|
Purbeck is rich in Minerals
and they have been supplied across the world. They have changed the way
we live. The Museum is being built to tell that story. Ball clay has
been regarded for many years as a mineral of national importance because
of its special qualities and rare occurrence. The first aim of
the museum is to create a working Ball Clay Mining Museum complex. This
will include displays showing how Ball Clay has made its mark on the
Industrial revolution, paid for the education of the first person to
send a radio message and who went on to invent the spark plug for
internal combustion engine. It will show how Ball Clay changed the
eating hygiene of the nation, and added to Wedgwood's success. It will
show a link between Guy's Hospital, St Paul's Cathedral, Bank of Ireland
and the Ball
Clay extraction at Norden. From Corfe to Wareham, the extraction Ball
Clay has been been the main employment since the mid 18th Century. The
Museum will record the living conditions of the workers, and show the
families of the Clay Merchants. The Museum will record that 3 narrow
gauge clay lines were in Purbeck before the Swanage Railway branch was
built and will relay track along the old formations at Norden as well as
rebuilding some of the buildings of the Norden Complex. The visitor will
be able to read about, see and hear the Mining activities now relegated
to the history books.
|