The Blue John Dragon
The Blue John Dragon is incredibly popular, particularly with children who visit.
It was created in 2014 by master craftsman Peter Sharp and took around 65 hours to complete – just over 8 “normal” working days. This includes the selection of stone and resining, a process which normally takes a couple of days.
90% of the dragon was cut using a large circular saw and 10% using a Dremel saw (electric hand tool), for grinding off.
Most of the dragon is made from Treak Cliff Blue vein, with odd bits of Twelve, Five and One veins.
The spines are white onyx and the eyes are marcasite.
Acrylic pins and glue have fixed it together and it sits a Quartz Cluster base.
John Turner can be seen demonstrating some of the techniques used in the gallery below.
Jay and the Dragon Comic Book
The Blue John dragon has proved so popular with children that we’ve produced an exclusive comic book, Jay and the Dragon.
It begins with a school trip and becomes a day to remember for ever… Take a dragon-fuelled ride into the origins of Treak Cliff, explore Georgian mines – but don’t get stuck in the past!
It’s illustrated by Mair Perkins who produced the animations on show in the museum and written by Georgia Litherland of the inHeritage team who helped us to redevelop the Visitor Centre and more.
Jay and the Dragon is available at the Treak Cliff Cavern gift shop and the Silver and Stone Shop in Castleton.
