During the 1800s this was a mining site initially for iron ore and subsequently for ochre, by local entrepreneur Richard Wolston,

 

Ochre (red and yellow earthy iron oxide and hydroxides), mixed with linseed oil and turpentine, formed the basis of a rust-proofing paint, invented in 1849 by John Rendall, a Torbay chemist. 

 

It was manufactured from 1858 to 1961 in Brixham by the Torbay Paint Company. This “Iron paint” was highly effective for rust-proofing cast iron used for bridges, railway tracks and many other purposes.

 

Not only was it widely used in Britain, such as at the Royal Arsenal, but also worldwide in places as distant as the bridge over the Zambezi River at Victoria Falls in Southern Africa. The preserving paint was much needed in an era when many types  of iron were manufactured. Brunel's bridge that crosses the river Tamar between Devon and Cornwasll at Saltash is one example.

Ochre was also used to preserve sails from the effects of salt water.

 

The characteristic colour of the “red sails” used on Brixham trawlers was the result of a preservation treatment known as “barking”. This involved brushing onto the sails, a mixture, created by boiling oak bark, beef tallow, wood tar and red or yellow ochre in large water filled cauldrons. There were two barking yards nearby at Overgang. Treated sails were laid out on nearly Furzeham Green to dry.

 

Eventually  supplies of both iron and ochre were depleted and the land was sold in 1927 to developers, building the examples of Edwardian houses to be found in Nelson Road and Trafalgar Terrace.