Quarrying for World Heritage Designation: Slate Tourism in North Wales

Abstract

During the height of the Industrial Revolution, North Wales was the largest global producer of slate. Welsh slate was extensively utilized as a roofing material by industrializing countries around the world in the late nineteenth century. Although several surface quarries remain open, the last underground slate mines in Wales closed in the 1960s. An industry that once employed more than 17,000 now supports 400 jobs in the region. Today, slate tourism sites tell the story of this important aspect of North Wales’ industrial and geologic heritage. In 2012, a “Slate Industry of Wales” site was nominated to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List by the UK. Though Welsh coal tourism sites have been widely analyzed in the literature, few studies have investigated the country’s slate tourism. This paper explores the interpretive discourses presented at three prominent slate tourism attractions in North Wales and compares them with the justifications provided for World Heritage designation. Among the themes discussed are the importance of Welsh slate, geo-interpretation, slate technology, the life of Welsh quarrymen, and impacts of slate mining.