Spain
Visit the Museo del Suro de Palafrugell site to see how the cork industry progressed in the Catalonian area of Spain. If you are in this area of Spain, a guided tour around the museum is an interesting experience.
Portugal
In the town of Silves, near the Algarve holiday resorts, is the Museu de Cortica in the Fábrica do Inglês recreation centre. Click on “cultura” and then “museu” for a gallery of photos of the museum. Well worth a visit, as the centre provides much more than just the museum. This “English factory” was once the home of a large corkcutting enterprise set up by the Avern family – “Avern Sons & Barris”.
The image shows some hand-cutters working outside there. Notice that the cutters used a different method to handcut cork known as the “fixed knife” whereas the English method was the “free knife”. Knives were held still by being driven into a raised wooden edge around the table and the cork could then be turned against the blade.
