Llechwedd quarry

As early as 1831, permission was sought to begin quarrying near Llechwedd Farm, however this came to nothing. The Llechwedd slate quarry was opened in 1846 by John Whitehead Greaves, a successful quarry owner. Greaves had a history with the slate quarries at Blaenau Ffestiniog, and had proposed a railway to link the quarries with the river wharf at Dwyryd as early as 1836. When the Ffestiniog Railway was opened in 1836, connecting Blaenau Ffestiniog with the sea at Porthmadog, Greaves travelled on the historic first train. In 1843 Greaves was elected the treasurer of the Ffestiniog Railway and in 1844 he became its chairman. This began a long association between the railway and the Greaves…