Schoolchildren visited a quarry to see the four tonne slab of limestone being used to create a stunning new entrance feature at the housing estate where they live.
The massive boulder from the Aber Quarry in Moelfre, on Anglesey, will be polished and engraved before it is hoisted into place at the Parc Peulwys estate in Llysfaen, above Old Colwyn.
The pupils from Ysgol Tan y Marian on the estate met with the quarry master to see the rock and where it was quarried from.
The quarry operated by Anglesey Masonry provided the stone for Thomas Telford’s masterpiece, the Menai suspension bridge, and is the last open grey limestone quarry on the island.
The entrance stone will be installed in April and will mark the completion of a massive £1.1 million programme of environmental improvements by housing association Cartrefi Conwy.
In the meantime, the pupils have been researching limestone and how it was formed over millions of years.
Kyle McKegan, 10, was fascinated to see where the limestone was quarried.
He said: “It’s amazing and I can’t believe how they polish it and get it ready to be put in place. I was really excited to learn there are loads of fossils in the rocks and the people who work here often find them. That’s incredible.
“It shows you North Wales used to be a warm tropical place not like it is today. It’s been brilliant coming here and I really liked it.”
Demi Butterworth, also 10, added: “It’s been excellent and I think the stone feature will look brilliant when it is put in place on Parc Peulwys. Finding fossils in the rock is amazing and very exciting.
“It’s hard to believe the rock which will be the entrance feature to our estate started out millions of years ago in what would have been a really hot place. That’s a cool thought.”
Cartrefi Conwy Environmental Development Officer Matt Stowe said: “We felt it was important, from the outset, to get children involved and engaged with the environmental programme we have undertaken on Parc Peulwys.
“The massive slab of limestone, once engraved and installed, will reflect the permanency of the estate and Cartrefi Conwy’s commitment to its tenants.
“The symbolic stone will be inscribed on the front side with the Parc Peulwys name and on the back will be an inscription by Ysgol Tan y Marian pupils giving information about the stone, where it came from and other information about the estate.
“We are listening to the pupils and letting them take the lead on what that inscription should say. They are working on that and no decision has yet been taken on what the inscription will say.
He added: “Bringing the children along to see exactly where and how the stone was quarried from means we are using the quarry as an extension to the classroom. It is aiding their learning and I know they have been working hard researching how limestone is formed.
“They have been particularly fascinated to learn that the limestone here on Anglesey contains many fossils, mainly of corals and sea shells. And that tells us that, what is now Anglesey was once a lot further south and close to the equator.
“We are also using limestone quarried from Abey Quarry to make a human sun dial which will be laid down near to Berth y Glyd on Parc Peulwys. This will consist of 15 stone slabs and a centre piece where a person can stand.
“Where the shadow of the person falls will indicate the time of day. And we are also building stone seating, which will be installed on Parc Peulwys, with limestone which has again been quarried from Aber Quarry.”
Justin Kellett, who took over the management of Aber Quarry from his father, says it is the last open grey limestone quarry that exists on Anglesey.
He said: “Limestone has been quarried here since the 1700s and was used, along with rock from other local quarries that have now closed, to build the original Anglesey bridge over the Menai Straights. And limestone from here was also used to construct Birmingham Town Hall.
“I’m delighted to have been able to invite just some of the Ysgol Tan y Marian children along to see first-hand where the limestone is quarried and to see the actual slab that will form the entrance feature to their housing estate.”
Teacher Rhian Evans said: “We have been doing a lot of work learning all about limestone so to come and see where the rock, that will be used at Parc Peulwys, actually comes from and how it is quarried was really interesting for them. The quarry has become an extension of the classroom in a way.
“This particular group of Year 5 and 6 pupils, who are aged between nine and 11, are also working with TAPE, community music and film who are based in Old Colwyn.
“Together, we are producing a film about the environmental improvements on the Parc Peulwys – both as a record of what has been achieved and as a means of sharing best practice with others who want to replicate our success.”
