Ball Clay - History

History

The name "ball clay" is believed to derive from the time when the clay was mined by hand. It was cut into 15 to 17-kilogram cubes and during transport the corners of the cubes became rounded off leaving "balls".

The ceramic use of ball clays in Britain dates back to at least the Roman era. More recent trade began when a clay was needed to construct tobacco pipes in the 16th and 17th century. In 1771 Josiah Wedgwood signed a contract for 1400 tons a year of ball clay with Thomas Hyde of Purbeck, enabling him to fire thinner walled ceramics.

Read more about this topic:  Ball Clay

Famous quotes containing the word history:

    Humankind has understood history as a series of battles because, to this day, it regards conflict as the central facet of life.
    Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)

    The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.
    Karl Marx (1818–1883)

    No cause is left but the most ancient of all, the one, in fact, that from the beginning of our history has determined the very existence of politics, the cause of freedom versus tyranny.
    Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)