Cement raw materials including digging for mud

Walter Tye:

There was no more familiar sight on the Deben, fifty to sixty years ago, than that of the old mud barge, the Kingfisher, leaving the quay. Old Jack Stebbings was the skipper and Ben Page, brother of the Newbourn giant, was his mate. Their favourite place for getting the mud was opposite Whitehall Farm where, so said Jack, “The mud had very little grit in it, and it dug up just like pork lard.” During their twenty-five years of mud­shovelling, they cleared over ten acres. Going out with the ebb tide, they waited, till the bottom was visible, then one loading fore and the other aft, they shovelled up twenty-five tons of mud before the tide returned, taking from three to four hours. Not bad going! They certainly deserved a chunk of bread and cheese and a drink of home-brewed, while, they waited for the “Muddy” to float. Incidentally Jack Stebbings, quiet on water, could be a terror on land and was well known in the local inns for his pugilistic ability.

Dylan Moore (Cementkilns.co.uk):