New Book Review

‘Quarrying Industry in Wales – a history’ by Ian A Thomas (reviewed by Keith Nicholls MIQ)

PRODUCTION of this book has clearly been a labour of love for its author, and reading it has, for this reviewer, been a joy. I have been able to revisit many sites I have been involved with over the years – from Torcoed in Carmarthenshire to Coedana in Anglesey; and from Hendre Quarry in Flintshire to Cornelly in the Vale of Glamorgan.

But this book is much more than a directory listing; in addressing the history of quarrying activities the author has been able to bring to life the quarrying operations from a ‘whole life’ perspective; tracing the development of mechanization and increased commercialization of our industry over many years.

As with any overview of a subject as large as this, there have been some entirely understandable compromises. The history of our extensive slate industry quarrying operations has been omitted, as indeed has the opencast coaling operations that have been active around the crop of the coalfields in recent years.

There are also myriad smaller quarries that have supplied building stone but have not made it in to this review – quarries such as Chwarel Cwm Hirnant, near Bala, after which the Hirnantian Stage at the top of the Ordovician Period is named, does not have any ‘history’; worked most probably for lime, hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of years ago. Similarly, the somewhat larger Deganwy Quarry nearby does not make the listing.

But the search through this book trying to find the omissions was interesting in itself, and the fact is that some compromises needed to be made to keep the content manageable.

The editor’s job has been quite a task, as the book has been published in a bilingual (English–Welsh) format. That, of course, makes the text twice as long (224 pages) as it would have been if published in English only. However, in taking that decision, the opportunity arose to fully illustrate the book with myriad historic and modern photographs, line drawings and artwork, much to the reader’s overall benefit.

Published by the National Stone Centre, with the express intention ‘to stimulate a greater interest in the awareness of stone in Wales’, this book is an admirable step in that direction. It is something of a paradox that the stereotypical Welshman is a flat-capped coal miner, born and spending his working life within the coalfields. But this history shows that the working of stone has a much longer history than coal, and with the diminishing of reserves and production from opencast operations, we are perhaps moving towards a future where the stereotype may become a hard hat- and high-visibility-jacket-wearing quarryman!

‘Quarrying Industry in Wales – a history’ is published by the National Stone Centre, Wirksworth, Derbyshire. The book (ISBN 9781871827385) is expected to retail at around £19.95 and will be available direct from the National Stone Centre (www.nationalstonecentre.org.uk).