End of an Era.......
But what happened next?
But unfortunately for the community of Nant Gwrtheyrn, the success of the granite quarrying industry was short-lived. As tarmac became the favoured road surface, the demand for granite dramatically declined. This had an obvious effect on the village as the quarries were forced to close for periods after the First World War.
When Nant quarry closed for a period, workers tried to find work in Cae’r Nant and Carreg y Llam, but many had no option but to move away from the village. This meant that there was no need for a community school or chapel any more.
Although the village came alive again in the 1930s as granite was needed once again to build roads and tunnels, the prosperity of the past had disappeared.
While there were 40 members in
Seilo Chapel in 1914, by the 1930s, the numbers had dramatically declined to between 12 and 15 members. There was greater pressure on families to move to Llithfaen to be closer to local amenities such as the doctor, shops and the secondary school.
Children playing in The Nant in the 1930s along with Evan Wynne (on the right), the village shopkeeper.
When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Nant Quarry closed for the final time, and one by one the families left the village.
The houses of Mountain View in 1948 Pupils in Nant Gwrtheyrn school, 1951
During the late 1940s, a few new families, including some squatters seized the opportunity to move into the empty cottages in The Nant. Due to the new residents, the Education Committee decided to reopen the school in 1949. Mrs Gwen Evans was the last teacher to teach in the village school, but by the 1950s the bustling quarry community of days gone by was gone forever.