Dinorwig
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- For the power station, see Dinorwig power station
Dinorwig is a small village located high above Llyn Padarn, near Llanberis, in Wales.
The village has a long history of slate quarrying. The Romans used local slate for the construction of Segontium, and slates from the valley were used in the construction of Caernarfon Castle.
The first commercial attempts at slate mining took place in 1787, when a private partnership obtained a lease from the landowner, Assheton Smith. Although this met with moderate success, the outbreak of war with France, taxes and transportation costs limited the development of the quarry. A new business partnership led by Assheton Smith himself was formed on the expiry of the lease in 1809 and the business boomed after the construction of a horse-drawn tramway to Port Dinorwig in 1824. At its peak in the late 1800s, Dinorwig employed over 3,000 men, and continued production until 1969.
However, by the close of the 19th century, the slate quarries at Dinorwig were in decline. This was brought about by frequent strikes by the workers who were living in harsh conditions, and later by the First World War and the cheaper alternative roofing materials which were becoming available. This led to a decline in the fortuntes of the village itself and many moved away to nearby towns such as Bangor and Caernarfon.
Today, the village shares its name with a pumped storage hydroelectric power station, Dinorwig power station
Part of the film Willow was shot in the disused Dinorwig Quarry, in June 1987.
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