Nobel's Explosive Works

An explosives works was built on Cligga Head near Perranporth to service the Cornish mining industry. Built by British and Colonial Explosives Company, it was established in 1889 and production began in 1891. It was purchased by Alfred Nobel - inventor of dynamite - in 1892.

Women would walk from Perranporth to work 10-12 hour shifts in the factory. They wore specially-made clothes and shoes to reduce the risk of creating a spark. The factory buildings were also surrounded by earth banks in the hope they would contain a blast in the event of an explosion, to avoid a chain reaction.

However by 1905, increased competition and reduced demand for explosives rendered the operation uneconomical and it was mothballed. When war broke out in 1915, production resumed but once the war was over, the plant was scrapped and the land was used as part of Perranporth Airfield during the Second World War. A wooden stool from the factory, which was sold off when it closed in 1918, is now in the Perranzabuloe museum in Perranporth.