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Belowda Beacon Clay Works
I chose the wrong day for the first visit to Belowda as it was hissing with rain! Never mind you can only get so wet.
The area around Belowda Beacon is littered with sites and interest and it's gonna take a few visits to see it all. Easy to find though you have to do battle with mud and gorse in some areas. But lots to see so help yourselves. There is a good information source you can download, Belowda Beacon Clayworkings - Two Forgotten Pits by John Tonkin
http://www.aditnow.co.uk/documents/BELOWDA-BELOVELY-Mine/The-Belowda-Beacon-Clayworkings.pdf
John Tonkins Map
The first thing you will see on approach is the engine house of The Standardized Clay Company. This is very unusual and a first as was built around 1906 but with a steel girder framework and concrete. It gives the impression of being much later.
This was painted between the wars and is now at the V&A, could this be the first derelict inspired picture?
Some of the RSJ's have been robbed leaving the concrete walls hanging in mid air, the fact that they are still there after some hundred years is testament to the builders.
The building housed a Bollinder four cylinder two stroke and a Petter engine which were both direct coupled to DC generators
as the works were mostly electrical driven and experimental.
Engine beds and other thingies
This part of the building housed six foot high electrically driven Gee separators and centrifuges
Some of the drying was by loading the clay into steel wagons which passed through a heated tunnel
I will post more on this area but had to have a look at the earlier clay pits which showed something curious on google-earth.
I am now hoping that someone can tell me what these are! They seem to have been there some time and as far as I can tell some have been replaced with newer containers.
Finally, one for Jools. Hey Jools, one of the chaps didn't make it!
Thank for looking.
I chose the wrong day for the first visit to Belowda as it was hissing with rain! Never mind you can only get so wet.
The area around Belowda Beacon is littered with sites and interest and it's gonna take a few visits to see it all. Easy to find though you have to do battle with mud and gorse in some areas. But lots to see so help yourselves. There is a good information source you can download, Belowda Beacon Clayworkings - Two Forgotten Pits by John Tonkin
http://www.aditnow.co.uk/documents/BELOWDA-BELOVELY-Mine/The-Belowda-Beacon-Clayworkings.pdf
John Tonkins Map
The first thing you will see on approach is the engine house of The Standardized Clay Company. This is very unusual and a first as was built around 1906 but with a steel girder framework and concrete. It gives the impression of being much later.
This was painted between the wars and is now at the V&A, could this be the first derelict inspired picture?
Some of the RSJ's have been robbed leaving the concrete walls hanging in mid air, the fact that they are still there after some hundred years is testament to the builders.
The building housed a Bollinder four cylinder two stroke and a Petter engine which were both direct coupled to DC generators
as the works were mostly electrical driven and experimental.
Engine beds and other thingies
This part of the building housed six foot high electrically driven Gee separators and centrifuges
Some of the drying was by loading the clay into steel wagons which passed through a heated tunnel
I will post more on this area but had to have a look at the earlier clay pits which showed something curious on google-earth.
I am now hoping that someone can tell me what these are! They seem to have been there some time and as far as I can tell some have been replaced with newer containers.
Finally, one for Jools. Hey Jools, one of the chaps didn't make it!
Thank for looking.
I believe that some types of clay are used in the manufacture of explosives,,,,,some explosives are sensitive to temperature and humidity so maybe the cables are for monitoring it all 
