Lambshouse and Gull Point Quarry

Overview

Two slate quarries north and south of Lambshouse Cove, worked latterly as one site by Harveys of Hayle, with thirty-eight people on the books in 1896, three horse whims and a spoil tip cascading down the cliff into the sea.

History

Lambshouse and Gull Point are two quarries cut into the cliffs on either side of Lambshouse Cove, between Tintagel and Trebarwith, just south of Long Grass Quarry and just north of Dria. Lambshouse probably began at the northern cliffs of the cove and Gull Point at the southern, and they were latterly worked together as one site. Quarrying along this coast may go back to the seventeenth century. In 1896 Lambshouse employed thirty-eight people, thirty-three of them indoors and five out, and the site was then worked by Harveys of Hayle; it was still in work in 1907. Gull Point was in use when the Ordnance Survey mapped it in 1884 but had been abandoned by 1907. The two together were given up by about the turn of the twentieth century. The cove was largely made by the quarrymen: the near-vertical cliffs around it are almost entirely artificial, and the marks of their drills can still be read in the rock. Slate came up the cliff in buckets on ropes worked by horse or donkey whims, and a box cave at sea level yielded a darker green slate reckoned better than the rest.

Geology

Upper Devonian and Lower Carboniferous slates of a greyish-green colour used mostly for roofing, with a darker green and better slate from a box cave at sea level.

Workings

The quarries cut a deep D shape into the cliffs around the cove, whose near-vertical faces are almost entirely artificial and still show the marks of the drills. Stone was raised in buckets on ropes by three horse or donkey whims.

Closure

Gull Point was in use on the 1884 Ordnance Survey map but abandoned by 1907; Lambshouse was still at work in 1907, and the pair were given up about the turn of the century.

What remains

Disused. The workings are among the best preserved of the Tintagel coastal quarries.

A cluster of three horse or donkey whims, the best preserved of them — which served Gull Point — still with its mechanism pit and cable tunnels intact; a giant spoil tip cascading down the cliff to the sea; and the building just north of it, now Tintagel youth hostel, which housed the quarry's office, powerhouse and smithy.

Related mines

• Dria Quarry — The next quarry south along the coast.
• Lanterdan Quarry — Another of the coastal slate quarries on this stretch.
• Long Grass Quarry — The next quarry north along the coast; the youth hostel building between them served Lambshouse.
• Tintagel Slate Quarries — Both quarries are part of the coastal group covered by the Tintagel record.

Nearby mines

• Long Grass Quarry — 0.2 km N
• Gillow Slate Quarry — 0.7 km N
• Lanterdan Quarry — 1.0 km S
• Tintagel Slate Quarries — 1.0 km S
• Bowithick Quarry — 1.1 km S

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

Recorded claims

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

• Lambshouse and Gull Point are two quarries at Lambshouse Cove, Lambshouse probably at the north of the cove and Gull Point at the south, latterly worked jointly as one site. ¹
• In 1896 Lambshouse Quarry employed thirty-eight people, thirty-three indoors and five outdoors, and was operated by Harveys of Hayle. ¹
• Gull Point was still in use on the 1884 Ordnance Survey map but had been abandoned by 1907, while Lambshouse was still working in 1907. ¹
• The near-vertical cliffs around Lambshouse Cove are almost entirely artificial and the marks of the quarrymen's drills can be seen in the rock. ¹
• Three horse or donkey whims raised stone in buckets on ropes; the best preserved, which served Gull Point, keeps its mechanism pit and cable tunnels. ¹
• A box cave at sea level produced a darker green slate reckoned to be of higher quality. ¹
• A round platform survives near the top of Gull Point Quarry, opposite the youth hostel, where a blindfolded donkey walked in a circle to work the winding gear. ²
• The building now Tintagel youth hostel, just north of the quarry's spoil tip, originally housed the office, powerhouse and smithy of Lambshouse Quarry. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Lambshouse and Gull Point Quarry — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Tintagel Slate Quarries, Cornwall — Cornwall Calling

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