to supply their own needs, with only the rough surface stones being quarried. The lack of any real form of transportation prevented the removal of slates over any appreciable distance and extraction methods were crude and wasteful. However, as the industrial revolution swept the country, the demand for slate grew, and quarries were established and the industry began to grow in importance in the district.
Changes were brought about in the settlement patterns in such places as Corris, Corris Uchaf, Aberllefenni and Ceinws, aided and accelerated by a development in modes of communication and transportation. The slate industry grew in importance during this period and reached its peak between 1850 and 1900.
The increase in population led to a demand for housing, and for slate, the universal roofing material in use at the time. Dyffryn Dulas, along with other areas rich in slate , benefited and underwent a metamorphosis from quiet, sleepy villages to a thriving expanding township
Education
Entertainment
Religion
Description of the Area
Roads, Railways and Tramways
Institiwt Corris Institute
Buildings of the Area
Other Industries
People of the Area
