Wheal Martyn facts for kids
The 35 ft waterwheel
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| Established | 1975 |
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| Location | Carthew, Cornwall grid reference SX 005 555 |
| Type | Open-air museum |
The Wheal Martyn China Clay Museum is a fantastic place to learn about china clay mining. It's located in Carthew, near St Austell in Cornwall, England. This museum has kept an old Victorian clay factory just as it was. You can also explore a special exhibition building.
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Discover Wheal Martyn Museum
This museum covers about 26 acres of land. It is built around two old china clay factories. Wheal Martyn keeps a huge collection of old objects, machines, photos, and other historical items. It started as a charity in 1975.
Part of the museum area is a special protected site. It is called a Scheduled Monument. The land also includes a Site of Special Scientific Interest. This is because of the amazing rocks and land features found there.
History of Clay Mining
How Wheal Martyn Started
In 1790, a man named Richard Martyn bought the Carthew Estate. His son, Elias, started the Wheal Martyn china clay works in the 1820s. By the 1840s, there were five mining pits here. By 1869, Wheal Martyn was making 2,000 tons of clay each year.
After Elias died in 1872, his son Richard closed some works. He also rented others to different companies.
Changes Over Time
John Lovering took over Wheal Martyn in the 1880s. He made many changes to the factory. The main pit at Wheal Martyn closed in 1931. However, the pan kiln, which dried the clay, was used until 1969. It dried clay from other nearby pits.
The Gomm china clay works is also part of the museum site. The Martyn brothers rented it around 1878. It was used until the 1920s. The Wheal Martyn pit reopened in 1971. Today, it is still used by a company called Imerys Minerals Ltd.
How Clay Was Processed
Powering the Clay Works
To move clay from the pit, a special system was used. It had iron rods that moved back and forth. This power came from a huge 35-foot waterwheel. This waterwheel was built in the 1880s. It was used until about 1940 and was fixed up in 1976.
Another pump, called the slurry pump, moved liquid clay around the site. It was powered by an 18-foot waterwheel. This smaller wheel was built around 1902.
Drying the Clay
The museum shows areas where clay was made thicker.
- Settling Pits: These had sloped floors. Clay sat here for days until it was about 12% solid.
- Settling Tanks: Here, the clay became about 30% solid over two to three months.
- Pan Kiln (The Dry): This was a big oven. Hot gases from coal fires heated the clay from below. The clay dried in one to three days. How long it took depended on how close it was to the fire.
Next to the kiln was the linhay. This was a storage building. It could hold about 1,000 tons of dried clay. From here, the clay was sent to customers.
Old Transport Methods
The museum has examples of vehicles used in the clay industry.
- A Pecketts railway engine from 1899. It was used at a pit in Devon.
- A 19th-century clay wagon. Three horses would pull this wagon.
- A 1934 ERF lorry (truck).
- A Peerless lorry from the First World War.
Life in the Clay Industry
The museum has displays that show what life was like for clay workers in the 1800s. You can see recreated rooms, like a clay worker's kitchen. There is also a cooper's workshop. A cooper was a person who made wooden barrels. These barrels were used to transport high-quality clay.
