Slates

Not far from Angers is Trélazé, where the  slate quarry museum, le Musée de l'Ardoise is situated. We went there on Sunday afternoon.




The museum is on the site of an old slate quarry. We were given a short tour, and a potted history of  slate quarrying in the region, dating back to at least the 16th century.


It was very interesting for the adults, but the explanations were rather long for the children. Nobody minded when they left the group to  to  run among the leaves and rummage for chips of slate.

We all enjoyed the demonstration of the traditional methods of splitting the slates. A retired slate-worker  armed with wooden mallets, chisels, and huge wooden clogs to protect his feet, expertly sliced off pieces of slate before our very eyes. Many of the houses of this region have roofs made out of slate even today. Ours certainly does.

He told us about his apprenticeship (5 years,) his obligatory nickname, (his was "Rossignol "= Nightingale, although some were given nicknames that were were far more earthbound,)  and the difficult conditions of work. 

Today, the methods of extraction and cutting are far more industrialised and less arduous for the workers. But the older workers miss the traditional ways and gestures. 

The boys were most impressed with the tree-trunk clogs. We helped them to understand some of the stone worker's anecdotes, and they look at the rooftops of Angers with new eyes.