| Author | Message | ||
     Leitrim |
Hi, I've got 800 slates (24ins by 12 from about 1890) to sell from an old school in the NW of Ireland. I thought they were Blue Bangor but everyone seems to have a different opinion as to what they are. They're mostly greyish, some with a purple tinge (this seems to have been caused by weather conditions)and also about 10% are wine colored. Can anyone shed any light as to what they are? | ||
| admin |
From The Slate Roof Bible, 2nd edition, Chapter 10: Roof slate was quarried in Ireland as late as the 1930s. Slate mined in Ireland included a fine slate similar to Welsh slate near Newtownards, Co. Down; a coarse and heavy slate near Kilrush in Co. Clare, and slate in Killaloe, also in Co. Clare. A blue-black slate was quarried in Valentia Island (Co. Kerry); a softer, greenish gray slate near Ross, Wexford and Wicklow in Waterford County; a low-quality clay slate near Westport was wrestled from the ground in County Mayo; and more slate was removed from the earth at Clonkilty in Co. Cork. Extensive quarry operations also took place at Curraghbally, Co. Clare and Portroe, Co. Tipperary where 10,000 tons per year were being produced in the 1840s. Bluish-gray slates were also quarried near Ashford Bridge, Co. Wicklow. Joe Jenkins | ||
| Peter |
Hi Leitrim, From your description and the size I would think you have "Welsh Greys", nothing like a Blue Bangor for quality. Perhaps due to your location they could be worth something, if they had been fitted in a city they would be like sponges now, very soft and flaky. The Irish slates were usually much smaller than 24 X 12 they were also very strong, the problem was the quarries were very small and didn't last long. Kind Regards, Peter Crawley, M.I.o.R. www.crawleyroofing.com |
