World Heritage Site

A NEW LANDSCAPE

Earlier this year the slate landscape of north-west Wales was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List – making it the third World Heritage Site in North Wales…

For the small country of Wales to have no less than four World Heritage Sites is somewhat impressive – for three of those four to be up here in the North is nothing less than mind blowing.

The slate landscape of north-west Wales now joins the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon, Vatican City and the Great Wall of China on UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list. It might seem like a surprising addition, but story of Welsh Slate is everlasting.

“The quarrying and mining of slate has left a unique legacy

in Gwynedd, which the communities are rightly proud of,” commented First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford. “This worldwide recognition by UNESCO will help preserve that legacy and history in those communities for generations to come and help them with future regeneration.”

UNESCO chose the slate landscape of north-west Wales as it illustrates the transformation that industrial slate quarrying and mining brought about in the traditional

rural environment of the mountains and valleys of the Snowdon massif. Six areas together complete the site as they represent “an exceptional example of an industrial landscape which was

AN EXCEPTIONAL EXAMPLE OF AN INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE WHICH WAS PROFOUNDLY SHAPED BY QUARRYING AND MINING SLATE, AND TRANSPORTING IT FOR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

profoundly shaped by quarrying and mining slate, and

transporting it for national and international markets”.

UNESCO has found that the landscape has “Outstanding Universal Value”, as the slate industry dominated world production of roofing slates from 1780 to 1940, transforming

both the environment and the communities who lived and worked here. The quarries and mines are monumental in

scale, comprising stepped hillside workings, deep pits and cavernous underground chambers, massive cascading tips, ingenious water systems, and a range of industrial buildings. Outstanding technical equipment and major engineering

features survive.

Innovative transport systems linked quarries and processing

sites with purpose-built coastal export harbours and with main-line railways. Grand country houses and estates built by leading industrialists contrast with workers’ vernacular settlements, with their characteristic chapels and churches, band-rooms, schools, libraries and meeting-places which retain multiple examples of their traditional way of life and strong minority language.

By the late 19th Century, the region produced about a third

of the world output of roofing slates and architectural slabs.

Its use in terraced houses, factories, warehouses and elite architecture contributed to rapid global urbanization. It influenced building styles, encouraging the shallow-pitched

roofs of the Georgian order. Technologies that were innovated, adopted and adapted in the region include the ingenious application of waterpower, the development of bulk handling systems and the first known application of the circular saw

for cutting stone.

Of course the slate landscape isn’t the first time that North

Wales set the scene for ground-breaking engineering innovations. The castles of Beaumaris and Harlech, and the

Beaumaris Castle

THE CASTLES OF BEAUMARIS AND HARLECH, AND THE FORTIFIED COMPLEXES OF CAERNARFON AND CONWY, ARE LARGELY THE WORK OF THE GREATEST MILITARY ENGINEER OF THE TIME – JAMES OF ST GEORGE.

Conwy Town Walls

14th Century military architecture in Europe, as demonstrated through their completeness, pristine state, evidence for organized domestic space, and extraordinary repertory of their medieval architectural form,” states UNESCO.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal is another

feat of civil engineering that has made World Heritage Status. Situated in the north east of the region, the 18-kilometre long aqueduct

and canal is a testament to the ingenuity of the Industrial Revolution.

fortified complexes of Caernarfon and Conwy, are largely the

work of the greatest military engineer of the time – James of St George. These extremely well-preserved monuments are examples of the colonization and defence works carried out throughout the reign of Edward I (1272–1307) and so it’s no

surprise that they are also UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

“The four castles of Beaumaris, Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech, and the attendant fortified towns at Conwy and

Caernarfon, are the finest examples of late 13th and early Covering a difficult geographical setting, the

building of the canal required substantial and bold civil

engineering solutions. The use of both cast and wrought iron in the aqueduct enabled the construction of arches that

were light and strong, producing an overall effect that is both monumental and elegant.

Therefore, the property is inscribed as a masterpiece of creative genius, and as a remarkable synthesis of expertise already acquired in Europe. It is also recognized as an innovative

ensemble that inspired many projects all over the world. n

Bethesda and Penrhyn Slate Quarry © Crown copyright RCAHMW