The Rails and Sails of Welsh Slate

Large quarries produced it, great little trains carried it, but how did Welsh slate reach the ends of the earth? This book tells something of the men (and indeed women) who built and sailed the vast armada of the stoutest vessels which faced terrible dangers and unimaginable hardship on every one of the seven seas.

Review :
Slate is synonymous with Wales. It is one item of production we can readily associate with the country. How slate was transported from source to its ultimate destination is another matter altogether, something that is probably not considered in any particular depth by most people. The author of this brilliant book, Alun John Richards, sets the record straight in this respect, dealing with just about every aspect of this weighty material. Tracing the history of the use of and demand for slate from Roman times, Richards describes the way in which the market expanded during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, continued to do so through the following two centuries, and was then given a huge boost in the early nineteenth century by the introduction of horse-gravity lines, which greatly reduced the cost of carriage. At the same time, the shipping industry, ports and harbours all flourished, and later the age of steam supported this rapidly growing trade. As the author reflects upon the situation, [] the whole edifice of the Welsh slate industry was a triptych of quarry, rails and shipping. Through the chapters, Richards separates the country into nine regions, detailing the type of slate quarried in each; and we learn about the ways in which the material was transported and shipped over the centuries, and about the social impact all this had on the population. Included are some thirty or so black-and-white archival and modern-day photographs illustrating the subject. It is poignant to compare the modern-day photos of the routes of some of the original tramways and trackbeds, now grassed over and abandoned, with those taken at the turn of the last century, when it was all so different and alive. This book, so extensively researched, will ensure that the slate industry in all its complexities, and the men and women who toiled in it, will never be forgotten. Anthony Roy It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council. Gellir defnyddio'r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru. -- Welsh Books Council