| Par Docks | |
|---|---|
 Aerial photograph of Par Docks | |
| Location | |
| Location | Par, Cornwall |
| Coordinates | 50°20′40″N4°42′20″W / 50.34444°N 4.70556°W |
| Details | |
| Owner | Imerys |
| Opened | 1840 |
Par Docks is an Imerys-owned harbour in the village of Par, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, [1] which was used for the export of china clay from the numerous Imerys sites in the clay-rich region of Mid-Cornwall. [2]
Joseph Treffry (born Joseph Austen in 1782) was the owner of the Fowey Consols mine and wanted a harbour to export copper and import coal. He started work on a harbour in the small cove of Porth in 1829. The first ships used it in 1833 and it was finished in 1840. The breakwater enclosed 36 acres (15 hectares) of harbour and was capable of taking up to about 50 vessels of 200 tons each. The port is tidal so the vessels would sit on the bottom at low tide. Cornish granite was exported from Par in the early days for such famous landmarks as Waterloo Bridge in London, Chatham Docks, Gibraltar Docks & Glasgow Docks. As the china clay industry grew in the area during the 19th century this became the main export through the docks. [3]
According to the Imerys Blueprint For Cornwall published in 2003:
1858 – 15,154 tons of china clay went out through Par
1885 – 86,325 tons
1987 – 700,000 tons
2002 – 313,425 tons + 134,810 tons of aggregates
Treffry Estates sold the harbour to English China Clay (ECC) in 1964 having leased it to them since 1946. In the 1950s and 1960s, vast dryers were built on-site. The current Grade Dryer was built in 1996. In 2007 the port and some of the clay dries (those dealing with clay for the paper industry) closed with the loss of 200 jobs. All shipping for clay now goes to Fowey. The port is still the site of a Milling Centre and a Grade Dryer and this continued industrial usage means ECO-BOS's ideas for a marina and residential Eco-village on the dis-used dryer site to the west of the docks is unlikely to come to fruition. The port is used by vessels servicing the St Austell Bay Mussel Farm.
The port was famous for its “Stack” – the chimney of a lead smelter that had to be demolished in 1907 after it was hit by lightning – and for its low-roofed engines Alfred & Judy (Bagnall 0-4-0ST), the inspiration for Bill & Ben in Rev W Awdry’s children’s books about Thomas The Tank Engine after his visit to the docks in 1966. The port is still served by a rail line from St Blazey and still has the occasional early morning train. The old St Blazey to Fowey railway closed in 1968 and was turned into a haul road for the clay lorries delivering to the port of Fowey. They access this haul road on the Docks site.
Fowey is a port town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town has been in existence since well before the Norman invasion, with the local church first established some time in the 7th century; the estuary of the River Fowey forms a natural harbour which enabled the town to become an important trading centre. Privateers also made use of the sheltered harbourage. The Lostwithiel and Fowey Railway brought China clay here for export.
Charlestown is a village and port on the south coast of Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of St Austell Bay. It is situated approximately 2 miles (3 km) south east of St Austell town centre.
The Atlantic Coast Line is a 20+3⁄4-mile (33 km) Network Rail branch line which includes a community railway service in Cornwall, England. The line runs from the English Channel at Par, to the Atlantic Ocean at Newquay.
Par is a village and fishing port with a harbour on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated in the civil parish of Tywardreath and Par, although West Par and the docks lie in the parish of St Blaise.
Trewoon is a village in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is on the western outskirts of St Austell, on the A3058 road and is a linear settlement, with housing estates, a village hall, park and playing fields. The village has many amenities and local businesses: a garage, a post office, a Convenience store, hairdressers, "The White Pyramid" pub, and Trinity Methodist church.
St Blazey is a small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.
The Lostwithiel and Fowey Railway opened in 1869 as a broad gauge railway linking the port of Fowey in Cornwall with the Cornish Main Line at Lostwithiel. Its main traffic was china clay. The company ran into financial difficulties and closed in 1880, but the line was purchased by the Cornwall Minerals Railway and reopened in 1895.
The Newquay and Cornwall Junction Railway was a 7 ft broad gauge railway intended to link the Cornwall Railway with the horse-worked Newquay Railway. It opened a short section to Nanpean in 1869, the remainder being built by the Cornwall Minerals Railway who took over the company in 1874. Its main traffic has always been china clay.
St Blazey engine shed is located in Par, Cornwall, United Kingdom, although it is named after the adjacent village of St Blazey. It was built in 1874 as the headquarters of the Cornwall Minerals Railway but for many years was a depot of the Great Western Railway. The current depot operator is DB Cargo and the depot TOPS code is BZ.
Fowey railway station was a station in Fowey, Cornwall from 1874 until 1965. The rail connection to the docks at Carne Point remains open for china clay traffic.
Alfred and Judy are two 0-4-0 saddle tank steam locomotives. They were built by W. G. Bagnall for use at Par Docks in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The unusually low design was required to cope with extremely tight curves and a very low bridge under the Cornish Main Line. The locomotives are both preserved in operational condition on the nearby Bodmin and Wenford Railway and inspired the Reverend Wilbert Awdry to include them in The Railway Series of children's books as Bill and Ben.
The Cornwall Minerals Railway owned and operated a network of 45 miles (72 km) of standard gauge railway lines in central Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It started by taking over an obsolescent horse-operated tramway in 1862, and it improved and extended it, connecting Newquay and Par Harbours, and Fowey. Having expended considerable capital, it was hurt by a collapse in mineral extraction due to a slump in prices. Despite its title, it operated a passenger service between Newquay and Fowey.
The Luxulyan Valley is the steep sided and thickly wooded valley of the River Par, situated in mid Cornwall, England, UK. It contains a major concentration of early 19th century industrial remains, and was designated as part of a World Heritage Site in 2006.
The Treffry Tramways were a group of mineral tramways in Cornwall in the United Kingdom, constructed by Joseph Treffry (1782-1850), a local land owner and entrepreneur. They were constructed to give transport facilities to several mines and pits producing non-ferrous metal, granite and china clay in the area between the Luxulyan Valley and Newquay, and were horse-operated, with the use of water and steam power on inclines, and at first operated in conjunction with the Par Canal and Par Docks, also constructed by Treffry. One of the routes crossed the Luxulyan Valley on a large viaduct, the largest in Cornwall when it was built.
Joseph Austen Treffry was an engineer, mining adventurer, and industrialist who became a significant landowner in Cornwall, England.
The St Austell and Clay Country Eco-town is a plan to build a new town on a cluster of sites owned by mining company Imerys near St Austell, in Cornwall, UK. The plan was given outline government approval in July 2009. The plan would need to gain full planning permission before construction commenced.
Polmear is a hamlet in Cornwall, England, UK. It is located on the A3082 road close to Par Sands and the village of Par. Part is in the civil parish of Fowey and part in Par and Tywardreath parish. The centre of Fowey is some 3 miles (4.8 km) distant, whilst Par railway station is less than 1 mile (1.6 km) away. Polmear used to be known as East Polmear and West Polmear is now known as Charlestown, and has been since Charles Rashleigh built the harbour there.
Fowey Consols mine is a group of mines in the St Blazey district of Cornwall. They were owned by wealthy Cornishman, Joseph Treffry. The mines were worked by 6 steam engines and 17 waterwheels. The mines were linked to the port at Par by a canal. It was one of the deepest, richest and most important copper mines in Cornwall.
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