Llyn y Gadair - Page 2

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[Pic 4] Llyn y Gadair Quarry - Miniature Nantle pit (1990)

This is the really interesting part of the whole site - a wee small chunk of Nantle style pit working. It's very likely this is the original (proper full scale) workings, started by a group of quarrymen running a co-operative company in the mid 1880's. Note the impressive uphaulage incline which lifted product to the (raised) mill, then had to lower it down again to the exit tramway level (the one mentioned back at pic 1 which ran from here to the lake tips) which runs off to the right (where two trees have grown) from an intermediate level on the incline. Note the old abandoned car - that's been there quite some time.

[Pic 5] Llyn y Gadair Quarry - Stone embanked leats (1990)

Those mid 1880's quarrymen went about building this pit system with top qaulity workmenship - look at these two fantastic stone embankments built to carry leats to two waterwheels. 120 years ago a waterwheel would be right in shot of the camera here - fed from the lefthand leat - probably pumping out the pit which would defineatly fill with water coming of the hillside, while just off to the right would be the second water wheel needed for the mill. But which one powered the uphaulage incline?

Note - in the upper left back ground the location of the upper mill and workings.

[Pic 6] Llyn y Gadair Quarry - Another aborted tramway (1990)

Pic 6 shows another aborted tramway, this one running north easterly from a point near to (but slightly below) the upper mill area - and maybe even coming from a possible adit site there - then curving round to a dead end close to a cutting and unfinished trial working. This route was never fully used and must predate the upper mills section - but is probably linked with the aborted new mill seen below.

[Pic 7] Llyn y Gadair Quarry - Aborted mill (1990)

As mentioned above it is likely that this large but unfinished mill is linked with the unfinished workings and tramway (which runs just behind camera) that formed some sort of attempt to find a new source of slate here. Did this (and the later upper mill workings) mean that the earlier Nantlle type pit had no workeable slate left in it - or was it too unprofitable to pump it out after its abandonment? That's the thing with this site - there's lots of questions unanswered.

(Continued on Page 3 - where there is a simple sketch map for reference)

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