An entire historic slate community in rural Gwynedd is up for sale.
 
The terraced homes and cottages at Aberllefenni, near Machynlleth, were built up around a former working slate mine of the same name, where quarrying dates back to the 16th Century.
 
It closed as a working mine in December 2003 but the finishing, crushing, and dressing of slate is still undertaken on site.
 
The slate quarry worker properties had been owned by the family of John Lloyd, of Inigo Jones Slate Works, which bought the Aberllefenni quarry back in the 1960s along with the homes.
 
They sold the quarry in April and now the 16 homes in the tiny village are on the market for £1.5 million with Dafydd Hardy estate agents.
 
Mr. Lloyd said, "The quarry dates back hundreds of years, and in the 19th century quarry properties were built around it for workers at the slate quarry which was an underground mine site. We bought the quarry back in the 1960s and the properties that were attached to it, the slate mine itself closed over 10 years ago, but we continued to run the quarry until April when it was sold. The properties are traditional slate homes, but we have modernized them over the years, we have continued to rent them out and there has always been good occupancy, with 15 of the 16 homes currently occupied. Times have changed over the years, but it is still a nice community, and it is a good opportunity for an investor who could continue to rent out the properties, a better investment than having money in the bank."
 
Dafydd Hardy estate agent said the 16 tenanted houses and agricultural land would be an excellent investment.
 
They added, "This is priced realistically for a quick sale, offering an excellent investment opportunity providing income as well as the possibility of increased property value growth. The portfolio is mainly located in the historic location of Aberllefenni, set high above the Dyfi Valley in this rural area of mid-Wales. The village of Aberllefenni is surrounded by beautiful countryside amidst the wooded slopes of the Dyfi Forest."
 
Aberllefenni Slate Quarry, made up of three smaller quarries, Foel Grochan, Ceunant Ddu, and Hen Gloddfa, is one of the oldest running quarries in Wales, dating from the early 16th Century.
 
It was worked on an industrial basis from 1810.
 
It expanded later that century with the construction of the Corris, Machynlleth, and River Dyfi tramroad, later Corris Railway.
 
The quarry stopped active extraction in 2003 but is still run for slate crushing and also slate finishing work.
 
Owen Hughes.