MineArchiveHeadon Quarry
| Location | Sparkwell, Devon — 50.3944, -3.9944 (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Commodity | China Clay |
| Type | Clay |
| Worked | Worked as part of the wider Hemerdon china clay works, active from around 1860; Headon's own engine house dates to around 1907.–Still worked as of recent decades by Sibelco. |
| Maximum depth | No reliable depth figure has yet been located -- an open surface pit rather than a shaft mine. |
| Operators | Sibelco |
| Status | Researched |
Overview
A china clay quarry at Sparkwell, on the south-western edge of Dartmoor, worked as part of the wider Hemerdon china clay works since around 1860 and still worked today by the international minerals group Sibelco alongside the larger Lee Moor pit and the former Hemerdon tungsten mine.
History
Headon Quarry forms part of the Hemerdon china clay works on the south-western edge of Dartmoor, close to the Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine and the much larger Lee Moor china clay pit, where kaolin has been worked for well over a century. An engine house built around 1907 survives at Headon (West) Quarry, along with two large masonry bases, a rocker beam, and a group of mica drags and settling tanks from the same period -- part of the infrastructure used to wash and separate the china clay from the surrounding waste granite ('stent'). The wider china clay industry on this edge of Dartmoor grew rapidly through the late 19th and early 20th centuries; by 1913 some 400 people were employed at Lee Moor alone. Headon and the neighbouring Hemerdon workings are today operated by Sibelco, an international minerals group, which also runs the larger Lee Moor pit nearby.
Geology
China clay (kaolin) forms here through the deep weathering of the Dartmoor granite; Headon sits on the same granite outcrop, alongside deposits of mica and feldspar, as the neighbouring Hemerdon tungsten-tin deposit.
Workings
An open surface pit; ore-processing infrastructure surviving from around 1907 includes an engine house, masonry bases, a rocker beam, mica drags and settling tanks used to wash and separate the clay.
What remains
Still an active quarry, operated by Sibelco; the surviving early-20th-century processing structures stand alongside continuing modern workings.
An engine house of around 1907, masonry bases, a rocker beam, and mica drags and settling tanks from the same period.
Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- An engine house of around 1907 survives at Headon (West) Quarry, together with two large masonry bases, a rocker beam, and a group of mica drags and settling tanks from the same period. 1
- Headon Quarry is operated today by Sibelco, an international minerals group which also runs the larger Lee Moor china clay pit and the former Hemerdon tungsten mine nearby. 1
Images
Sources
- (secondary) Kaolin (China Clay) from Headon Quarry, Sparkwell — Mindat
- (observational) Headon China Clay Works — Geograph Britain and Ireland (Derek Harper)
Record created: 30 August 2026 · Last researched: 30 August 2026