2-860-846 - Historic England Archive/Heritage Images

Bloomdale China Clay and Stone Works, St Stephen-in-Brannel, Cornwall, 1919-1936. A man shovelling sand in one of the sand pits at Bloomdale China Clay and Stone Works. This photograph forms part of a set within the album documenting the china clay industry of Cornwall, particularly focusing on the area around St Austell. China clay - also called kaolin - was used to make porcelain. The china clay industry was one of the main extractive industries in Cornwall. The images are accompanied by handwritten notes and descriptions of the processes involved in the production of china clay. Together they form a fascinating insight into the industry in the early-mid 20th century. The image numbers that form this set are ALB93/05/115 - ALB93/05/150. The caption by this image reads: "The sand from the first pit is shovelled, with long-handled shovels, into little trucks and taken up the haulage incline to the 'sky-dumps' on the surface. For every ton of clay 5 tons of waste are consigned to the sky-dumps which are quite a feature of the neighbourhood".