Penmon Limestone

by Max Pemberton
(Anglesey)

The peninsular surrounding Penmon Priory is composed of limestone which has been quaried extensively over the years.

Because of its fine quality the stone was known as Anglesey Marble.

Both the nearby Beaumaris Castle and Caernarfon Castle on the mainland incorporate stone from the old Penmon quarry.

The white stone provides the chequerboard effect on the turrets of Beaumaris Castle, and the Priory monks produced millstones for the surrounding area.

Both Thomas Telford and Robert Stephenson opened quarries at Penmon to obtain stone required to build their respective bridges over the Menai Straits.

Interestingly, the wharfs and quaysides on the River Liffy in Dublin are also constructed of Penmon limestone.

The last quarry, which closed in the 1980's, has now been award-winningly landscaped and houses a large developing fish farm complex.

The remains of the earlier quarries, quarry buildings and lime kilns can still be seen.