| Clay is believed to have been in use since prehistoric | | | | the clay was laid bare and available to the simple tools |
| times, when man first realized he could shape and | | | | of the time. Then the clay was able to be removed |
| bake the material into useful items. They found they | | | | using steep sided trenches. The clay was mined using |
| could take this material that was malleable with just | | | | specially designed hand tools, of which many were |
| their hands, form it into something useful and then bake | | | | redesigned agricultural tools. They were customized to |
| it in holes that they created in the ground. This made | | | | suit the individual clay workers. |
| creating tools much easier for them than it had ever | | | | Clay or 'Thirting' Spades were used to cut into the |
| been before. It is believed that clay was already being | | | | surface of an exposed seam of clay, the tool was |
| mined in South Devon during the Roman occupation of | | | | heavy and the blade was up to twelve inches long. |
| Britain. Clays were highly prized for making clay | | | | Water was dribbled onto the clay in order to make it |
| tobacco pipes, it also became a valuable export when | | | | easier for the spade to penetrate it. A 'Lumber' which |
| the export trade was born and immediately began | | | | was a heavy angled blade, allowed the worker to |
| thriving. | | | | undercut and lift the clay that was already cut with the |
| In 1688, William Orange was proclaimed King William III | | | | spade. A Tubil, which was a lighter version of the |
| at Forde House, Newton Abbot. About that time, Dutch | | | | Lumper was used to remove the first lump of clay. |
| delftware was becoming more and more desirable in | | | | As demand grew for higher quality clay, extraction |
| homes across the continent and Dutch potters brought | | | | methods became more sophisticated. Shaft mining |
| their pottery skills to England. Delftware was covered | | | | started around 1870. Clay was extracted in 24 foot |
| in a white glaze in order to conceal the reddish/brown | | | | square pits, these pits were well supported by heavy |
| earthenware beneath. | | | | timber to prevent collapse and they reached as deep |
| WBB is the oldest clay company in existence, | | | | as 80 feet. Shafts also began to be dug horizontally |
| stretching back to the beginnings of clay mining around | | | | and the clay brought to the surface with cranes called |
| 1685. During the 18th century, clay was mainly minded | | | | 'crabs'. This mining method was used up until around |
| within the Bellamarsh area, this is because of the | | | | 1960 and was then replaced by 'inclined shaft mining'. In |
| accessibility factor, as it was covered by less than | | | | inclined shaft mining, shafts connect to lower shafts |
| three feet of topsoil. Once the topsoil was stripped off, | | | | and allow access to even better quality material. |