HISTORY
Vaynor Quarry was opened in 1847 by William Crawshaw who owned the land to provide limestone for his Cyfarthfa Ironworks which was used to purify the iron ore. The Cyfarthfa works consumed 91,440 tonnes of iron ore, 20.320 tonnes of coal and 40,640 tonnes of lime annually. After the demise of the ironworks, the quarry re-opened under AW Lewis and it rapidly expanded. The site contained modern buildings and structures including conveyors and hoppers. The quarry also contains an early twentieth century industrial tramroad. Subsequently, the quarry was taken over by Hanson's.
The historic safety record of the quarrying industry was poor and frequent accidents and fatalities were reported in local newspapers. The man in the middle of the photograph below (photo - Nick Berryman) is thought to be Matthew Berryman, who was killed in a rock fall in the quarry on the 11th February 1896.
Hnason's remained in charge of the quarry until the early 2010's when production slowed and eventually the quarry was mothballed before being eventually abandoned. Most of the buildings, conveyors and equipment was removed and thought to have been transferred to another Hanson operation in Penderyn, which still operates today.
The quarry in the 1970's (photo - Mac Mclaren)
The quarry in the 1980's (photo - Dale Miles)
An episode of Doctor Who, Last of the Time Lords, was partly filmed in the quarry (broadcast date 30th June 2007, filming date 8th March 2007) where the Doctor struggled with the Master. During the summer months, Doctor Who aficionados can be seen gazing longingly into the quarry on what appears to be an organised tour of Doctor Who filming sites in South Wales.
THE VISIT
First time out since the second lockdown ended and not a planned visit but having to waste an hour or two while waiting for someone to bugger off from where we wanted to go, Vaynor was close and as a bonus, afforded the chance to collect a few golf balls. As noted above, a lot of the buildings were removed prior to the quarry being abandoned (with the exception of the holding sheds with the asbestos roof which must have been forgotten in the hurry to leave !). Visited with a non-member on a typical South Wales November day which saw the four seasons - sun, rain, sleet and wind but mostly rain.
1. Remains
2. Bottom
3. Power
4. Sheds
5. Silo
6. Loader
7. Graf
8. East Workings
9. West workings
10. Floor
11. Top
12. Crack
Thanks for looking !
