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This 12-hole rock cannon near Moelyci Farm is very close to the route of the former Penrhyn Quarry Railway, presumably to salute visiting dignitaries as they passed by on the train.

Rock Cannon — history and method of operation; Other rock-cannon posts

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This 100-hole rock cannon tucked away in Parc Meurig is being reclaimed by nature, with its bored holes and carved-out interconnecting grooves almost all covered over by a layer of moss and grass.

Rock Cannon — history and method of operation; Other rock-cannon posts

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The tramway linking the nearby Cedryn Quarry to the river Conwy at Dolgarrog was extended to Cwm Eigiau Quarry in about 1863. From 1874 to 1885 the quarry was operated by the Caedryn and Cwm Eigiau Slate Company, which since 1863 had been the Caedryn Slate Quarry Company. The venture was ultimately unsuccessful owing to the poor quality of the slate.

The slate mill was powered by waterwheel and the remains of a wall carrying water to the wheel and of the wheel pit can still be seen.

Some of the quarrymen would have lodged in the barracks at the quarry complex; others would have walked to work from Bethesda – a hike of at least six miles up and over a 900-metre-high col in the Carneddau mountains.

Rock Cannon — history and method of operation; Other rock-cannon posts

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This 76-hole rock cannon is located on the northern edge of the boundary of Dolbadarn Castle in Llanberis.

Reference: Griff R. Jones, The Rock Cannon of Gwynedd, 2002 (ISBN 0953369218)

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120-hole rock cannon on a small hillock hidden in the wooded area at Bryn Bella. There is an inscription carved into the surface of this great slab of rock, which is now overgrown with lichen and moss. The date is, however, still legible: 1838 — the year of Queen Victoria’s coronation.

Reference: Griff R. Jones, The Rock Cannon of Gwynedd, 2002 (ISBN 0953369218)

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Rock cannon at Moel Faban slate quarry, close to the village of Rachub.

Reference: Griff R. Jones, The Rock Cannon of Gwynedd, 2002 (ISBN 0953369218)

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46-hole rock cannon at Tan-y-garth near Bethesda at the foot of the Carneddau mountains. This rock cannon is very close to the arsenic mine that dates back to the late 18th century.

Reference: Griff R. Jones, The Rock Cannon of Gwynedd, 2002 (ISBN 0953369218)

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195-hole rock cannon in Y Parc, overlooking the small village of Sling, near Tregarth.

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A rock cannon was a traditional pyrotechnic device fired to mark special occasions and celebrations. Their use is thought to date back to the mid 18th century and they were popularly employed in festivities in quarrying areas in the 19th century.

A cannon comprised a boulder or rocky outcrop into which a number of holes had been drilled. Each hole was normally around an inch across by five deep, and was linked to a neighbouring one via a shallow channel cut into the surface of the rock.

Preparation for firing was as follows. A black powder-filled goose quill fuse slightly shorter than the depth of the hole was first of all placed in each hole. The holes were then filled with black powder to a third of their depth and packed with crushed rock stemming almost to the top. Once the holes had been charged more black powder was laid over the fuses and along the interconnecting grooves. Finally, these channels were covered with more stemming in order to slow down the burn rate of the fuse train.

The use of channels between the holes was a later innovation. In earlier cannon, goose fat spread on the rock surface and sprinkled with black powder was used to connect the holes. Where available space meant that the distance between the holes was inadequate, curved paths were employed in order to increase the delay between successive detonations.

The orange flashes and resounding thunder of a cannon in operation are said to have been rather marvellous.

Cannonading played a central role in the celebration of special events. Typical 19th century festivities also featured decorations and activities such as floral arches, flying of flags and banners, bands playing, bonfires and fireworks, and special teas and lunches. The type of events celebrated in this fashion ranged from comings of age and marriages amongst the local gentry to saluting visiting dignitaries and marking national occasions such as royal weddings, coronations and jubilees.

For very important celebrations multiple cannon sites in a locality were employed, with volleys from those in one quarry being answered by those in the next, setting up a reverberating thunder amongst the mountains.

Accidents causing serious injury when preparing or firing the cannon were not unknown.

Their use continued on into the early 20th century, marking such national celebrations as the end of the Boer War (1902), the coronations of Edward VII (1902) and George V (1911), and a visit by the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VIII) to Blaenau Ffestiniog in 1923.

Cannonading also took place in Blaenau Ffestiniog on several occasions in the 1940s and 50s, but with the traditional cannon replaced by a more modern equivalent. On disused quarry waste tips a series of sticks of gelignite were laid on slate slabs with the ends of their fuses lying in the channel of tram-road rails laid end to end. A line of black powder was laid along this channel to connect the fuses together. One particular event marked in this way was a visit in 1949 by Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Griff R Jones (2002) has documented 235 individual rock cannon sites in the slate quarrying areas of Gwynedd. The number of cannon holes ranges from 1 to 195, with the average being 26.

Reference: Griff R Jones, The Rock Cannon of Gwynedd, 2002 (ISBN 0953369218)

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This seven-hole rock cannon is located in a field close to Beddgelert.

Reference: Griff R. Jones, The Rock Cannon of Gwynedd, 2002 (ISBN 0953369218)

Further Information

A rock cannon was a traditional pyrotechnic device fired to mark special occasions and celebrations.

It comprised a boulder into which a number of holes had been drilled. Each hole was normally around an inch across by five or six deep, and was linked to a neighbouring one via a shallow channel cut into the surface of the rock. Before firing, the holes were filled with black powder and packed with crushed rock. A black powder-filled goose quill served as a fuse and more black powder was laid in the grooves between the holes. The sights and sounds of a cannon in operation are said to have been rather marvellous.

There are over 200 known rock cannon sites in the slate quarrying areas of Gwynedd.

Rock Cannon (Wikipedia); Rock Cannon at Rhiwbach (Iain Robinson / Flickr)