Slate quarrying in Pembrokeshire[final part] ########## Competition, industrial unrest and the end of an era Links between north-west and south-west Wales, even in the C19 , were by no means as tenuous as some commentators would like to suppose. Those who earned their living on the sailing vessels which traded at the creeks and harbours of Cardigan Bay were quite familiar with the slate ports of north-west Wales, the coal exporting harbours of Pembrokeshire, and the herring fleets of Aber-porth and Nefyn. But to find men from north-west Wales settling in Pembrokeshire is another matter, and one wonders what their linguistic, religious or political impact might have been. Precious little evidence is available to permit a discussion on this although one theme may be looked at, namely that of industrial unrest in the Llanrhian district quarries. It should be remembered that the North Wales Quarrymen's Union was in existence from 1874 and well established in Gwynedd by the late 1870s. Consequently it can be supposed that these men from north Wales might have brought with them at least a smattering of interest in Union matters since the only known instances of quarrymen protesting against owners in the coastal belt quarries of Pembrokeshire took place in Llanrhian. Discontent surfaced at Tre-fin in January 1878, monthly wages had not been paid at the three nearby quarries in the previous two months and the men, not unreasonably, became worried. Local shopkeepers complained at the amount of money owed to them by quarrymen's families. The quarrymen had a meeting in that January and resolved to cease work until arrears of wages were paid. The quarries remained at a standstill for several weeks, attempts at reconciliation continued, a few men were persuaded to return to work. John Fraser, manager, of the St Brides Quarries proved particularly "unhelpful" in his responses. There was much distress in the area, some men moved elsewhere for work, more returned to work. But in March 1879 the men were suddenly locked out by the owners and dismissed without explanation. Somehow matters were resolved in late March when the men were paid one of the four months outstanding wages. The problems which led to the suspension of the men at the Trwyn-llwyd, Abereiddi and Porthgain quarries were the same as those that sent so many men from the Gwynedd quarries across the Atlantic to seek employment in the quarries in the USA, namely the sudden drop in demand for Welsh roofing-slates. By the early C20, most Pembrokeshire quarries had closed, after giving up against the intense competition from Gwynedd quarries. Meanwhile, the local labour force, with some northern families amongst them, were forced to look elsewhere for work, as their industry became little more than a folk memory in the quiet villages of south-west Wales. [Based on The Pembrokeshire Slate Quarrymen by Dafydd Roberts, in Llafur [Journal of Welsh Labour History] Vol 5/1, 1988. Gareth, 27 Jan 2001 D/P] ########### Gareth List Administrator for Dyfed, CGN & PEM. Lookup Exchange http://www.johngareth.freeserve.co.uk/lookup.html Help Page http://www.johngareth.freeserve.co.uk/hicks.html