INIGO JONES SLATE WORKS
North Wales Slate Shop Tourist Stop
The name of Inigo Jones
is almost synonymous with some of England’s
great architecture, bringing the ideas of the Italian Renaissance to Britain
in the 17th Century as the royal architect for King Charles I. There is a
bridge in Wales named for the architect, however the Inigo Jones Slate Works
near Caernarfon is not. Slate was one of the principal sources of wealth
and industry beginning in the mid-19th Century. Hugh Tudor Jones founded
his slate works in a former sawmill in 1861 to manufacture school writing
slates. Originally called the Tudor Slate Works, the company later took the
name of his son, Inigo, who was most likely given his name in respect for
the famous architect of two centuries before.
For
visitors to North Wales, much of what is to be explored and discovered
is related
to the slate industry, the steam railways, slate mines and harbors
all are mostly the result of the trade which produced almost a half million
tons of the brittle black-gray stone which naturally sheered in flat layers.
When the use of slate in schools was banned by the British Health and Education
Act, the slate works of Hugh Jones began making panels for electrical boxes,
then fireplace and chimney pieces which could be enameled to appear like
marble. Tudor Slate Works electrical boxes where used by the Cunard Line
of ships and can still be seen in the Queen Mary ocean liner now a tourist
attraction and hotel in Long Beach, California.
The Inigo Jones
Slate works is still manufacturing slate products after 150 years and can
be
visiting as a tourist stop. The works is located on
the main road south from Carnaerfon to Porthmadog (see Porthmadog
Steam Rail),
just off a traffic circle, easily recognized by the red miniature mining
train and stacks of assorted slate items outside. The showroom
is open
to the
public
for free
entry with a variety of slate craft and art work items for sale. A self-guided
tour of the mill works behind the shop is offered for £4.50 for adults
and £4 for children. The tour begins with a film about the slate industry
in North Wales then stroll through the workshops where craftsmen still saw
and grind the stone to custom specifications. You can even try a hand at
calligraphy and engrave your own piece of slate to take home as a souvenir.
Though, with airline baggage weight restrictions, taking home a hunk of stone
might be a consideration.
If you fancy something large, have it shipped.
The Welsh Rock Café on the premises is open all day for lunch or snacks
surrounded by a display examining the history of Welsh music. The shop and
tour are open seven day a week from 9am to 5pm. The tour takes about an hour.
By car the Inigo Jones Slate Works is hard to miss - by train, the nearest
stations are Bangor or Porthmadog with busses 1, 2 and 80 stopping near the
works. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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Inigo Jones
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SEE ALSO:
HARLECH CASTLE WALES SNOWDONIA COAST
PORTMEIRION "PRISONER" VILLAGE
