The 70 acres of Treborough Woods contain the site of
an important slate quarry which was used for 500 years.
It is reported that the rough slates, strong and sound but with
rather wavy cleavage surfaces
were not capable of being split into thin tiles. As a rule, these slaty rocks
were much too crinkled
and folded to make good slate. However, Treborough Slate Quarry did produce roofing
slates, slabs for
doorsteps, doorsteps, cisterns, coffins, tombstones, and flooring. These
stones can be seen in old farm
buildings.
The Domesday Book of 1086 AD mentions 30 acres of woods in the manor of Treborough, and maps over the past 300 years indicate they occupied part of the site covered by the present Treborough Woods. From all early date a fine blue slate quarry was worked in this same area for in 1426, 2000 slates were purchased for Dunster Castle. The slates cost 20d (8p), and the carriage from Treborough to Dunster 3s.4d. (17p). Leases to work the quarry were granted to William Bryant in 1674, and to John Webber in 1719 for £13 a year.
A great storm, in 1734 blew the roof off Luccombe Church and this damage was repaired with Treborough slates. In 1830, Savage, a local historian says, ‘the quarry is now in full work,' and 20 years later a lease was granted to Willian Pritchard of Caernarfon, who quickly developed the workings. A new quarry face was opened up west of the public road in 1863, and a 100 yard long tunnel cut. Near the tunnel entrance were the cutting and dressing sheds, the machinery driven by a water-wheel. The leat, storage ponds, and wheel pit can still be traced. William Pritchard died in 1882 and his widow kept the business going for a while but in 1890 Page writes that it was ‘quite recently abandoned, much to the sorrow of the neighbourhood as they afforded employment to a large number of men.’
Workmen posing for the camera at Treborough Slate Quarry
The quarry was re-opened in 1894 by the Trevelyan Family’s of Nettlecombe Court, and 1,000 tons of slate produced in 1904 and in 1905. An existing price list shows that the main products were roofing slates, chimney tops, hearth and headstones, saddle stones, steps, window sills, shelving and cisterns. But the quarry was rarely profitable and it closed again in 1910.
The final phase was from 1914 to 1938 when the Vickery family from Roadwater worked the quarry on a modest basis. After World War II the massive spoil heaps and suitable slopes were planted with conifers, but some of the old woodland survives. Adjoining the slate was limestone, and the old lime kilns still stand by the roadside at the entrance to Treborough Woods. The name is probably derived from the Celtic ‘treberg’ — hamlet by the waterfall. Half-a-mile away below Sminhayes, a waterfall slides 40 feet down a moss encrusted rock. |
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