Celebrating quarrymen’s historic acts of solidarity
‘ONE of the greatest social achievements in which any patriotic Welsh people could take pride” is due to be celebrated today.
Events will take place to mark the founding of the North Wales Quarrymen’s Union 150 years ago on April 27, 1874. It served the quarrying families of Gwynedd for almost 90 years.
The union was described as one of the “greatest social achievements” by Saunders Lewis, one of Wales’ greatest literary and academic figures.
The celebrations will start at the National Slate Museum Llanberis at 1.30pm with the lecture “Undeb y Chwarelwyr: 1874-2024” by historian and scholar Professor R Merfyn Jones, an authority on the industry’s history. There will also be an opportunity to see the union’s original documents, usually held at the County Archives in Caernarfon.
After the lecture, there will be a twomile walk along the shores of Llyn Padarn to Craig yr Undeb – a rocky outcrop of special significance in the history of local quarrymen. Here, in the shadow of the Dinorwic Quarry on Elidir Fawr, which employed over 3,000 workers in its heyday, the union’s members used to meet.
Such meetings were banned from land owned by the quarry’s owners, the Vaynol Estate, but as Craig yr Undeb was on land owned by the rival Glynllifon Estate, there was no such objection. There are reports of up to 6,000 quarrymen meeting here in February 1886, during a strike by Dinorwic quarrymen.
The walk, along the level pathway of Lôn Las Peris, will start at 3pm from the museum. In reference to union traditions, a special banner celebrating its history will be carried during the walk. The banner was created by local students, school pupils and community workshops in Llanberis and Bethesda.
The North Wales Quarrymen’s Union was established in 1874 during a period of industrial strife between the workers and their masters. The union fought many battles, the biggest and most famous being the Great Strike of the Penrhyn Quarry at the turn of the 20th century, when the men were out for three years, before having to eventually surrender in November 1903.
For Saunders Lewis, the union’s work helped towards the formation of Plaid Cymru: “Not only did this union improve the circumstances of quarrymen, as it was a school in social science and a major chapter in the awakening of the Welsh working class. It is not an exaggeration to say that the Quarrymen’s Union was a key step on the way to the formation of Plaid Cymru.”
Former Plaid Cymru leader Dafydd Wigley believes that the union’s legacy remains relevant and important today.
“The Quarrymen’s Union was central to raising the quarrymen’s awareness of the power they had as a workforce and of the practical steps needed to defend their safety, work conditions and their wages,” he said.
“The Quarrymens’ Union was the vehicle to raise awareness among the quarrymen and the wider society of the need for people to stand together to achieve social justice.”
The North Wales Quarrymen’s Union amalgamated with the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) in 1922, retaining its own identity and control over internal matters until 1960.
Today’s events are free, but a place must be booked for the lecture beforehand by calling (01286) 679095 or emailing archifau@ gwynedd.llyw.cymru. The lecture will be delivered in Welsh, with translation provision available.