History
There is very little history available online on the china clay works here but I'll do my best.
The site was established around the middle of the 19th century to process china clay, quarried from the pits to the south. There were several early pan-kilns in use at the site until the years following the Second World War. The earliest kilns, with their associated settling tanks remain in ruinous state and hidden in woodland to the south of the later site, with the later kilns used for storage after they closed.
Post WW2 there was a great need for new housing which had to be built quickly to replace what was destroyed in the war. One of the most recognisable types of these 'temporary' houses is the 'Cornish Unit', constructed from pre-cast concrete, much of which was made at Gothers, using china clay waste. Many of these houses can still be found all over the county and further afield.
From the 1960s English China Clays used the Gothers site for research and development, installing a small, modern china clay plant. The French company Imetal bought ECC in 1999, changing their name to Imerys and continued to operate the works until a few years ago. The site has now been bought by a builder’s merchant or something, with lots of materials stored around the site, so be careful!
Cornish unit housing estate at St, Blazey awaiting demolition
The Explore
I first explored the old overgrown part of the site several years ago, when the more modern bit was still in use, it was only when I revisited this section last year that I noticed the Imerys signs had gone and that part of the site was quite quiet. I had a little wander around the back of the site but didn't really get far as there appeared to be people around and I wasn't sure what the status was. I went past a few months later and had a quick look but this time there was much more activity and lots of building materials around.
With lockdown being eased I am finally able to do a bit of cycling around the local derps, since I'm currently unable to have any long-distance trips. I knew the more modern works would have housed some decent machinery but had assumed it had all be stripped out now the building had changed ownership, but I decided to have one last go. I found the site virtually deserted and upon getting into the building, I was very relieved to find most of the equipment was still there. About half of the building is now used for storage with the remainder waiting to be cleared out, there is still running water and electricity in the small and bland offices at the front. The intact part contains the wet processing equipment, including sand grinders, a filter press, band dryer and a spray dryer- I think. After exploring that I found my way into one of the three more recent pan-kilns, now containing some kind of treatment plant by the looks of it. I've still got to go back for the other two kilns, both appear to be fairly empty, but it would be nice to tick it all off.
The rear of the building
It was great to see the interior was more then just the stripped shell I had expected
Motor to drive one of the machines
Sand grinding mills
The press deck from below
The lovely filter press. This was built at Charlestown Foundry and must have been the last working filter press of it's type in Cornwall
The more recent extension contains a band dryer on the right and what I think is a spray dryer in the centre
The band dryer
Looking down from the top of the spray dryer
Interior of the spray dryer
Control panels
The half of the building used for storage, I wish I'd made it inside earlier on but the best stuff is still there at least
Old Lancashire boiler, converted to a water tank
The mid period pan-kilns with a central furnace room, later converted into a tube press house. On the extreme right is the pan-kiln I got to see
The interior, I don't know what any of this equipment does but I'm guessing it was part of the early refinement process
The interior would have original been on two levels with the pan where the clay was dried on the right, which would have sat about 1m higher then the storage linhay on the left
The buildings from the early works are now covered in decades of vegetation. This shows the end wall of a kiln from a settling tank
One of the wells of a travelling bridge
Furnace room, showing a single furnace door and steps up to the pan on the right
The furnace room of the other ruinous kiln, the two furnace doors have long gone
One of the three remaining chimneys at the site rising up through the trees
Thanks for looking
There is very little history available online on the china clay works here but I'll do my best.
The site was established around the middle of the 19th century to process china clay, quarried from the pits to the south. There were several early pan-kilns in use at the site until the years following the Second World War. The earliest kilns, with their associated settling tanks remain in ruinous state and hidden in woodland to the south of the later site, with the later kilns used for storage after they closed.
Post WW2 there was a great need for new housing which had to be built quickly to replace what was destroyed in the war. One of the most recognisable types of these 'temporary' houses is the 'Cornish Unit', constructed from pre-cast concrete, much of which was made at Gothers, using china clay waste. Many of these houses can still be found all over the county and further afield.
From the 1960s English China Clays used the Gothers site for research and development, installing a small, modern china clay plant. The French company Imetal bought ECC in 1999, changing their name to Imerys and continued to operate the works until a few years ago. The site has now been bought by a builder’s merchant or something, with lots of materials stored around the site, so be careful!
Cornish unit housing estate at St, Blazey awaiting demolition
The Explore
I first explored the old overgrown part of the site several years ago, when the more modern bit was still in use, it was only when I revisited this section last year that I noticed the Imerys signs had gone and that part of the site was quite quiet. I had a little wander around the back of the site but didn't really get far as there appeared to be people around and I wasn't sure what the status was. I went past a few months later and had a quick look but this time there was much more activity and lots of building materials around.
With lockdown being eased I am finally able to do a bit of cycling around the local derps, since I'm currently unable to have any long-distance trips. I knew the more modern works would have housed some decent machinery but had assumed it had all be stripped out now the building had changed ownership, but I decided to have one last go. I found the site virtually deserted and upon getting into the building, I was very relieved to find most of the equipment was still there. About half of the building is now used for storage with the remainder waiting to be cleared out, there is still running water and electricity in the small and bland offices at the front. The intact part contains the wet processing equipment, including sand grinders, a filter press, band dryer and a spray dryer- I think. After exploring that I found my way into one of the three more recent pan-kilns, now containing some kind of treatment plant by the looks of it. I've still got to go back for the other two kilns, both appear to be fairly empty, but it would be nice to tick it all off.
The rear of the building
It was great to see the interior was more then just the stripped shell I had expected
Motor to drive one of the machines
Sand grinding mills
The press deck from below
The lovely filter press. This was built at Charlestown Foundry and must have been the last working filter press of it's type in Cornwall
The more recent extension contains a band dryer on the right and what I think is a spray dryer in the centre
The band dryer
Looking down from the top of the spray dryer
Interior of the spray dryer
Control panels
The half of the building used for storage, I wish I'd made it inside earlier on but the best stuff is still there at least
Old Lancashire boiler, converted to a water tank
The mid period pan-kilns with a central furnace room, later converted into a tube press house. On the extreme right is the pan-kiln I got to see
The interior, I don't know what any of this equipment does but I'm guessing it was part of the early refinement process
The interior would have original been on two levels with the pan where the clay was dried on the right, which would have sat about 1m higher then the storage linhay on the left
The buildings from the early works are now covered in decades of vegetation. This shows the end wall of a kiln from a settling tank
One of the wells of a travelling bridge
Furnace room, showing a single furnace door and steps up to the pan on the right
The furnace room of the other ruinous kiln, the two furnace doors have long gone
One of the three remaining chimneys at the site rising up through the trees
Thanks for looking
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