CN414

Rhiwbach Quarry, Tramway and Incline System  

29/01/2021  

Designated  

Gwynedd  

Ffestiniog  

272252  

346341  

Transport  

Railway  

Industrial  

The monument comprises the Rhiwbach Quarry, quarry village, steam-powered mills, incline system and tramway to Blaenau Ffestiniog. The designated area includes evidence of every phase of the quarrying process including haulage, processing, water management, waste and an extensive and well-preserved transport system. Commercial exploitation at Rhiwbach Quarry started around 1812 with the early quarry transporting slate via Cwm Machno for shipment from Trefriw in the Conwy Valley. By the 1860s the quarry had expanded and the Ffestiniog Railway was now the favoured form of slate transport from the region. The Rhiwbach Quarry owners developed an ambitious feeder tramway to haul material over the mountain and into Ffestiniog. A large, multi-purpose steam engine, Injan Fawr, was constructed in 1862-63 to be used as the central power source - no other Welsh slate quarry was arranged in this way. The engine was used for internal haulage and winding several inclines including the unusual exit incline which linked the quarry to the contour section of the newly constructed Rhiwbach Tramway. The Rhiwbach Tramway connected numerous upland quarries that were otherwise remote and inaccessible, including Rhiwbach, Blaen Y Cwm and Cwt Y Bugail. Despite the scale of the operation at Rhiwbach the quarry never exceeded 6000 tons per annum and it is thought to have been substantially subsidised by tramway revenues. At the Western end of the tramway system, 3 substantial inclined planes connected the tramway to Maenofferen, Fotty & Bowydd quarries and onwards to the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog. The railway system was completed in 1863 the same year that Diffwys Quarry (CN413) connected to the Ffestiniog Railway. The scheduled area is divided into 4 parts: Area A includes the Rhiwbach quarry, quarry village, two steam powered mills, tips and exit incline, Area B includes the Rhiwbach tramway (contour section), dams at Llyn Bowydd & Llyn Newydd and the No.3 incline, Area C is the Maenofferen section and No.2 incline, and Area D is the Bowydd section and No.1 incline. Area A is dominated by the stone built exit incline that retains at its head a well-built sheave mounting incorporating a banksman’s cabin. The incline is 250m in length and was used to bring finished slate upwards from the slate mill to meet the Rhiwbach tramway, situated some 50m higher than the main quarry complex. Located at the foot of the incline is the Injan Fawr engine house which retains its square-plan stack, the prominent chimney still standing to its full height of more than 12m. The interconnected power system is well preserved and highly legible with pullies and cables surviving in situ. The remains of the relict steam powered mill are located immediately adjacent to the engine house. The mill is 85m in length by 15m transversely and retains its functional layout with a row of internal support pillars, a number of machine bases, rail tracks and wagons surviving internally. Externally, the remains of an extensive locomotive powered rail network is evident, linking underground workings and pit workings with the quarry mills and a number of large ‘fingertip’ waste tips. A second smaller mill survives c.200m to the south east which is connected to a lower area of quarrying and tipping. At the north east end of the quarry is an unusual ‘quarry village’. All of the buildings in the village are roofless but many survive to eaves height. The planned settlement is arranged around 3 streets: The main street runs NW-SE and is flanked on the west side by the remains of the quarry manager’s house, now partly buried by slate tips. The second street runs E-W and includes a series of interconnected buildings of uncertain function but thought to be barracks and other ancillary structures. The third street is located further south and is broadly parallel with the second street. It includes a row of 5 terraced cottages each with a small front garden. At the western end of the terrace is an adjoining schoolroom/chapel accessed along the west elevation via formal, dressed slate entrances with carefully decorated lintels. 65m NE of the village is a rake of well-preserved lavatories comprising 5 small slate built cubicles flushed by a diverted watercourse. On the northern outskirts of the village are the remains of a small farmstead and field system which presumably supported the village. Both the farmstead and village retain a number of slate post and rail fences thought to be unique to this site. Area B is 2.8km in length and comprises an exceptionally well-preserved tramway formation that runs in a westerly direction from the top of the Rhiwbach exit incline to the top of the No. 3 incline above Maenofferen. The relict formation includes numerous engineered features such as embankments, cuttings, bridges and dams and retains timber sleepers intermittently along its length. The eastern part of Area B is a highly visible earthwork engineered to follow the 500m OD contour along the east slopes of Manod Mawr. The tramway includes a short incline from Blaen Y Cwm Quarry where a relict winder house also survives. There are several impressive rock cut sections – some up to 6m deep – most notable are those close to the junction to Cwt Y Bugail Quarry and the section to the south of Llyn Bowydd. The formation runs in a circuitous manner to the south of Llyn Bowydd and Llyn Newydd. The level railway includes several substantial embankments dressed with blocks of country stone. Two impressive dams and one bridge share a very similar style of construction and are clearly contemporary. The Llyn Bowydd dam at the west end of the reservoir is more than 100m in length and supports the tramway formation. The dams feed a complex system of leats which were used to provide water power to the Ffestiniog quarries. From Llyn Newydd the tramway becomes a well-built earthwork formation again. The western end meets the head of the ‘No.3 incline’ where a substantial winder-house crowns the skyline. The relict winder house is a robust structure supported by substantial buttresses. It is an important feature, visible across the surrounding Ffestiniog landscape and providing an important visual connection between this and other slate areas including Diffwys Quarry (CN413). The No.3 incline is partially intact despite having suffered from partial collapse due to flood events caused by the complex hydrology of the surrounding leat system. The Maenofferen section (Area C) includes a level area of tramway which survives amongst the access roads and tipping areas of the modern quarrying. The winder-house which sits at the head of the ‘No. 2 incline’ is in good condition, retaining a roof, winding drum and break-gear whilst the incline itself retains tracks and cables, having been in use until the later 20th century. The incline extends for approximately 350m to the south west and is well-preserved. Bowydd is now an area of active quarrying activity but the tramway (Area D) emerges as a cutting at the western end of the modern extraction area. The tramway follows the natural landform to the north and is flanked by a large area of tipping to the south. It is formed by a deep cutting sometimes retained by stone revetment walls. The level area extends for approximately 400m before it meets the head of the ‘No.1 incline’. Little survives of the winder-house and weigh-house at the head of the No.1 incline but the incline itself is visually striking overlooking Blaenau Ffestiniog. As with many of the monumental elements of the Rhiwbach system the east face of the No. 1 incline is dressed-stone construction. The monument is of national importance as a well preserved relic of the slate quarry industry and for its potential to enhance our understanding of the industry. Rhiwbach Quarry retains several unique elements including its power system, steam powered exit incline, domestic settlement and post and rail slate fencing. The tramway system is extensive and represents an important part of the transport infrastructure for the slate industry in Ffestiniog, connecting several upland quarrying areas with the Ffestiniog Railway which had become highly influential by the 1860s. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. Area A is large irregular polygon c.700m N-S by 650m transversely and centred on NGR 274130, 346080. Area B is a linear 3km in length and runs between NGR 273074, 346734 and 271215, 346690. Area C is a linear 450m in length and runs between NGR 271177, 346713 and 270821, 346545. Area D is a linear 700m in length and runs between NGR 270709, 346464 and 270351, 346075.