As Minas - 2 - História de Valongo

Valongo in the 19th century: the arrival of the
railway.
All passengers and goods coming from Alto Douro and Trás-os-Montes would pass through
Valongo on their way to Oporto along the royal road number 33. The passengers would stop at
Valongo to rest, to eat and to sell or purchase goods.Valongo was a real trade centre.
The railway put an end to this. But Valongo flourished thanks to the extraction and trading of
the wealth of its soil. And the railway eventually became crucial in the development of Valongo. It
even became one of the most important railway stations along the Douro line.
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The slate quarries and mines and the impact of the English Company in
the slate industry and the growth of Valongo
The commercial slate mining and quarrying in Valongo, whose quality was the best in the
world, has been a source of wealth for the town. The vein of very important and rich deposits ran
across Valongo to the northeast part of the town, from Susão to southeast through S. Martinho.
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Slate has always been used as roofing and flooring material, but its extraction was hard,
rough and very dangerous.
In 1865 an English company, the Vallongo Slate & Marbles Quarries Company,
headquartered in London, started the industrial slate mining and quarrying in Valongo. It invested a
large amount of capital and used powerful machinery which had wonderful results on the extraction
and processing of slate.
The English company owned the mines in Galinheiro, Cardósias, Valle de Amores and Susão.
The Galinheiro mine started in 1865 according to the deed signed by Edward Ennor, member of the
Ennor family. The administrator was Charles Ennor. Jonh Welsh was the company’s director. The
workers would call him ‘mestre João’ and he was known as the mine workers’ father. Francis Ennor
was nominated the general attorney of the company and in 1872 Charles Coverly became the legal
and real company’s attorney.
In 1874 D.Luis appointed the English company, the Vallongo Slate & marble Quarries
Company, as the main supplier of the Royal House.
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At the end of the 19 century the English company would export over 40 tons of slate to
different countries such as Brazil, Russia, and Denmark and mostly to Great Britain and it employed
over 500 workers.
As new applications for the slate were created the industry increased.
In 1882 Alfred Nectingel, a worker at the English company tried the polish and varnishing of
slate for chimneys, which benefited the development of the slate industry. Large storage sheds to
lodge the machinery and the workshops were built, new tunnels were driven, ingenious cranes,
powered by great steam machines, were installed and more land was purchased to lodge the
machines and to deposit the waste. Apart from extracting the slate the cranes were also used to drain
the water.
The electric power arrived to English company in the 20’s, an extension paid by the company.
Wagons carrying the slate slabs from the bottom of the mines were driven through the rail tracks. The
railway was essential for the transportation of coal to the docks of Douro Oporto and to the docks in
Leixões.
Many ships coming from England loaded with coal would carry slate slabs on their way back
home.
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And the English also brought their technology
The Vallongo Slates and Marbles

Quarries Company had the most
powerful and amazing machinery
and equipment.
The high pressure steam machine
built according to Charles Ennor’ s
design, powered the cranes as well
as a dynamo for the electric power
that supplied the electric light to the
whole building and its dependencies
The chimney in Galinheiro was the

chimney from the steam boiler
which powered several cranes.
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The Vallongo Slate & Marble Quarries Company products are awarded
worldwide
The products of the Vallongo Slate and Marble Quarries were awarded in many exhibitions: the Paris
exhibition in 1867, the Vienna exhibition in 1873, the Philadelphia exhibition in 1876, the Adelaide
exhibition in 1887, Lisbon, gold medal in 1888, London, gold medal in 1891, Oporto, gold medal in
1897, Paris gold medal in 1900.
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The mines seen as temples
The Galinheiro mine had over thirty tunnels each 15 to 20 metres wide and over 50
metres deep. Those looking at this enterprise were marveled at the imponence and the
terror it inspired as well as the entrepreneur genius of those who made it come true. Those
giant catacombs communicated among them through doors excavated in the walls raising
from the depth of the abyss and going up vertically like the columns in a temple.
Fear and dread in the mines

In the mines you could breathe the smell of death. Many workers paid with their life for such
dangerous risky work. Although the pits were dug after geological studies and under the supervision
of experienced engineers, many families were victims of fatality. Many parents would repeat to their
children with pain and sorrow: ‘Your grandfather died behind that slab’ or ‘Your elder brother was
crushed to death deep down that pit.’
Untold stories
It was in ‘Casa dos motores’ (house of the motors) that the slate was
cut. The company guards used to say that evil spirits were around. They
would tell that during the night a ghost would come and kick the kettle
making coffee on the stove. It would be thrown into the air, but it suddenly
returned to its position on the stove as if nothing had happened.
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Accidents in the mines
Fortunately some great accidents in the slate mines and quarries did not cause any victims.
Such was the case of ‘arrasamento’ in Galinheiro. That was on a Christmas Eve in 1890. So nobody
was injured or killed. It is said that the slate extraction in Galinheiro mine met soft ground. The
pressure of the land over the mines led to the collapse of several pits.
Later it became a lake for the delight of many of the residents in Valongo, particularly young
people, who would enjoy their free time at the place.
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By the 60’s in Campo five mines collapsed in a single day. The miners from two different
companies went down the pits in the morning and when excavating the walls (pillars) that separated
the mines, the miners met face to face. There was a great demand for slate at the time. The miners
had left the mine for lunch, when they heard a terrible noise: several mines had collapsed.
However in Companhia Nova (as people would call it)in Carvoeira ( one of the partners was
English, the owner’s son of Milharia) once the miners were hammering the rock they broke the pillar
separating it from another slate mine full of water. The result was a sudden flood. Most miners died.
Some managed to survive swimming until they could grab the ladder to the top of the mine .
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As Minas - 2 - História de Valongo

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As Minas - 2 - História de Valongo

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Valongo in the 19th century: the arrival of the

The Vallongo Slates and Marbles

The chimney in Galinheiro was the

Fear and dread in the mines

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