Broken clay pipes in a window

Image: © Robin Stott Taken: 23 Aug 2012

Following Sir Walter Raleigh's import of tobacco in the reign of Elizabeth I the smoking habit (euphemism for addiction) spread. Tobacco pipes came to be manufactured everywhere. The fine white-firing clays of Devon and Dorset were especially suitable for pipe-making and were originally known as pipe clays. Not until the 1680s were they called potters' clays as manufacturers such as Wedgwood used them for tiles and domestic china articles: cream-ware. Another name, ball clay, derives from the appearance of the material, originally cut as cubes from the deposit, after much handling had rounded the corners. The Bovey Basin north of Newton Abbot has long been one of the world's most important sources of this high-quality versatile clay. Information kindly supplied by Teign Heritage: the Teignmouth and Shaldon Museum http://www.teignheritage.org.uk

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