Slate Quarrying

The slate industry of Pembrokeshire is now largely forgotten, but it must have been well-known during most of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th, when its products were in demand in all parts of the Britain.

The popularity of Pembrokeshire slates were due largely to their attractive colouring, which ranged from purply-black to blue, green, grey, silver-grey, and even to the random rich orange and brown colourations of the 'rustic' slates.

Pembrokeshire Slate was used to produce a wide range of items, such as roofing slates, slabs, writing slates, tombs and headstones, cisterns, mantlepieces, and window sills.

There are no slate quarries operating in the County at present, but in it's heyday when the slate industry was flourishing there were over 50 slate quarries in Pembrokeshire. These were all found in the north of the county and they are spread over a wide band stretching from St. Davids through North Pembrokeshire to its eastern border.