A Place Called Chalk

 

No prizes for guessing how Chalk got its name of course.   Apparently, the flint in the soil was celebrated far and wide for use as gun flints.  As early as the 17^th century it was being worked in the Chalk area for flintlock firearms being exported to Europe.

I must admit this was totally new information as far as I am concerned because I had only thought in terms of the chalk we all know and love.  But apparently once the flint had been removed from the chalk it was dried then tested to see how weak it was and split into small flakes.   It was then was worked into appropriate sizes for musket, pistols and more besides.    Apparently the craft began to die out in the 18^th century.  

Furthermore, and perhaps more interestingly at least to me,  Charles Dickens apparently spent his honeymoon in a cottage at Chalk.