Start here · Essential guide
Cornish Industries Beyond Tin and Copper
Fishing, farming, quarrying, china clay and tourism all sustained Cornish communities alongside mining. A plain overview of the county's other trades.
Work and the Sea
Industries Beyond Mining
Fishing, farming, clay and tourism as shapers of Cornish life.
China Clay Country and the Clay Tips
How china clay (kaolin) is extracted in Cornwall, what it is used for, and why the pits and pale waste tips around St Austell look so distinctive.
Cornish Farming and Small Fields
A general look at Cornish farming: small enclosed fields, hedge boundaries, dairy herds and market gardening, and how the landscape shaped them.
Early Vegetables and Flower Growing
Why Cornwall's mild, sheltered conditions suited early vegetables and cut flowers, how railways opened markets, and how flower farming developed.
Modern Cornish Economy in General Terms
A neutral, statistic-free overview of the main sectors in the modern Cornish economy, from tourism and farming to marine work, clay and new technology.
Pilchard Fishing and the Fish Cellars
The historic Cornish pilchard trade: how shoals were spotted and netted, how fish were salted in cellars, and what the trade meant for coastal villages.
Quarrying and Granite Building Stone
How Cornish granite and slate were quarried and used for houses, chapels, harbors and roofs, and why local stone gives Cornish towns their look.
Seaweed, Salt and Other Coastal Resources
The smaller coastal industries of Cornwall: seaweed gathering, sea sand, lime, shellfish, salt and wreck salvage, and how they supported households.
The Railway and the Rise of Tourism
How the arrival of the railway in Cornwall in the nineteenth century made travel easier, carried produce out and visitors in, and helped start tourism.
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