An artist’s impression of Fore Street in the 19th century 19th the in Street Fore of impression artist’s An working equipment including the stamps which crushed the ore. the crushed which stamps the including equipment working Watercolour by W Gibbons, 1871 (Private Collection) (Private 1871 Gibbons, W by Watercolour engine for raising ore and men, pumping water from the mine or for or mine the from water pumping men, and ore raising for engine reminder of the scale of mining activity. Each was built to contain a steam a contain to built was Each activity. mining of scale the of reminder local population increased. The engine houses still visible today are a are today visible still houses engine The increased. population local copper. Copper mining unlike tin mining was labour intensive and the and intensive labour was mining tin unlike mining Copper copper. Britain and at its peak, in the 1850s, produced two-thirds of the world’s the of two-thirds produced 1850s, the in peak, its at and Britain status to that of capital of the largest and richest metal mining area in area mining metal richest and largest the of capital of that to status machinery. The deep mining of copper after the 1730s raised Redruth’s raised 1730s the after copper of mining deep The machinery. make brass, a material necessary for the technological developments in developments technological the for necessary material a brass, make owning gentry. The Industrial Revolution created a need for copper to copper for need a created Revolution Industrial The gentry. owning control of the mining industry passed into the hands of the wealthy land- wealthy the of hands the into passed industry mining the of control From Tudor times, as more costly underground working developed, the developed, working underground costly more as times, Tudor From = red). = ford, = ( name its ruth rhyd from their workings discoloured the water turning it red, giving the town the giving red, it turning water the discoloured workings their from were working along the river at the bottom of Fore Street. The iron oxide iron The Street. Fore of bottom the at river the along working were lodes and tin was obtained from alluvial deposits. By 1300 tin streamers tin 1300 By deposits. alluvial from obtained was tin and lodes extracted locally from the Bronze Age. Copper was worked from shallow from worked was Copper Age. Bronze the from locally extracted enclosing Neolithic and Iron Age settlements. Minerals were probably were Minerals settlements. Age Iron and Neolithic enclosing On Carn Brea are the remains of Cornwall’s largest hillfort (46 acres), (46 hillfort largest Cornwall’s of remains the are Brea Carn On weathering. later ages the granite was lifted by earth movements and exposed to exposed and movements earth by lifted was granite the ages later heritage and fascinating history make Redruth a special Cornish town. Cornish special a Redruth make history fascinating and heritage working conditions and wage-cuts. and conditions working granite carried minerals into the rock’s fissures before it finally set. In set. finally it before fissures rock’s the into minerals carried granite in a blaze of music and colour on Murdoch Day. The rich architectural rich The Day. Murdoch on colour and music of blaze a in butter, and protests against protests and butter, material generated at great depth below the surface. Vapours from the from Vapours surface. the below depth great at generated material Rugby Ground. In June each year the town celebrates its proud heritage proud its celebrates town the year each June In Ground. Rugby food prices like bread and bread like prices food and Carn Marth. Granite is an igneous rock formed from molten from formed rock igneous an is Granite Marth. Carn and many successful family businesses and it remains home to the County the to home remains it and businesses family successful many riots against increases in basic in increases against riots Redruth is overlooked by the granite heights of Carn Brea, Carnmenellis Brea, Carn of heights granite the by overlooked is Redruth Redruth continued to flourish as a vibrant market town with a great a with town market vibrant a as flourish to continued Redruth tradition. There were occasional were There tradition. creating a strong lasting musical lasting strong a creating unparalleled skills of hard-rock mining and their culture. their and mining hard-rock of skills unparalleled in hard times as well as good and good as well as times hard in two-thirds of Cornish miners had emigrated taking with them their them with taking emigrated had miners Cornish of two-thirds popular social centres – assisting – centres social popular Redruth Station Redruth elsewhere including the Americas, Australia and Africa. By the 1880s over 1880s the By Africa. and Australia Americas, the including elsewhere chapels and churches became churches and chapels from mining fields mining from hope, comfort and inspiration to many. Methodism flourished and the and flourished Methodism many. to inspiration and comfort hope, Potato Court, Fore Street Fore Court, Potato growing competition growing John Wesley preached many times at Redruth and Gwennap Pit, giving Pit, Gwennap and Redruth at times many preached Wesley John In addition, there was there addition, In vice were common. Early Methodists found much support in Redruth. in support much found Methodists Early common. were vice provided fewer jobs. fewer provided Most mining families were desperately poor. Drunkenness, brawling and brawling Drunkenness, poor. desperately were families mining Most lasted longer but longer lasted to decline. Tin mining Tin decline. to children started work from the age of eight. of age the from work started children peaked and was soon was and peaked known as bal maidens, worked on the surface handling the ore, and ore, the handling surface the on worked maidens, bal as known production had production life expectancy of a miner was less than forty years of age. Women, age. of years forty than less was miner a of expectancy life Cornwall’s copper Cornwall’s and dangerous. Accidents and deaths frequently occurred. The average The occurred. frequently deaths and Accidents dangerous. and the Malayan Tin Dredging Company in Station Road Station in Company Dredging Tin Malayan the By the 1860s, the By Despite the fortunes quickly made, working conditions were primitive were conditions working made, quickly fortunes the Despite The former offices of Abbott & Wickett and Wickett & Abbott of offices former The H I S T O R Y O F R E D R U T H T U R D E R F O Y R O T S I H E N T E R T A I N M E N T R E D R U T H T O W N T R A I L FURTHER INFORMATION By the 19th century, travelling theatres and musical troupes If you are interested in the history of Redruth, more information can be regularly performed in a variety of buildings and on open spaces found in the following publications, available at most local bookshops or in and around Redruth. With the opening of the Druid’s Hall the Cornish Studies Library: in 1859, a large hall became available for all kinds of performances. Besides theatre and music, there was a huge Redruth & its People by Michael Tangye, published M Tangye (1988); interest in science and audiences marvelled at the latest Annals of an Ancient Cornish Town – Redruth by Frank Michell, inventions shown to them. The forerunner of the modern published Dyllansow Truran (1985); cinema was a slowly revolving rotunda attached to the inside of Redruth Town Guide published by a canvas, its still-life scenes of The Great American Panorama and Redruth Town Council (01209) 210038. The Diorama of New Zealand gave prospective emigrants a ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS preview of what awaited them. In 1878, not long after its Text & Research: R E D R U T H T O W N T R A I L invention by Edison, the phonograph enthralled large crowds Joan Biscoe of The Redruth Story, Murdoch House; here, and after Pathé Frères latest cinematograph machines Moira Tangye of Cornish-American Connection, Murdoch House; showed a selection of cine films, Redruth opened its first Terry Knight of the Cornish Studies Library; purpose-built cinema at Foundry Row, nicknamed The Egg Pit. Michael Tangye of the Redruth Old Cornwall Society. Watercolour illustrations by Roy Billingham Some Victorian fun was shocking and strange. The Watercolour of Old Fore Street Private Collection entertainment circuit brought exotic menageries, live American Cover portrait of William Murdoch by J Graham-Gilbert Indians and science machines to Redruth, as well as freak Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery shows with midgets, Siamese twins, fat ladies and skeletal girls. Cover photograph of Murdoch ‘Flyer’ & Murdoch House John Watton Assisted by Redruth Town Council & Mineral Tramways Redruth was traditionally the host to numerous fairs, including Designed by Serpentine Design Printed by ?? Redruth Whitsun Fair, Redruth Feast, Goose Fair and the first The Redruth Heritage Economic Regeneration Scheme (HERS) Royal Cornwall Shows. More recently Murdoch Day has been offers grants to property owners and leaseholders for the improvement of added to celebrate Redruth’s associations with William historic buildings in Redruth town centre using local materials and Murdoch and his inventions of piped gas for lighting, a process building techniques. More than 30 buildings benefited from the scheme for brewing clear beer, as well as his contribution to steam between 2004 and 2008, including the Abbott & Wickett & the Malayan technology. Tin Dredging Company buildings (No 2); the London Inn (No 3); the old Warehouse on Alma Place (No 5) and the Regal Cinema (No 7.) This leaflet has been updated and reprinted with funding from the Redruth HERS.