13th May 2009, 23:56
Looking around the site of the breaking of ships at Hayle 1920-1949, I see in the shore various bricks; a number of those on the surface (what lies beneath I yet do not know) are Graigddu bricks, similar to those used on GWR locomotive fire boxes (locomotive brick arches). Because these bricks are no where near a possible locomotive site, could those bricks have been used in a WWI destroyer?
18th May 2009, 07:18
Treeve, Babcock were fitting water tube boilers to naval vessels as early as 1901whereas many merchant ships including Titanic were still fitting Scotch Marine type wet back shell boilers but in each case they were still hand fired and would have been fitted with some form of ignition arch brickwork.
If there is no rail locomotive scrap around these bricks could well be ex an old Naval ship.
18th May 2009, 10:46
Thank you - The story is that Thomas W Ward, when they took over Lelant Quay in 1920, used the hull of one of the WWI destroyers that was delivered for scrapping as a sea wall, to prevent erosion of the cliff. The hull is still in position, but is suffering badly due to the dumping of old concrete light posts. I am trying to identify the hull, through porthole patterns, height of hull, length of hull, distance of the drop from the prow section from stem, etc ...
I think it may possibly be a later date - 1922? The bricks may not be that particular vessel, but are certain to be from one of the vessels that were scrapped here, following what you are saying. Thank you, Raymond