Evan Price <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> One person said on this page that it was used in pottery
>making. If anyone knows, I would appreciate being told what it is used
>for in pottery making and how it is prepared for use.
Have been away and have just seen the above. Chert was quarried
extensively in Flintshire from the 1780s to the 1930s and transported to
the Staffordshire Potteries for use in lining mills for the grinding of
materials, e.g. bones, for making pottery.
It was quarried as blocks of various dimensions and used as the fixed
base of the mill. Softer Derbyshire chert was used in the revolving part
of the mill. One quarry owner claimed that, because of the need for
exactness in size and shape of the blocks, 90 % of what was quarried
was waste!. The waste was used by refractory industries of Sheffield.
More details in my book [see website below]. I understand that the dust
created in these mills eventually became recognised for its seriously
harmful effects on the health of millworkers, and was phased out.
Bryn Ellis
[log in to unmask]
See my site at
http://www.helygain.freeserve.co.uk/halkyn.htm
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