THE UK’s only china clay mining museum has received a £49,942 grant from the Archives Revealed partnership programme.

The funding will help Wheal Martyn Clay Works, near St Austell, commence work to catalogue its archive which documents the history of an industry which drove the Cornish economy for over 100 years.

This builds on years of relentless work by the China Clay History Society, associated with the museum, which has collected and cared for the collection over many years.

These records are the largest single collection of china clay companies’ administrative records in existence and includes records of English China Clays, along with records from smaller companies and associated industries.

The archive covers many subjects relating to china clay mining from transport, geology and engineering through to local culture and labour relations in records that include around 400 document boxes, 2,000 maps, 400 aerial photographs, 100,000 photographs, 200 films and several hundred engineering drawings.

These documents not only record the technical aspects of the industry, but also reveal histories of the wider communities that worked in, lived alongside and were supported by the china clay industry.

The funds will also be used to appoint an archivist to lead the cataloguing work, which will in turn enable the archive to be readily searched and more accessible to the public.

Working with volunteers and engagement colleagues at the museum, activities will also engage new and existing audiences through school workshops, work experience, micro-internships and ‘Show and Tell’ sessions.

Sarah Jane, collections manager at Wheal Martyn, said: “We are delighted to receive an Archives Revealed grant, unlocking the potential of this nationally important archive, which has been amassed and cared for by our dedicated China Clay History Society volunteers for over 20 years.”

Archives Revealed is the only grant programme in the UK dedicated to cataloguing and unlocking archival collections. The programme aims to help unlock collections across the UK and build the skills needed to care for them into the future.

It is funded by The National Archives, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Pilgrim Trust and the Wolfson Foundation.