Casgliadau Arlein

A memorandum to all twll over lookers (i.e. over lookers at the quarry rockface) informing them of a new inspection routine at the quarry. The memorandum states that Dinorwig Quarry would be selling slate on the French market, and as a result the quality of the slate produced needed to be better than those produced at present. The memorandum states that inspection of slates was being doubled at the slate splitting and dressing sheds, but in order to ease this burden the twll over lookers would need to inspect the slate blocks being quarried from the rockface before they were sent on to the sheds for splitting and dressing.

This memorandum was sent to Mr Owen William Humphreys, one of the twll over lookers. Mr Owen William Humphreys worked at Dinorwig Quarry. He started working at the quarry when he was 14 years old, at Ponc Pendiffwys. In 1946 he became a quarry steward at Ponc Isaf Braich. He was then moved to Muriau (or Lower Wellington as that section of the quarry was also known), and then to the section of the quarry known as Lower Garrett. He remained a quarry steward until August 1969 when Dinorwig Quarry closed.

The selling of slates on the French market was very important to Dinorwig Quarry, as this was one of their main sources of income from 1965 onwards. The cancellation of orders from France in May 1969 was one of the main reasons why the quarry became bankrupt in August 1969. (See accession number 2009.109/2 for details).