Lamorna Quarries

In the 1800s, the son of a large stonemasonry company in London travelled the length of the country searching for accessible granite quarry sites. He finally settled on Lamorna Cove and the quarry on the eastern side of the cove opened in 1849, with quarries on the other side of the cove and in the nearby hamlet of Sheffield also being worked in the late Victorian period, with the last finally closing in 1911. Granite was blasted and then chipped into shape by hand; the ringing noise from the hand-held chisels was reported as being incessant and deafening. The blocks were then loaded onto boats via a metal two-tier metal pier which extended into the sea on the east side of the cove.

Lamorna granite was used in many Victorian engineering projects including the Wolf Rock and Longships lighthouses, Dover Admiralty Pier and breakwaters of Portland and Alderney. A number of iconic parts of London such as The Embankment and New Scotland Yard are also built from it.