Years ago, I came across this amazing, ruined cathedral like structure in the middle of nowhere in North Wales.
Ynyspandy slate mill was built in 1855 to create roofing slate from the rock mined at the Gorseddau quarry. No expense was spared when setting up the quarry, with semi detached houses for the quarrymen and a grand house for the manager. Ynyspandy mill was built with three levels, rather than the one that was usual for such structures. But the quarry site had been badly thought out, and the slate was of poor quality – less than 20 years later the company had gone into liquidation.
But what a wonderful ruin!
Ynyspandy slate mill
I have a number of monochrome images of this place which perhaps give an even better idea of the scale of this place, but this week we are posting colour images….
More traces of the past at Paula’s blog here
Can’t beat the quality of Welsh slate, Sue. There looks to be a lot of it lying around for the taking in your photo.
Best wishes, Pete.
Well, yes, but this site didn’t have good quality slate, as I say in my post….
That’s true, but it would have been free…
But not split…
Oh well, we can’t have it all.
πππ
What an enchanting place and beautifully composed scene! Sue, I agree with you, and I will be happy to see it in B&W when the time comes. Thank you!
I have posted it in the past, will have to search the links out….
Amazing area there in northern Wales, sure it was a really hard life out there.
But in a way so fascinating, very well captured… π
It was a tough old world… Glad you like this post, Drake
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I LOVE IT SIMPLY!!
Thank you!
Lovely composition Sue. I do like a bit of Welsh slate, or indeed the Cornish variety…
Thanks, Jude… this was an amazing place, quite different from the other quarries in the region
What a brilliant ruin. Your photo captures the romance of the visionary inspiration that created the building.
Romance it was….. for they had a vision, but didn’t see that the raw material wasn’t there….
Certainly a stellar ruin, Sue. I love stone and slate buildings.
janet
Thanks, Janet!
So that’s all that’s left of the site, what a sad story, I wonder what happened to the quarrymen.
A very sad story….
Oh yes indeed. Love places like this! Thanks for sharing.
Glad you like this!
Well that’s you set up for the first few black and white Traces isn’t it? This is lovely Sue x
But what if I have used one for Traces before? Shhhh….don’t tell if I have! π³
Not a Dicky Bird π
xx
My kind of place to explore!!!
Yay!
A great find, Sue. Your photo really does the old ruin proud, with those distant mountains in the background. π
Thanks, Sylvia….a most peaceful place now, all I saw were a few sheep…. Years ago, perhaps a few more people know about it now
I love the arched window open to the sky and the rough rock contrast against smooth looking hills and sleek sky with soft clouds.
Old places have presence.
Oh, I like that phrase….when people ask me what it is about ruins, I must reply “old places have presence”!
The story of Welsh slate is an interesting one, the finest in the World but now abandoned to museums and tourist rides!
Well, quite…
I love such places – a great find! A lovely shot, and I bet I have seen it in B&W?
You have, a crop of this shot some time ago!