Delabole
Encyclopedia
Delabole is a large village in north Cornwall
, England
, UK
. It is situated approximately two miles (3 km) west of Camelford
.
The village of Delabole came into existence in the 20th century; it is named after the Delabole Quarry. There were three hamlets: Pengelly, Medrose and Rockhead. When the railway arrived, the station was named Delabole after the quarry, and the three hamlets merged in order to keep the name consistent and prevent confusion.
Delabole is said to be the third highest village in Cornwall. Treligga military airfield
and HMS Vulture II, an aerial bombing and gunnery range, were situated west of Delabole.
, as do the names of the hamlets Pengelly
and Medrose which comprise today's village. Delabole comes from the Cornish Delyowboll. The name delyow is the historic name for a local stream, and the word boll could come from two places. It could be a soft-mutation of the Cornish word poll (pool), however, it could be an incorrect mutation of toll (hole), which should mutate to doll. Therefore the meaning could be extracted as 'pool on the delyow stream' or 'pit by the delyow stream'. As the name was originally designated to the quarry, either name would make sense, given the collection of water at the bottom of the quarry or the crater created.
The names Pengelly and Medrose also come from the Cornish language. The original Cornish name of Pengelly is Penn-an-gelli. This construction uses the base words penn (head or end) and kelli (grove). As with many words in Cornish, when a preposition is added the initial letter is mutated. Therefore kelli would become an gelli (the grove), giving the meaning 'end of the grove'. The name Medrose is also a descriptive name coming from medhros meaning 'middle of the heath'.
. Businesses include Delabole Quarry
and Delabole wind farm
, the first commercial wind farm in the UK. The Gaia Energy Centre opened in 2001 on the windfarm site as a tourist attraction. It cost £5m and was intended to attract 150,000 visitors a year. It closed after three years of opening when it only achieved one tenth of the required visitor numbers. Most of the funding for the centre came from Europe, with £300,000 grants from Objective One and SWDRA, the South West Regional Development Agency.
The Delabole slate quarry
is one of the largest of its type in England and has run continuously since the 15th century making it the oldest working slate quarry in England. In the reign of Elizabeth I the five quarries on the site of the now larger pit assumed considerable importance delivering slate to Brittany
and the Netherlands
. In 1841 the five quarries combined to make the Old Delabole Slate Quarry.
The Old Delabole Slate Quarry Ltd was liquidated
in 1977 by the company's bankers. It was run under receivership by Rio Tinto Zinc until 1999 when a local management team bought it out. The quarry is now owned by a local family. In 1910, 500 people were employed at the quarry but this has since reduced to 80, the decline due to the availability of cheaper roofing materials e.g. Welsh slate or prefabricated tiles.
Delabole Quarry was once the deepest man-made pit in the world, but this is no longer the case due to massive open cast mines and quarries in America and Australia.
The quarry was connected to a narrow gauge railway worked by steam and diesel locomotives to assist in moving the slate: this is thought to have begun before 1834 and continued in use until after 1987. The North Cornwall Railway
provided a freight service from Delabole between 1893 and 1964 (passenger services ended in 1966).
was built ca. 1880 (architects Hine & Odgers) (the parish church is at St Teath). The Methodist Chapel is about 20 years earlier and has a curious 'Italianate' porch. There is a primary school (secondary education is provided at Sir James Smith's School
, Camelford
about three miles away).
and until the 1950s there was also a cinema: the Regal.
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is situated approximately two miles (3 km) west of Camelford
Camelford
Camelford is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately ten miles north of Bodmin and is governed by Camelford Town Council....
.
The village of Delabole came into existence in the 20th century; it is named after the Delabole Quarry. There were three hamlets: Pengelly, Medrose and Rockhead. When the railway arrived, the station was named Delabole after the quarry, and the three hamlets merged in order to keep the name consistent and prevent confusion.
Delabole is said to be the third highest village in Cornwall. Treligga military airfield
HMS Vulture II (Treligga Aerodrome)
HMS Vulture II was an aerial bombing and gunnery range at Treligga, 2 km west of Delabole, Cornwall, United Kingdom . The station was a satellite of the Fleet Air Arm base RNAS St Merryn near Padstow, Cornwall. Although HMS Vulture II had landing strips they were however rarely used...
and HMS Vulture II, an aerial bombing and gunnery range, were situated west of Delabole.
Origin of the Name
The name Delabole derives from the Cornish languageCornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
, as do the names of the hamlets Pengelly
Pengelly
Pengelly is a hamlet in Cornwall, United Kingdom, part of the village of Delabole.Once a settlement separate from the neighbouring hamlets of Medrose and Rockhead, the three were merged with the introduction of the railway and the new village adopted the name Delabole.- References :Philip's...
and Medrose which comprise today's village. Delabole comes from the Cornish Delyowboll. The name delyow is the historic name for a local stream, and the word boll could come from two places. It could be a soft-mutation of the Cornish word poll (pool), however, it could be an incorrect mutation of toll (hole), which should mutate to doll. Therefore the meaning could be extracted as 'pool on the delyow stream' or 'pit by the delyow stream'. As the name was originally designated to the quarry, either name would make sense, given the collection of water at the bottom of the quarry or the crater created.
The names Pengelly and Medrose also come from the Cornish language. The original Cornish name of Pengelly is Penn-an-gelli. This construction uses the base words penn (head or end) and kelli (grove). As with many words in Cornish, when a preposition is added the initial letter is mutated. Therefore kelli would become an gelli (the grove), giving the meaning 'end of the grove'. The name Medrose is also a descriptive name coming from medhros meaning 'middle of the heath'.
Economy
Delabole was the birth place of the Cornwall Air AmbulanceCornwall Air Ambulance
The Cornwall Air Ambulance is a dedicated helicopter emergency service for the English county of Cornwall. The helicopter flies approximately 1000 missions per annum, having flown over 20,000 missions. When introduced on 1 April 1987, Cornwall's Air ambulance became the first dedicated Helicopter...
. Businesses include Delabole Quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
and Delabole wind farm
Delabole wind farm
The Delabole wind farm is a wind farm located in Delabole, Cornwall, England. It was the first commercial wind farm constructed in the UK.The farm was first proposed in 1989, and was opened in 1991...
, the first commercial wind farm in the UK. The Gaia Energy Centre opened in 2001 on the windfarm site as a tourist attraction. It cost £5m and was intended to attract 150,000 visitors a year. It closed after three years of opening when it only achieved one tenth of the required visitor numbers. Most of the funding for the centre came from Europe, with £300,000 grants from Objective One and SWDRA, the South West Regional Development Agency.
Delabole quarry
Slate industry
The slate industry is the industry related to the extraction and processing of slate. Slate is either quarried from a slate quarry or reached by tunneling in a slate mine. Common uses for slate include as a roofing material, a flooring material, gravestones and memorial tablets, and for electrical...
is one of the largest of its type in England and has run continuously since the 15th century making it the oldest working slate quarry in England. In the reign of Elizabeth I the five quarries on the site of the now larger pit assumed considerable importance delivering slate to Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. In 1841 the five quarries combined to make the Old Delabole Slate Quarry.
The Old Delabole Slate Quarry Ltd was liquidated
Liquidation
In law, liquidation is the process by which a company is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed. Liquidation is also sometimes referred to as winding-up or dissolution, although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation...
in 1977 by the company's bankers. It was run under receivership by Rio Tinto Zinc until 1999 when a local management team bought it out. The quarry is now owned by a local family. In 1910, 500 people were employed at the quarry but this has since reduced to 80, the decline due to the availability of cheaper roofing materials e.g. Welsh slate or prefabricated tiles.
Delabole Quarry was once the deepest man-made pit in the world, but this is no longer the case due to massive open cast mines and quarries in America and Australia.
The quarry was connected to a narrow gauge railway worked by steam and diesel locomotives to assist in moving the slate: this is thought to have begun before 1834 and continued in use until after 1987. The North Cornwall Railway
North Cornwall Railway
The North Cornwall Railway was a railway line running from Halwill in Devon to Padstow in Cornwall via Launceston, Camelford and Wadebridge, a distance of 49 miles 67 chains. Opened in the last decade of the nineteenth century, it was part of a drive by the London and South Western Railway to...
provided a freight service from Delabole between 1893 and 1964 (passenger services ended in 1966).
Religion and education
The Anglican Church of St JohnJohn the Apostle
John the Apostle, John the Apostle, John the Apostle, (Aramaic Yoħanna, (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles...
was built ca. 1880 (architects Hine & Odgers) (the parish church is at St Teath). The Methodist Chapel is about 20 years earlier and has a curious 'Italianate' porch. There is a primary school (secondary education is provided at Sir James Smith's School
Sir James Smith's School
Sir James Smith's School is a small humanities college in the town of Camelford, North Cornwall, United Kingdom, providing education at secondary level. The headteacher is Jon Lawrence, who succeeded Angela Perlmutter in January 2007.-History:...
, Camelford
Camelford
Camelford is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately ten miles north of Bodmin and is governed by Camelford Town Council....
about three miles away).
Culture and community
Delabole is renowned for its annual carnival, one of the biggest in Cornwall. It was revived in 2001 after a break of nearly forty years. The week of events takes place in July each year. The village has a King George V Playing FieldKing George's Fields
A King George's Field is a public open space in the United Kingdom dedicated to the memory of King George V ....
and until the 1950s there was also a cinema: the Regal.
Further reading
- Catherine Lorigan, Delabole: the history of the Slate Quarry and the making of the village community. Pengelly Press, 2007