Over the past year, I haven’t really engaged with Cornish heritage. I’ve been to Tintagel, and I’ve read a lot about mining, geology and minerals for my course, but I haven’t actually been to any heritage sites, and it’s definitely been a mistake.
The benefits of visiting hertiage sites far outweigh just seeing photos and reading books about the history of an area. The atmosphere of mining heritage sites is so different to how it’s presented online or in booklets – whilst people see mining as a legacy of wealth and ambition in Cornwall, the reality is that mining is a livelihood, and bloody hard work. Seeing the extent to which this was expressed at The Heartlands was fascinating!
The Heartlands is situated in Redruth, is part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site and is of great historic significance, but the most interesting aspect of this site is its focus on the future.
Plans to redevelop the Pool area of West Cornwall were merged into the outlook for the mining engines at the Heartlands, which have been left largely untouched following the demise of the tin mining industry and final closure of the mines in 1998, after nearly 400 years of activity. Housing developments are being constructed around the site, and sustainable practices such as water recycling and biofuels are being used and developed around the area. This combination of history, heritage and development makes this site a confusing mix of both preparing for the future and trying to preserve the past.
From the Heartland’s website:
From 1700 to 1914, the metal mining industry played a vital role in transforming our way of life. It provided essential raw materials to feed the Industrial Revolution in Britain, and pioneered technological developments that helped shape the society we live in today. For example, Richard Trevithick’s advances in steam engine technology – originally motivated by the need to pump water out of mines – ultimately enabled the development of steam trains, changing the world forever through the mass movement of people and goods.
This and other new engineering solutions and inventions developed here were exported to mining regions across the world – including Australia, the Americasand South Africa – playing a key role in the growth of an international capitalist economy. There are at least 175 places, across six continents, where Cornish mine workers took their skills, technology and traditions. This is a truly global heritage to be supremely proud of.
Areas of the site have been redeveloped, such as Red River Cafe, a reconstructed workshop:
Robinson’s Engine
The Cornish pumping engine on site is the main attraction, evidence of the historic mechanisms involved in Cornish mining industry, and also suggestive of the danger and pollution involved in such a carbon-heavy, and heat-intensive method of energy production, which heavily relied on man power.
The engine operated between 1903 and 1955, and closed in 1996. Whilst it has retained a lot of its historic architecture and structure (including the pumping engine, built in 1854 and moved 4 times before arriving here in 1903), parts of the engine house have been reconstructed, such as the back wall on the top level – whilst the rest of the walls are granite, this wall is made of new wood, and stands out stark against the historic materials. Bose speakers echo the sounds of a steam, presenting a distinct lack of acknowledgement of the intense human labour involved in the operating of the engine. There is no evidence of the intense heat and air pollution within the room at its time of operation.
The legacy of the Cornish mining industry:
“Increasing competition through the expanding global mining industry reduced metal prices significantly during the latter half of the 19th century, forcing many local producers to close. Consequently, huge numbers of mine workers migrated to mines elsewhere in Britain and overseas; Cornwall alone is thought to have lost between 250,000 to 500,000 people from around 1815 to 1915, the period defined as ‘the Great Migration’. Today, there are an estimated six million people worldwide descended from migrant Cornish mine workers.”
Looking out of the window of the historic engine house shows just how stark the contrast between past, present and future is at The Heartlands, from inside the engine house you feel a sense of both local history and a more national construction of heritage, and looking outside you can see the site being renewed to be used as a source of both tourist and residential income, turning a site of history into a site of redevelopment.
History remains instead as an echo, a faint memoir to such an important part of Cornwall’s past. Both on a local and global level, The Heartlands presents the need to both remember the plight of miners, but turn sites of de-industrialisation not just into commemorative monuments, but into sites that locals and visitors can collectively make use of, and contribute to solutions to both the decline of Redruth, Cambourne and Poole, and to the nation-wide housing crisis.
Diaspora Gardens
In the 19th Century, thousands of pioneering Cornish people emigrated across the world taking with them their culture, mining skills and technologies.
The Diaspora (‘dispersion’) Gardens show influence of Cornish people on the places they visited. The plants are both Cornish plants that had been planted in these locations, and foreign plants brought back from travels, supported by the unique climate in South West England:
Each of the gardens is themed on continents and nations important to the story of Cornish migration, such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, North and South America.
Volunteer gardeners maintain the area as a place of peace and serenity, often used for rehabilitation.
Exhibition Centre
The last area I visited was the exhibition centre, and this stresses the personal history of miners, showing films, recordings and video clips based on the lives of miners and mining communities.
Geology is also explored at the centre, stressing the expertise needed to be involved in the mining industry, giving a more ellaborate understanding of the value of mining in Cornwall as being both important to its own economy, and to furthering understandings of geology globally.
I would definitely recommend visiting the Heartlands if you’re interested in Cornish Heritage, and taking a look at other related heritage sites. Learn more about the area you live in, and you’re guaranteed to feel more at home.