A Brief History of Mining in Cornwall

Mining in Cornwall can be traced back to around 2100 BC. This was during the Bronze Age in England when the demand for copper and tin emerged. These metals were essential for producing bronze. This revolutionary material transformed ancient societies. Tin was one of the rarest metals used in antiquity, yet Cornwall offered a good source. By the Roman Conquest in 43 AD, Cornish tin was already traded internationally. The Roman Empire strengthened this growing trade network.

Early mining methods included streaming, which involved extracting metals from materials deposited in riverbeds. This method of using stream tin continued into at least the 15th century.

The demand for tin increased in the late 1600s. Advances were made in gunpowder and water power in mining shortly after. In 1689, Thomas Epsley introduced a new method to blast through granite rock using gunpowder. This allowed deeper mines to meet resource demands; copper is found deeper than tin. These advances helped copper mining take off in Cornwall in the first half of the 1700s.

Between the turn of the 18th century and the early 20th, metal mining in Cornwall underwent a transformative period that reshaped the way of life in the region. Mining in Cornwall also fuelled the booming Industrial Revolution. As demand grew, technology advanced to keep up. By the 1750s, steam power led to the introduction of Cornwall’s iconic engine houses. At the industry’s height, more than 200 engine houses operated across the area now recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Established in 2006, the site spans 20,000 hectares.

The mining industry faced many challenges over the centuries. Cornwall dominated the global market at the turn of the 19th century and peaked in the 1850s. Mining in Cornwall benefitted from rich mineral deposits and a lack of these resources elsewhere in the world. However, copper and tin were discovered elsewhere in the 19th century, and the market flooded in the mid-1800s. The market crashed in 1866, and copper mining vanished from Cornwall by the end of the century.

Tin mining limped on long after others had failed, but it wasn’t far behind, with significant global crashes in the 1890s, 1920s, 1950s and 1980s. Especially after the Second World War, fluctuations in tin prices and production created a volatile market. South Crofty, the last tin mine in the UK, finally closed its doors in 1998.

Cornish mining history is not without its share of tragedies. The East Wheal Rose Mine disaster of 1846, where flooding claimed the lives of 39 men and boys, remains etched in memory. Similarly, in 1919, the Levant Mine’s man engine malfunction resulted in the tragic deaths of 31 miners.

Mining was an incredibly challenging and perilous occupation, often involving entire families. With a high mortality rate, life expectancies averaged between 30 and 40 years.

The mining history in Cornwall is a testament to its people’s perseverance, ingenuity, and resilience. While the mines may have closed, the spirit of mining lives on. Efforts to revive the industry carry the torch into the future. The remarkable story of mining in Cornwall continues to captivate and inspire future generations.