HeritagePhoto Wikimedia CommonsOld Slate Quarry
Ireland
The Slate Quarry first opened in 1816 under the direction of the Knight of Kerry and has been a working quarry on and off since that date. Famous for the quality of the slate quarried, this recently reopened quarry is famous for providing the slate for the Paris Opera House, London’s Houses of Parliament and many billiard tables, including one made for the Duke of Wellington & Queen Victoria.
Contents
9 sections · tap a section for its opening lines1Orientation
Welcome to the Valentia Slate Quarry, a site of profound industrial and geological importance. This is no ordinary hole in the ground; it is a place where the earth’s ancient history has been extracted to build the landmarks of…
Listen in the app2The Entrance Arch — A Portal to the Past
Standing before the massive stone archway that marks the entrance to the quarry, one is struck by the sheer scale of the operation. This arch was built to accommodate the horses and carts that once hauled massive slabs of slate…
Listen in the app3The Grotto — Faith in the Dark
In the heart of the cavernous quarry, you will find a surprising and deeply moving site: the Grotto. This religious shrine, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was established by the quarrymen themselves in the mid-twentieth century. …
Listen in the app4The Deep Chasm — A Study in Verticality
Peering into the deep chasm of the quarry, one truly understands the scale of the extraction that has occurred here over the last two centuries. The walls drop away in jagged terraces, some reaching depths of over a thousand feet…
Listen in the app5The Splitting Sheds — The Art of the Knack
While the blasting happened in the depths, the true artistry of the quarry took place in the splitting and trimming sheds. Here, skilled craftsmen performed the task of 'winning' the slate. …
Listen in the app6The Machinery Remains — Industrial Archaeology
Scattered around the quarry site are the skeletal remains of the machinery that once powered this operation. You will see rusted pulleys, segments of narrow-gauge railway tracks, and the foundations of hydraulic hoists. …
Listen in the app7The View of the Sound — Gateway to Export
From the higher elevations of the quarry site, one is rewarded with a spectacular view over the Valentia Sound toward the mainland. This was the 'gateway' for the slate's journey into the wider world. …
Listen in the app8The Tetrapod Footprints — A Prehistoric Legacy
A short walk from the quarry leads to one of the most significant paleontological sites in the world: the Tetrapod Footprints. These are the fossilized tracks of one of the very first animals to walk on land, dating back three…
Listen in the app9Closing
Our exploration of the Old Slate Quarry concludes here, amidst the silence of the dark stone. We have seen how the earth’s ancient history, written in Devonian mud, was transformed by natural pressure and human labor into a…
Listen in the app
What is Old Slate Quarry?
Old Slate Quarry is a place in Ireland with 9 story sections on Tellby. You can read the opening of each section on this page; the sound plays in the app.
| Location | Ireland |
|---|---|
| Type | Heritage |
| Story sections | 9 |
| Text language | English |
| Coordinates | 51.9248, -10.3426 |
| Last updated |