A Complete Guide to the Engine Houses of West Cornwall

Nowhere in the world has metal mining been of greater importance than in Cornwall, and it is in recognition of this heritage and the global influence of the pioneering technology developed here that the county’s mining landscape was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006 on a par with the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Wall of China. During the 19th century, Cornwall produced most of the world’s copper and tin, as well as substantial quantities of lead, silver, arsenic, tungsten, zinc, iron and uranium. What made this unparalleled productivity possible was the development, pioneered by Cornishman Richard Trevithick, of the Cornish beam engine capable of driving pumps that could keep the mines free of water. Although few of these great engines survive, many of the buildings in which they were once housed remain to this day, forming characteristic features of the Cornish landscape. This book introduces these remarkable engine houses by providing an illustrated guide to those in West Cornwall.