The slate industry has left an indelible mark on the history of our society. Slate quarries and the associated masses of waste have an awe-inspiring impact. It was an phenomenon of the nineteenth century, a product of the industrial revolution. This book explains what slate is, its uses and how its exploitation progressed in the late nineteenth century. It describes the social, cultural and political manifestations of the slate enterprises, and it poses the question of how we regard the legacy of the slate industry.