Dria Quarry

Overview

A small Victorian slate quarry opened out of a natural cove on the north Cornish coast between Bagalow Quarry and Penhallic Point, with no dressing floor of its own and a cove now closed by landslips.

History

Dria Quarry was cut back from Dria Cove, a natural inlet in the cliffs between Bagalow Quarry and Penhallic Point, north of Trebarwith Strand. It was worked in Victorian times and is shown still working on the Ordnance Survey map of the 1880s, but it had closed by the early 1900s. It was one of nine slate quarries along the coast path between Tintagel church and Trebarwith Strand, a line of workings that began in the early fourteenth century and ended just before the Second World War; the slate went out from Tintagel Haven and later from boats moored along Penhallic Point. There is no processing area above Dria, so the dressing was probably done at Bagalow next door, and the 1880s map shows only a small platform here, which suggests the lifting gear may have been shared as well. The name may be a form of tre, a farmstead, pointing to a settlement once on the cliffs above the cove; a low bank near the bench on Penhallic Point is thought to be a medieval field boundary.

Geology

The Upper Devonian and Lower Carboniferous slates of the Tintagel coast, worked here from the sides of a natural cove.

Workings

The quarry was opened out of Dria Cove, with a small platform above it on the 1880s map and no dressing floor of its own.

Closure

The quarry was still at work when the Ordnance Survey mapped it in the 1880s and had closed by the early 1900s.

What remains

Disused. Dria Cove can no longer be reached because of landslips on the cliffs between Dria and Bagalow.

A small platform above the cove is the main feature recorded; the quarry has no dressing floor or processing area of its own.

Related mines

• Bagalow Quarry — The next quarry along the coast, which probably did Dria's dressing and may have shared its lifting gear.
• Lambshouse and Gull Point Quarry — The next quarry south along the coast.
• Lanterdan Quarry — Another of the nine quarries on the Tintagel to Trebarwith coast.
• Tintagel Slate Quarries — Dria is one of the coastal slate quarries covered by the Tintagel record.

Nearby mines

• Bagalow Quarry — 0.3 km S
• Bowithick Quarry — 0.5 km N
• Lanterdan Quarry — 0.6 km N
• Tintagel Slate Quarries — 0.6 km N
• Lambshouse and Gull Point Quarry — 1.6 km N

Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• There is no processing area above the quarry, so its dressing was probably shared with Bagalow Quarry, and the small platform shown on the 1880s map suggests the lifting may have been shared too. (uncertain) ¹
• The name may be a form of tre, a farmstead, perhaps from a settlement once on the cliffs near the cove. (uncertain) ¹

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Dria Quarry was worked in Victorian times, is shown still working on the 1880s Ordnance Survey map and had closed by the early 1900s. ¹
• The quarry was developed from a natural cove, Dria Cove, between Bagalow Quarry and Penhallic Point. ^2,1
• There is no processing area above the quarry, so its dressing was probably shared with Bagalow Quarry, and the small platform shown on the 1880s map suggests the lifting may have been shared too. (uncertain) ¹
• Dria is one of nine slate quarries along the coast path between Tintagel church and Trebarwith Strand, where quarrying began in the early fourteenth century and ended just before the Second World War. ³
• Slate from these quarries was exported from Tintagel Haven and later from boats moored along Penhallic Point. ^2,3
• The name may be a form of tre, a farmstead, perhaps from a settlement once on the cliffs near the cove. (uncertain) ¹
• Dria Cove can no longer be reached because of landslips on the cliffs between Dria and Bagalow. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Dria Quarry — iWalk Cornwall
2. (secondary) Tintagel Slate Quarries, Cornwall — Cornwall Calling
3. (secondary) Tintagel Coastal Quarries — iWalk Cornwall

Record created: 23 September 2026 · Last researched: 24 September 2026