Ian Tyler PB 285pp

A History of the Gypsum and Anhydrite Mining in Cumbria, 125 photographs, plans and illustrations From the little "pits and puddles" of the early alabaster workings in the lovely vale of Eden in the east of Cumbria, sprang one of the largest and most important industries in the world, British Gypsum. It has it's roots deep in Cumbrian soil, and from the humble rubbing stones of yesteryear to the vast plasterboard mills of today, Ian Tyler recounts the history of the industry in this, his sixth book The characters live again as we hear of old George Railton, building in Carlisle in the 17th Century, the wealthy Thomlinsons of beautiful Englethwaite Hall whose extravagant living bankrupted them and the old women who scraped around for the gypsum to crush it and bake it into rubbing stones in their ovens. We read of the giant Druid stones of Long Meg and her Sisters, guarding their ground above the mine which took it's name from them and of the old steam locomotives which played their part in the story too, replacing the horse-drawn carts, and no less lovingly tended than their four legged predecessors. Later came the giants of the industry, the Hunters and the Trimbles who brought the company forward into modern times, building new plant and creating jobs in the post-war years. On the West Coast, we find Billy the Hennit at Port Hamilton, and the tragic Clark family, doomed Keepers of the Light on St Bees cliffs. Then came the mighty Marchon Company, mining anhydrite for their products above the old Whitehaven coal seams. GYPSUM IN CUMBRIA describes an industry which still thrives around the world but which began modestly, with hard working men swinging picks and shovelling rock into carts.