Video of Salt Making Demonstration at Newlyn Art Gallery

Finally finished the video made during our Ecosal field trip to Cornwall, where we took part in Newlyn Art Galley's Museum at Night event as part of the Penzance Convention. Share the experience here.

The SCAPE Trust - Brora and St Monans Salt Works, Fife

St Monans Salt Works were built in 1771.

We visited this site as part of a visit to St Andrews University to see Tom Dawson and Joanna Hambly of The SCAPE Trust about their participation in ECOSAL-ATLANTIS. 

SCAPE have been involved in the excavation of a salt works at Brora, Sutherland. The project received an award from the Association of Industrial Archaeology for the Best Volunteer Project of 2010.

It is suggested that SCAPE utilise their local contacts and volunteers around the Scottish coastline to coordinate the historic salt making sites of Scotland with the ECOSAL network and Route of Traditional Salt Making.

Not being on the Atlantic coast we can't include St Monans, or the other salt making sites of the Firth of Forth in ECOSAL-ATLANTIS, but as ECOSAL develops from the initial INTERREG funded project we shall look to expand to include sites around the whole of the UK coastline.

The windmill is opened to visitors between July and September.

Paula Martin summarised the history of St Monans - Described by the minister of St Monans in 1790 as 'One of the neatest and best combined salt-works upon the coast', this saltworks was established by Sir John Anstruther, who inherited these lands in 1753. In 1771 (with Robert Fall) he establsihed the Newark Coal and Salt company, integrating a colliery (on the site of Coalfarm, NO50SW 312), a windmill (NO50SW 48), a waggonway and salt pans; these last were built along the shore in 1772-4. Salt was exported through St Monans harbour (NO50SW 81).

The waggonway went out of use in 1794, on account of reduced coal production resulting from a major underground fire. Mining continued on a small scale (apparently to supply the pans) but pumping stopped in 1803; the pans themselves were abandoned by 1823.
Taken together, these remains represent an early intergrated development which has not been obliterated by later works.

Fife Education - Energy Resources

St Monans windmill and salt pans. 

Information panels describing the salt pans, brine tank and windmill.

How the pan houses might have looked.

One of the pan houses has been consolidated.

Remains of a St Monans pan house.

Brine channel drawing sea water to the pan houses.

Barden Mill - Salt Glaze Ceramics for Ecosal

Errington Reay have been making salt glaze pots at Bardon Mill, near Hexham on the A69 since 1878.

Today at Bardon Mill, they are proud of the fact that Errington Reay is the last commercial pottery in Britain licensed to produce salt glaze pottery.

They still practice traditional ways of hand throwing, hand moulding and casting. They grind and mix their own clay and together with specialised salt glazing and firing techniques produce a truly unique textured finish.

Like with the Solway Ceramics Centre, we visited the pottery to see if they would consider participating as a cultural element in the Ecosal Route of Traditional Salt Making. As we have travelled around the west coast of the UK we also visit garden centres and find Errington Reay salt glaze pots for sale all over the country. We think that their pots should feature in the Ecosal route because not only do they produce a fantastic range of pots, but also because they still use traditional processes to make them in their historic mill site.

Karl Jacques shown us around and was really enthusiastic about the company history, the site and the potters who continue the traditional skills.

If you have a choice in a garden centre between these UK made pots or a cheaper import, support our local producers and buy Errington Reay salt glaze pots. They also come with a 10 year guarantee!

Throwing pots from an extruded cylinder of clay.

The Errington Reay stamp before firing and glazing.

Huge range of Errington-Reay pots at the Bardon Mill potery, near Hexham, Northumberland.

The salt kiln.

Karl Jacques.

Solway Ceramics - salt glazing for Ecosal

Ray and Coralin Pearson run the Solway Ceramics Centre. We visited them to introduce them to the Ecosal project to suggest that they might feature as a cultural attraction within the proposed Solway Coast section of the Route of Traditional Salt Making. They were fascinated by the concept and eagerly asked how they might make their own salt from sea water drawn from the Solway, which laps at the fields close to their pottery.

It is possible that we might join them in September to give them a demonstration using ceraaic and metal salt pans. Ray uses wood to fire his salt glaze kilns, has local clay from which he can throw his pots - so he is looking forward to having his own home-made sea salt. Dates to be arranged.

Courtyard setting in front of the tuition and lecture room at Solway Ceramics. 

Ray Pearson in front of his large salt glazing kiln currently being refurbished.

Salt Making Demo at Saltfleetby, Lincs

Our next salt making demonstration is at the Prussian Queen, Saltfleetby, Lincolnshire.

A Salt Refinery at The Dungeon, Hale, Merseyside

A survey of The Dungeon was carried out by the Merseyside Industrial Archaeology Society

Halton Borough Council are looking at how the site and the surrounding area might be improved as part of perimeter changes around the adjacent John Lennon Airport.

The Dungeon is a rare and important site where rock salt was used to strengthen sea water prior to making white salt. If it surrounding scan be improved it would form an important local recreational site and protect both the industrial and natural heritage. Iain Dignall of Halton Borough Council made an enquiry to us and was delighted to be put in touch with Roy Forshaw and find out that so much information was actually known about the site.

It is probably the best surviving refinery site around, mainly because it didn't become destroyed by later harbour installations. An ideal site for inclusion in the ECOSAL Salt Route, especially if it can benefit from landscape improvements, better access and information panels.

Dungeon Lane forms the boundary between Halton Borough and Liverpool.
Sir Paul McCartney walked down this lane to The Mersey were he would walk and cycle to Hale Lighthouse.

Views across The Mersey towards Frodsham and Helsby, Cheshire.
The cistern for dissolving the rock salt is now covered with a grass mound.
Cheshire rock salt was brought here to strengthen seawater before it was evaporated to make white salt.

Remains of the dock wall where the rock salt was landed.

The bay leading around to Hale Lighthouse

Start of George Street Chapel Project

The start-up meetings for the conservation and adaptive re-use of the former Independent Methodist Chapel at George Street Oldham has now started. We are acting as heritage advisors to Age UK Oldham and are appointed to sit on the Project Management Team.
Two team meetings have now been held this week.
The first to gather together the FOGS - Friends of George Street who have already been working with AUKO's Community Development manager, Maggie Hurley to research the chapel, its people and he environment and history surrounding it.
The second a meeting with HLF and the Design Team set up by architects to the project, Lloyd Evans Prichard, led by John Prichard.

FOGS, Age UK, TAKE 27 and Andrew.

Age UK, HLF, LEP & MORETON PARTNERSHIP