Journal of Co-operative Studies 53(3), 30-35

Abstract

On a trip to Bardsey Island in Gwynedd, North Wales (UK) in summer 2019, I spotted a derelict harbour in a cove called Porth y Pistyll on the North Wales coast near to Porth Meudwy at the tip of the Llŷn Peninsular. The skipper of the Bardsey ferry informed me it was built to service granite quarries. As a result of new research, the full historical significance of the site has now come to light. In 1907, journalist Charles Sheridan Jones took over a pre-existing quarry and jetty and formed The Co-operative Granite Quarries Limited. Others involved included journalist Cecil Chesterton, banker W. Walter Crotch, trade unionist Sidney Stranks, and civil and mechanical engineer William Stainton. The company replaced an existing timber jetty with a stone quay and by 1909 export of setts and macadam had commenced. Stainton also formed a subsidiary company The Coal Consumers Pioneer Society based at Plas yn Mhowys in Flintshire, Wales. Another subsidiary company The Aberdaron Co-operative Housing Society was formed to build a nearby model village designed by architect Harold Clapham Lander. Construction of several cottages was started, the remains of two of which are still extant, but the enterprise was of course highly speculative and doomed to failure.

References

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Co-operative Granite Quarries Limited (1907, September 23). [Letter to Professor H. S. Foxwell]. Kwansei Gakun University Archives (Document 648-33, pp. 0619-0624). Honshu, Japan. https://library.kwansei.ac.jp/archives/keizaishokan/foxwell/document_pdf/242/648_033.pdf

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* A 2007 digitised revised and enlarged edition of the 3rd edition (1908) with Forward by G. K. Chesterton is available: https://archive.org/details/cottagehomesofen00crotuoft/page/n3/mode/2up