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ALDERTON,
Coprolites were worked in the
Felixstowe and Bawdsey area from the mid-1840s as a
raw material in the manufacture of artificial manures. High in phosphate their
value was in their conversion using sulphuric acid into superphosphate
- the first artificial chemical manure. The earliest evidence of them been
worked in Alderton was not until 1858. The Lord of
the Manor, Lord Rendlesham, arranged to have them
raised from one of his farms tenanted by Mr. Hiller. His records reveal that
sixty two and a half tons were dug over the winter of that year with labour
costs of eighteen shillings (£0.90) a ton. They were worked from pits on his farms in other
parishes where, possibly in regards to the depth of the pits, costs ranged from
fifteen to forty shillings (£0.75 to £2.00) a ton. As well as bills from the
carpenters, Messrs. Fairhead and Read, presumably for
sheds, planks, tools and other work, there were bills for sieves, chains and
“coprolite skeps.” These would have been used to
carry the nodules. Total costs were £67.00 but the accounts did not detail how
much they were sold for nor for how long the work continued.
Manure manufacturers in
There is the likelihood other
farms in the parish were worked but evidence for this has not emerged. There
has been a suggestion that the vicar of Alderton
arranged to have the coprolites dug when the seam was found they extended onto
his glebe but documentation has not emerged to confirm the . (Conversation with
Colin Maycock,
Analysis of census data
revealed no indication that any locals described themselves as involved in the
diggings but the article below hints at why this was the case. Again whether
the diggings were continuous from the late 1850s is uncertain but the local
trade directory for 1885 included references to it being,
“a department of industry
which is now employing a good deal of capital as well as labour... There are
extensive beds of coprolites in
(White’s Directory, Suffolk, 1885)
How long the operation
continued for in Alderton is uncertain but most of
the