Authenticity

The Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape fulfils all the criteria for authenticity in relation to World Heritage Sites set out in the declaration of the conference organised by UNESCO, ICCROM and ICOMOS at Nara, Japan in 1994.

The Areas that make up the nominated Site collectively represent one aspect of an important stage in human development, namely the industrialisation process of the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries with their associated technical, scientific, cultural and landscape changes. It is a landscape which continues to evolve. It contains exceptional and varied evidence of past activities aswell as the interaction of people with the natural world, in particular with the metalliferous resources of the Cornubian Orefield. Efforts to conserve elements within the site began more than seventy years ago.
 

A Preservation Committee first emerged in 1935. From this evolved the Cornish Engines Preservation Society which, in 1943, formally advocated the preservation of a number of Cornish beam engines as monuments to Britain’s heritage in power and technology. This organisation is now the Trevithick Society which works closely with the National Trust on engine restoration. The success of this partnership was demonstrated recently by the successful re-steaming of the Levant Mine winding engine. These beam engines were not designed to be portable but were traditionally moved to new sites as part of their ongoing working life. The survival in situ of four mine engines is entirely authentic in this respect. As far as the mining landscape is concerned, a major effort has been directed towards the conservation of the built mining heritage during the past fifteen years. A further programme of work is planned for the next five years. A high priority is placed on retaining the authenticity of the structures. Best practices have been adhered to when conserving engine houses and their associated mineshafts which have often survived relatively unaltered. Reconstruction has been limited to the minimum required to achieve structural integrity and public safety. Not one of the key features of the Cornish Mining Landscape is a replica.
 

The nominated Site includes Camborne-Redruth that has, at times, when viewed as a single urban centre, contained one of the largest populations in Cornwall. The overall pattern and structure of this historic ‘new town’ survives remarkably well. Some of the smaller scale authentic elements have been damaged as most buildings have been refurbished. Much of this is retrievable, however, and will constitute an issue within the Management Plan. Some of the nearby mining landscapes have experienced new development. Many buildings have been adapted for new uses and remain in occupation. The nominated Site is exceptionally well documented. It has the longest and most continuous recorded history of any metal mining region. It is the subject of diverse research, extensive publication of Scientific and Learned Society Proceedings and Transactions, aerial mapping, measured survey, photography, written and oral records. A very extensive and still growing reference literature is based around the mines of the Cornubian Orefield. This high level of information and knowledge provides a database that has allowed the landscape to be tested for authenticity and integrity and to be monitored effectively so as to inform conservation strategies.