Bagalow Quarry

Bagalow Quarry is a disused slate quarry between Tintagel and Trebarwith at Bagalow Cove on the north coast of Cornwall, South West England. The quarry was worked from the 1830s into the early part of the twentieth century.

Location

The quarry site cuts a sharp right angle into the cliffs above Bagalow Cove immediately due south of Dria Quarry. The near vertical cliffs of the cove are almost entirely the work of quarrying.

Stone

The quarry provided a source of Upper Devonian slate and Lower Carboniferous slates of a greyish green colour used predominantly for roofing.

History

Bagalow quarry was established by local man, Edgar Jeffrays in 1834. Jeffrays also dug another quarry at the top of Sanding Road, the road used by donkeys carrying sand up from Trebarwith Strand for agricultural use.^[1] In order to work the cliffs, "strongpoints" were built on the cliff edge, and men were lowered down on ropes to work the rock face. The pulleys were operated by whims powered by donkeys or horses.^[2]

Industrial remains

A relatively intact horse whim remains at the far northeastern corner of the cliff face. The structure is built using the herringbone technique common in Cornish hedges. Also present is the hollow where the whim's central bearing stone will have sat. Nearby are the remains of a stone feed store for the animals which operated the whim.^[3]

References

^ The Parish of Tintagel, Some Historical Notes; by Rev. A. C. Canner 1982; p. 74
^ I Walk Cornwall accessed 14 April 2022
^ «Coastal Slate Quarries – Tintagel to Trebarwith” (1990) Adam Sharpe, CAU archaeological survey for the National Trust. ISBN 1 871162 95 5

[1] The Parish of Tintagel, Some Historical Notes; by Rev. A. C. Canner 1982; p. 74

[2] I Walk Cornwall accessed 14 April 2022

[3] «Coastal Slate Quarries – Tintagel to Trebarwith” (1990) Adam Sharpe, CAU archaeological survey for the National Trust. ISBN 1 871162 95 5

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