Julian de'Courcy
Well-Known Member
Often referred to as the Cornish Alps or Clay Tips. These piles of waste from the clay quarries leave a permanent mark on the Cornish Landscape, predominantly in the mid Cornwall area of St.Austell and the outlying villages. Known a the Clay district. At one time almost every family had a member if not the whole family, worked in the industry. Like the coal industry it has from the 1970's declined sharply. Now only a few pits are productive. One reason these pits do still exist is the high grade of the kaolin in Cornwall still making it a viable proposition. Kaolin is used for high grade paper, ceramics and more specialised industries, such as filtering pharmaceuticals.
It took quite a few picks, wheel barrows and carts to make many of the older waste clay tips.
Taking these pictures I remembered a film made about a strike in 1913 when the south Wales police were sent to St.Austell to oversee the Striking quarry men. I liked the lines about the mountains in the you tube video below, as the police passed the quarry tips. aprox. 65 seconds in.
It took quite a few picks, wheel barrows and carts to make many of the older waste clay tips.
Taking these pictures I remembered a film made about a strike in 1913 when the south Wales police were sent to St.Austell to oversee the Striking quarry men. I liked the lines about the mountains in the you tube video below, as the police passed the quarry tips. aprox. 65 seconds in.
Speed limit. When they bulldozer the road closed for some reason , maybe putting another road through from somewhere else,
