Long Sand, North Yorkshire

Old Alum quarry at Kettleness

Uploader's Comments

The headland of Kettle Ness has been transformed by many years of shale quarrying for alum. Here there was once an early chemical industry where vast quantities of alum shale were roasted and steeped in human urine for the extraction of alum crystal, a chemical used in the printing, paint and tanning industries as a mordant.

Uploaded to Geograph by Gordon Hatton on 19 October 2014

Creative Commons License Photo © Gordon Hatton, 19 October 2014. Licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons licence

Photo Navigator

BritishPlaceNames.uk is a Good Stuff website.