At a glance
Working Welsh slate crafts workshop at Groeslon near Caernarfon — free factory tours watch craftspeople cut and engrave slate. Personalisation workshop (charged) to engrave your own piece. Shop with widest range of slate products in North Wales. Open Mon–Sat. LL54 7UE.
About Inigo Jones Slate Works
Inigo Jones Slate Works at Groeslon has been cutting, dressing, and engraving Welsh slate since 1861 — making it one of the longest-established slate workshops still in operation in North Wales. The works occupy a converted 19th-century building in Groeslon village, 5 miles south of Caernarfon, and continue to produce slate products using both traditional hand techniques and modern precision equipment. Free factory tours allow visitors to watch the craftspeople at work: rough slate transformed into finished products through splitting, trimming, and engraving processes that have changed relatively little in their essentials over 150 years.
The personalisation workshop is the main interactive element for family visits — visitors can engrave text or simple designs onto a piece of Welsh slate under staff supervision, creating a personalised souvenir that takes skill rather than just money. The experience gives a tangible understanding of what the craftspeople do every day at an industrial scale. The shop is exceptional in its range: practical slate homewares (chopping boards, coasters, cheese boards), decorative items (clocks, address plaques, picture frames), memorial products, and bespoke commissions, all using genuine Welsh slate from the Snowdonia quarries.
Groeslon is well positioned for combining with other attractions. Caernarfon — with its UNESCO castle, Welsh Highland Railway terminus, and walled town — is 5 miles north. The Llŷn Peninsula (Pwllheli 12 miles) begins immediately to the south-west. Llanberis and the National Slate Museum (8 miles) provide a complementary context of large-scale quarrying alongside Inigo Jones's craft-scale working. The Lon Eifion cycle path passes nearby.
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Frequently asked questions
The free factory tour takes visitors around the working slate workshop at Groeslon, where craftspeople can be watched cutting, dressing, and engraving Welsh slate using traditional and modern techniques. The tour explains how the rough slate is transformed into finished products — from roofing slate and flooring to bespoke memorial pieces, kitchenware, and personalised gifts. The workshop operates Monday to Saturday, so the best time to see the craftspeople actively working is during weekday visits. Weekend tours show the workshop at rest but the interpretation boards explain the processes. The tour takes 30–45 minutes at a comfortable pace.
Yes — a personalisation workshop allows visitors to engrave text or simple designs onto a piece of Welsh slate, creating a personalised souvenir or gift. The workshop is supervised by a member of staff who provides the tools and guidance. A charge applies for the personalisation experience. Booking ahead for the personalisation workshop is advisable at busy times. The shop also offers a personalisation service for larger pieces — name plaques, address signs, commemorative pieces — which can be ordered and posted after the visit.
Welsh slate is the fine-grained metamorphic rock quarried from the mountains of Snowdonia and other parts of north-west Wales — primarily from the enormous quarries at Penrhyn (Bethesda), Dinorwig (Llanberis), and Blaenau Ffestiniog. Welsh slate became one of the most valued roofing materials in the world during the 19th century, used on buildings from Sydney to Paris. At its peak in the 1890s, the Welsh slate industry employed over 17,000 men. The slate has distinctive qualities — it splits cleanly into very thin sheets, is highly weather-resistant, and has a characteristic blue-grey colour — that make it prized both for roofing and for decorative and craft applications.
The shop has the widest range of Welsh slate products in North Wales — from practical homewares (chopping boards, coasters, cheese boards, placemats) to decorative items (clocks, picture frames, address plaques), memorial products, and bespoke personalised pieces. Prices range from a few pounds for small souvenirs to several hundred pounds for large personalised items. All products use genuine Welsh slate, typically sourced from the Penrhyn and Blaenau Ffestiniog quarries. The slate work quality is high — this is a working craftshop, not an import retailer, and the products reflect genuine craft skill.
Inigo Jones Slate Works is in Groeslon village on the B4418, approximately 5 miles south of Caernarfon. From Caernarfon, follow the A487 south towards Porthmadog and turn onto the B4418 at Bontnewydd. The works are clearly signposted in Groeslon village. A free car park is on site. By bus, the Caernarfon-Pwllheli service stops in Groeslon village and the works are a short walk from the bus stop. Inigo Jones is a practical stop when travelling between Caernarfon and the Llŷn Peninsula — the B4418 through Groeslon is a quiet alternative to the A487 main road.