This is one of a series of more detailed reviews for the “National Slate Museum.”:https://museum.wales/slate/
The workshops take up one side of the museum. There would originally have been two smithies here; one housing six forges and one with four forges where the apprentices learnt their craft and began by making their own tools. There were smaller smithies at the quarries which sharpened tools and drills.
The larger of the two smithies has now been set up as a slate workshop with machinery used in cutting and dressing the slate.
Beyond are the machine shops with examples of the different machines needed. These were all powered from an driving axil and belts from the waterwheel. There was little information about the different machines and it was sometimes difficult to work out what exactly they did!
At the far end, next to the main entrance are the stores and clerk’s office, which I found one of the less interesting parts of the site.
