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| HER Number: | 20527 |
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| Name: | CHARLESTOWN - Modern china clay dries |
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Summary
A large china clay pan kiln used to refine china clay from Carclaze pit and linked by tunnel to the harbourside at Charlestown
Protected Status
- Conservation Area: CHARLESTOWN
- Listed Building (II): Chimney at Lovering's China Clay Dry, Charlestown
Other References/Statuses
- Cornwall PROJECT ID: CN
- Primary Record No. (1985-2009): 20527
- SMR No. (OS Quarter-sheet and SMR No.): SX05SW 128
Monument Type(s):
Full description
A large china clay pan kiln (or ‘dry’) with associated settling tanks to the rear. It was built in 1906-7 for the Lovering company and was used to refine china clay from Carclaze pit. In common with other pan-kilns, it comprises the following elements:
1 Settling tanks at the rear, fed by a pipeline from Carclaze pit. Here the clay slurry was settled and thickened, clear water being drawn off from the top.
2 A heated pan, comprised of a tiled floor with flues running beneath. Here the thickened clay was spread out and dried.
3 A tall stack, to provide a draught for the furnace and to discharge the fumes.
4 A linhay, or storage area, below the pan, into which the finished clay was shovelled.
The building comprises a long stone-built range and has a corrugated asbestos roof with vents built into the apex. The gable ends are weatherboarded. At the north end is a tall round stone chimney with a brick upper section having decorative mouldings. Iron reinforcing straps have been added. To the rear of the pan kiln are the associated settling tanks, used for the separation and refining of the clay before drying in the kiln. Unusually, this kiln has a tunnel below the linhay; a tramway running through the tunnel (see Site 217) connected the pan kiln with the china clay stores on the east side of Charlestown harbour. Of the 101 pan-kilns recorded in the Hensbarrow area by CAU during the 1991 St Austell China-Clay Area survey, only one (at Rostowrack, now largely destroyed) had a similar arrangement.
An archaeological assessment of the site was carried out by HES in connection with a development proposal in 2005 (b3). This found the site to be "the most important single monument in the settlement relating to the china clay industry, a fundamental part of the history of Charlestown. The kiln was considered to be of national importance and meriting designation as a Listed Building and protection from unsympathetic development.
The kiln was demolished in the summer of 2005.
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Site history:
1: 2005. COLE R / HES
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Cole, R, 2005, The Lovering Kiln, Charlestown, Cornwall (Cornwall Event Report). SCO630.
<1> STENGELHOFEN, J, 1974, UNTITLED (Unedited Source). SCO8256.
<2> PENDERHILL-CHURCH, J, 1976, UNTITLED (Unedited Source). SCO8347.
Sources / Further Reading
| --- | SCO630 - Cornwall Event Report: Cole, R. 2005. The Lovering Kiln, Charlestown, Cornwall. |
| [1] | SCO8256 - Unedited Source: STENGELHOFEN, J. 1974. UNTITLED. |
| [2] | SCO8347 - Unedited Source: PENDERHILL-CHURCH, J. 1976. UNTITLED. |
Associated Finds: none recorded
Associated Events
- ECO2486 - Charlestown China Clay Dry
- ECO5335 - The Lower Dry (Ref: 190808)
Related records: none recorded
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