The Cornwall and West Devon
Mining Landscape: bid for World Heritage Site status
The successful bid
for UNESCO World Heritage Site status, which took
place between 2001 and
2006, now places Cornwall and west Devon's historic
mining landscapes on a par with such international treasures as
Stonehenge, the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China (click
here to link to the current list of World Heritage Sites). World
Heritage Site status was formally granted on 13th July 2006 at the
30th Session of the World Heritage Committee in Vilnius, Lithuania.
World Heritage Site status has been conferred in recognition of the remarkable advances in hard rock mining and engineering technologies
made during the 18th and 19th centuries, which transformed the landscape, economy
and society of the region, placing it at the forefront of the Industrial
Revolution. These technologies quickly spread to every corner of the
globe as the international migration of Cornwall and west Devon's highly
skilled workforce forged extensive cultural links between mining
communities worldwide. Distinctive physical reminders of this important past persist within
the landscape - imposing engine houses and extensive relict mine sites,
industrial harbours and tramways, foundry and fusework buildings, mining
towns and villages, hundreds of non-conformist chapels, the glorious
houses and gardens of the mineral lords, the modest smallholdings of the
ordinary mineworkers, the technical schools, miners' institutes and
geological collections established for the aspiring student.
As well as recognising the unique role of Cornish Mining in shaping
modern industrial society, World Heritage Site status will bring
tangible socio-economic benefits to the region. It will draw down
conservation funding, be a major asset to international tourism
marketing and assist the regeneration of former mining communities.
World Heritage Site Bid:
project description
The Cornish Mining World Heritage Site Bid Project was undertaken to
identify sites which collectively demonstrate the international
importance and impact of the Cornish mining industry from the 18th
to early 20th centuries and to build up a case for the inscription of
key areas within Cornwall and west Devon as a World Heritage Site.
The bid was unusual in that it was based on a landscape and cultural
approach. It was therefore necessary to examine not only mine sites, but
sites and structures which relate to important changes which took place
in the transport networks, infrastructure, economy and settlement of
Cornwall and west Devon during this period, and which can be shown to be
intimately linked to developments within the mining industry.
A small team within the Historic Environment Service of the Planning,
Transportation and Estates Department of Cornwall County Council
undertook the research necessary to assemble the final, complex,
multi-area bid. The following represent the main strands of the Bid
Project research:
-
The creation of GIS
(Geographic Information System) mapping of all documented mining and
related activity within the Project area
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The production of
site histories for all Cornish mines, foundries and associated sites
within the proposed Bid Areas
-
With the assistance
of specialist technical panels, the creation of statements of
significance concerning:
-
The development of
mining technologies in
Cornwall
during the period 1770-1900
-
The national and
international role of Cornish inventors and inventions
-
The development and
role of Non-Conformism within the mining communities of Cornwall and
west Devon
-
The development and
growth of new forms of settlement, new social structures and
population profiles
-
The history of
Cornish migration during the 19th century, the spread of
Cornish mining technology and the dissemination of the Cornish model
for hard rock mining throughout the world
-
Cornwall's
international significance in the history of hard rock mining
It was initially suggested that seven
historically-important mining areas would be proposed for inscription as
a single site, reflecting those former mining districts where the
physical evidence is known to be best-preserved, i.e. St. Just in
Penwith, the Godolphin-Tregonning area, Camborne-Redruth, St. Day-Gwennap,
St. Agnes, Caradon Hill and the Tamar Valley. It was recognised,
however, that concentration solely on these areas ran the risk of
excluding other potentially important sites or structures. As a result,
a Search Area was defined which included the whole of Cornwall and a
substantial area of west Devon. Within this area, a phase of general
mapping and data collection of key site types and features was
undertaken to ensure that this was not the case and to define those
areas within which detailed mapping of the final Bid areas would be
undertaken.
The following represent the site and feature types digitally plotted
from historic maps and plans, aerial photographs or existing
archaeological and geotechnical surveys during the phase of general
mapping:
-
Land historically
directly affected by mining activity, including the sites of shafts
and adits, areas depicted as mine spoil dumps, engine houses and
associated structures, mine dressing floors, tin tailings works, mine
service buildings, mine water supply features, including ponds and
leats, and mine transport systems including roadways, trackways and
tramways
-
Mining-related
structures and sites, including mining exchanges, schools of mines,
foundries, factories, fuse works, explosives works, boiler works,
ports and harbours, railways and tramways with their associated
infrastructure
-
The extent of
industrial settlements and their infrastructure, including chapels,
new churches, preaching pits, schools and Sunday schools, and the
houses and estates of mine owners, industrialists and investors
-
Given the dramatic
effects which population changes had on the Cornish rural landscape,
the extent of new farmland (and in particular of smallholdings) was
also mapped
-
Other historically or
technologically significant structures - for instance the birthplaces
or places of residence of inventors, engineers and entrepreneurs
A further stage of detailed mapping was undertaken once the Bid Areas
were established, covering the following within their boundaries:
-
The detailed mapping
of mine site components
-
Historic and present
landscape classification
-
Analysis of
settlement morphology and principal components
-
Site ownership
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Existing and proposed
site protection
-
Existing and
suggested interpretation and presentation sites
The final stage of the Bid Project was to write and assemble the Bid
Nomination Document and Management Plan which were required to form the
basis of the formal bid to UNESCO.
The first of these documents defines the Bid Areas,
indicates the ways in which the proposed Site meets a number of the
UNESCO criteria for World Heritage Sites and sets out the history and
importance of the Area. This document included a summary of the history
of hard rock mining in Cornwall and west Devon from antiquity, through
the period of the Industrial Revolution to the present day; it also
identified the roles of key inventors, engineers and entrepreneurs in
the development of mining and allied technologies, and in making
Cornwall the world leader in this field during the first half of the
19th century. The document also described the social, cultural and
landscape changes which took place within Cornwall and west Devon during
this period, and identified the extent and importance of the surviving
legacy.
The second document sets out the framework needed to
ensure the appropriate management of the World Heritage Site, both in
the form of overarching protocols covering conservation issues, access,
interpretation and presentation, but also site by site prioritised
management recommendations.
To view the World Heritage Site Nomination Document and
Management Plan, please click
here to visit our Downloads page.
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