Wales

This evening I was in Buckley looking at industrial things when I espied two of these fine beasts sitting high up on a shop premises that looked as if it might well have been a Co-operative stores at one time. I have no idea what this mythical beast is meant to represent, but it is certainly top quality terracotta work.

Tarmacadam plant at the Lafarge operated Graig Quarry, Llanarmon.

Heidelberg owned cement works near Mold, North Wales. The No.4 kiln replaced three earlier ones and cost £63 million. It is 65 metres long with a 95 metre preheater tower that feeds in raw materials. Alternative fuels to be used at Padeswood include Cemfuel, which is processed from the residue of recycled waste solvents, and Profuel, which comprises paper and plastic wastes. Vehicle tyres can also be used as an alternative fuel.

The Conwy stone quarries are easily visible from the A55 a short distance west of the tunnel under the estuary. A microgranite was worked here during the nineteenth century under a number of quarry owners. A series of inclines connected at least four levels with the mill and loading bunkers on a siding off the Chester and Holyhead Railway. Closure came at some point between 1936 and 1945 after an agreement was reached to supply the North Wales Granite Co Ltd with stone from Penmaenmawr. The quarry is now sometimes used by climbers and the five incline drum houses stand empty, staring out onto the Irish Sea.

More corporate rubbish on the Novus Solutions van seen at Bangor University. The company has lots more nonsense on its website: Mission Statement / Our mission is to continually exceed expectations through quality, safely delivered by a professional, experienced well trained workforce. Our Vision / Our vision is to be recognised nationally as the contractor of choice for all building and maintenance needs, delivering bespoke client focused solutions together with unrivalled customer service and client satisfaction. Perhaps a few more superlatives would not go amiss!

A fine block of five kilns stands adjacent to a large working quarry. The stone here was worked in the first half of the nineteenth century by John Lloyd and by 1862 it was operating as Lloyd Jones & Co. There is a large bank of lime waste in front of the kilns. Lime from here was used in the building of docks in Liverpool, Birkenhead and Belfast between 1860 and 1890. It appears that the bank of kilns was extended twice. Production ended in 1914 and the face of one kiln has now collapsed whilst its neighbour shows signs of having been robbed of stone. Since this photo was taken the kilns have seen significant restorationn and stabilisation works.

The Conwy stone quarries are easily visible from the A55 a short distance west of the tunnel under the estuary. A microgranite was worked here during the nineteenth century under a number of quarry owners. A series of inclines connected at least four levels with the mill and loading bunkers on a siding off the Chester and Holyhead Railway. Closure came at some point between 1936 and 1945 after an agreement was reached to supply the North Wales Granite Co Ltd with stone from Penmaenmawr. The quarry is now sometimes used by climbers and the five incline drum houses stand empty, staring out onto the Irish Sea. This is the remains of the drumhouse on one of two inclines leading down from the second level of the quarry

Disused drum house for an inclined plane at the very top of the Garret side of Dinorwic slate quarry. The land in the far distance is Anglesey.

The working of slate at the Penrhyn Quarries near Bethesda continues to be undertaken by the company Welsh Slate. The extensive nature of these long-established quarries is evident in this view where the tiny yellow object in the centre of the image is actually a large bulldozer.

Looking across the great fall at Dinorwic slate quarry. The water tank and adjacent compressor house are on the Australia Level.

When petrol pumps go bad ............... Seen in College Road, Bangor.

A nice bit of polychromatic brickwork on this terrace facing onto College Road in Bangor. The bricks were supplied from the South Buckley Colliery & Brickworks at the time when it was known as the North & South Buckley Colliery, Brick & Tile Co.

Invoice for 5½ yards of flannel supplied in 1852 from the woollen mill on the River Cadnant close to Menai Bridge. I suspect that the engraved image represents a rather grander affair than this mill actually was. More information and old images can be found here. www.anglesey.info/menai-bridge-woolen-mill.htm

Cardiff Central Station was rebuilt by the Great Western Railway between 1932 an 1934 in an art-deco style. Much still remains including the fine terracotta names on the platform structures.

The Methodist Church on Castle Street, Caergwrle, was built in 1859 but replaced with a larger building in 1914. The front was removed and replaced with a large door to be used as the fire station in WW2. It now houses a furniture business.

Pipework at the side of the preheater tower at the Hanson/Heidelberg cement works at Padeswood.

An excellent open day at the Brymbo steelworks site showed the extensive remains there. This early blast furnace survived due to being retained as a foundry sand hopper after it was blown out.

This sculpture and rail wagon stand beside the Llangollen Canal at Froncysyllte as a reminder of the local lime industry. The nearby Froncysyllte kilns were supplied from the Pen-y-graig quarries to the south-west. Stone was brought down a 2ft gauge self-acting incline. The works was formerly worked by the Chirk Castle Lime & Stone Co Ltd and later by Harry Williams & Son. In 1958 the incline was closed and lifted and the quarries closed by 1965.