Dria Quarry

Dria Quarry is a small, disused slate quarry between Tintagel and Trebarwith on the north coast of Cornwall which was abandoned in the early twentieth century. It is one of several quarries whose activity has dramatically shaped this stretch of coastline but the quality of slate will have been of a lower grade than at nearby quarries such as Long Grass, Lambshouse and Gull Point Quarries.

Location

The quarry site occupies a coastal inlet immediately west of the settlement of Tregatta, Tintagel known as Dria Cove. The quarry workings extend for around 50m in length and reach a height of 75m. Dria Cove is largely inaccessible from land due to landslips and all evidence of whims and sheds were removed in the late nineteenth /early twentieth centuries in readiness for expansion.[1]

Stone

The quarry provided a source of Upper Devonian slate and Lower Carboniferous slates of a greyish green colour used predominantly for roofing.

History

The quarries on this stretch of coast possibly date back to the 17th century and Dria appears to have been initially abandoned at some time around 1840. An advert in the West Briton newspaper for that year offers slate from the quarry, suggesting that it was no longer operational. However, the quarry appears to have been reopened and expanded towards the end of the 1800s. Spoil tips were cleared and several features such as the quarry's whims which featured on earlier OS maps can no longer be seen. On the 1907 OS map of the area, the quarry is marked as disused.[1]

References

«Coastal Slate Quarries – Tintagel to Trebarwith” (1990) Adam Sharpe, CAU archaeological survey for the National Trust. ISBN 1 871162 95 5

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[CAU-1] «Coastal Slate Quarries – Tintagel to Trebarwith” (1990) Adam Sharpe, CAU archaeological survey for the National Trust. ISBN 1 871162 95 5