A Slator Or Two: Exploring the 17Th-Century Slate Industry At
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A slator or two: Exploring the 17th-century slate industry at Ferryland by © Alexa D. Spiwak A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Archaeology Memorial University of Newfoundland May 2020 ii Abstract While the use of slate as a building material was not unheard of in the New World, the early 17th-century English colony at Ferryland, Newfoundland was unique among contemporaneous North American settlements in its large-scale use of local slate. First governed by a Welshman, the colony’s historical documents and previously undertaken archaeological investigations point to the presence of a substantial slate industry, complete with at least one quarry and a number of skilled tradesmen. Slate is ubiquitous at the colony, making it one of the most important materials used in its construction. However, very little is known about the quarry, the process used to manufacture the many thousands of roof slates used to cover the early buildings or the lives of the craftsmen that called Ferryland home. Using archaeological and ethnographic data, this project seeks to determine how 17th-century quarrying and slate working processes in Newfoundland may have deviated from those of the Old World, as well as confirming possible quarry sites proposed by previous research. Moreover, this project seeks to connect the practices of 17th-century slaters to those of the 19th and 20th centuries, when Newfoundland experienced a resurgence in both the slate quarrying industry and a Welsh cultural presence. iii Acknowledgements Dedicated to the memory of my grandfather, Dr. Ian French, who loved the people, history and rugged beauty of Newfoundland as much as I do. The old adage is true: it takes a village, and I am fortunate enough to have a village that spans the ocean. First and foremost I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Barry Gaulton, for not only some of the best summers of my life, but also for his patience, guidance and unending support. If I am the slate queen, it was you who gave me my crown. My sincere thanks to the faculty and staff at both the Department of Archaeology and the Colony of Avalon Foundation for making this research possible. Special thanks to “mudder”, Donna Teasdale, for your advice, your friendship and your motherly guidance. To my academic aunt, Shannon Lewis-Simpson, for calming my many anxiety attacks and our much-needed walks around the pond. Huge thanks to my many volunteers and assistants, who worked tirelessly alongside me to make this project possible. Special thanks to Johanna, my slate sidekick, for everything you have done and continue to do. To Robyn, Duncan and Amy, for answering my thousands of questions and assisting me with everything from grant applications to presentations. A heartfelt thank you to JD, for being the best academic brother a girl could have. To my cohort and my friends: your support and belief in me was a priceless gift that I am not sure I can ever repay. And to the people of Newfoundland, particularly those of Ferryland and Petty Harbour, who welcomed me as one of their own and whose kindness and generosity made the island feel like home: from the bottom of my heart, thank you. iv I did not intend for this thesis to become a love letter to both Newfoundland and Wales, but such is the result of visiting two beautiful places full of kind, beautiful people. Huge thanks to my Welsh friends: Paul Doutch and his family, Mick Peters, David Roberts and the rest of the AditNow crowd for not only your years of friendship but for showing me around the hills and mines of North Wales. Also to the staff at the National Museum Wales (Dr. Dafydd Roberts and Mared McAleavey) and the volunteer quarrymen (JohnJo Jones and Carwyn Price) for their time and enthusiastic participation in this project. Generous funding for this project was provided by Memorial University’s School of Graduate Studies, the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER), the J.R. Smallwood Foundation, the Provincial Archaeology Office (PAO) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Thank you to Sarah Roberts, whose work was paid for by these grants, for painstakingly weighing and measuring slate chips for hours on end. Special thanks to Magnus, for putting up with my insanity and pushing me to get this done. Jeg elsker deg. Lastly, and most importantly, I would like to thank my family for their unwavering support, for pushing me to do what I love and for always encouraging me to take leaps of faith. When I said I wanted to throw all my earthly belongings into a trailer and drive to the edge of the country, you not only said “yes” but you followed me there. Thank you for believing in me no matter what, even when I had trouble believing in myself. I love you. v Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents v List of Figures viii List of Tables x List of Appendices xi Chapter 1 Introduction and Background 1 1.1 Chapter Outline 1 1.2 A Welsh Focus on Slating and Quarrying 3 1.3 Research Questions 6 1.4 Historical Background of Ferryland 9 1.4.1 Migratory Fishermen and the Calvert Period 9 1.4.2 Kirke Family Occupation 12 1.4.3 Destruction and Abandonment 14 1.5 Previous Excavations at Ferryland 14 Chapter 2 Slate 101: Geology, History, Extraction and Processing 18 2.1 Slate, Shale and Roofing in Stone 18 2.2 The Early Use of Slate Roof Tiles 20 2.2.1 The Use of Slate in the Medieval and Early Modern 20 Period in England 2.2.2 The Use of Slate in the Medieval and Early Modern 21 Period in Wales 2.3 Extraction 23 2.3.1 Basics of Quarrying 23 2.3.2 Historic Quarrying Methods 25 2.3.3 Early Slate Mining 30 2.3.4 Mechanization 34 2.4 Processing 34 2.4.1 Splitting 35 2.4.2 Trimming 36 vi 2.4.3 Finishing 40 2.5 Slate Roof Construction 41 Chapter 3 Fieldwork: Theory, Methods and Results 44 3.1 Theoretical Perspectives and Proposed Methodology 44 3.1.1 Taskscape Theory 44 3.1.2 Ethnohistorical Approach 45 3.1.3 Proposed Methodology 46 3.2 Research Trip to North Wales 48 3.2.1 Llanberis Slate Museum 48 3.2.2 Quarry Tours 53 3.2.3 Experimental Tile Making 59 3.3 The Search for Wynne’s Quarry 61 3.3.1 Overland Hikes 61 3.3.2 From the Water 62 3.4 Ferryland Excavations 66 3.4.1 Forge (Area B) 66 3.4.2 Builder’s Trench (Area F) 67 3.4.3 Feature 217 (Area D) 69 3.4.4 Waterfront Premises (Area C) 74 3.5 Post-Excavation Analysis 74 3.5.1 Artifacts and Tile Fragments 74 3.5.2 Slate Chip Analysis 75 Chapter 4: Transatlantic Traditions: The History of Welsh 80 Quarrying and its Connections to Newfoundland Slate 4.1 History of the Welsh Slate Industry 81 4.1.1 Growth and the “Golden Years” 81 4.1.2 Industrial Unrest, Instability and Decline 86 4.2 The Rise and Fall of Newfoundland Slate 89 4.2.1 The Eastern Quarries of Bay Roberts and Trinity Bay 89 4.2.2 The Western Quarries of the Bay of Islands 96 4.3 Remnants of the Past: Archaeological and Historical Remains 98 of the Slate Industry on Random Island 4.3.1 Nut Cove 99 4.3.2 Black Duck Cove, Allison and Winter Quarries 100 4.3.3 Preliminary Surveys of Random Island Prospects 101 4.3.4 The Heritage of the Slate Industry 107 4.4 Concluding Remarks 109 vii Chapter 5 Revisiting the Slate Handicrafts of Ferryland 111 5.1 The History of Slate Handicrafts 111 5.2 The Slate Objects of Ferryland 114 5.2.1 Gravestone Fragments 114 5.2.2 Sundial Fragments 116 5.2.3 Recreational Objects 117 5.2.4 Pot/Jar Lids 119 5.3 (Re-) Interpretations? 122 Chapter 6: Discussion and Conclusion 124 6.1 Statistical Analysis 124 6.2 Answering Research Questions 125 6.2.1 Why was slate favoured as a roofing material at 125 Ferryland over other common materials? 6.2.2 Was there a centralised area on the site for working 127 slate, or was the material processed as-needed in close proximity to buildings which were under construction? th 6.2.3 Are there material signs of 17 -century activity at 128 previously proposed quarry sites? Are there alternative locations for Wynne’s quarry? If so, do these material traces point to a large or small scale quarry operation? 6.2.4 Are there possible alternative interpretations of the 129 other slate artifacts found at Ferryland? 6.3 Conclusion 130 References Cited 134 Appendix A: Personal Communications 143 Appendix B: Section Drawings 144 Appendix C: Slate Chip Data 147 viii List of Figures Fig. 1: Map of the Avalon Peninsula showing the location of Ferryland. 10 Fig. 2: Map of excavated features at Ferryland (created by Bryn Tapper). 17 Fig. 3: The anatomy of a quarried slate block. 24 Fig. 4: Galleries of Dinorwic Quarry, Llanberis, North Wales. 27 Fig. 5a (left): Galleried slate quarry in Anjou, France. Fig. 5b (centre): 29 18th century methods of slate processing. Fig. 5c (right): 18th century quarry haulage system using horse-powered pulleys. All plates are from Diderot 1768: Vol 6.