World Heritage Site
Cornwall and Devon Mining Landscape
In 2006, the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape were designated a World
Heritage Site by UNESCO. Much of this landscape was transformed in the 18th and early 19th
centuries as a result of the rapid growth of pioneering copper and tin mining.
Two-thirds of world's copper
Its deep underground mines, engine houses, foundries, new towns, smallholdings, ports and
harbours, and their ancillary industries together reflect prolific innovation which, in the
early 19th century, enabled the region to produce two-thirds of the
world's copper supply.
Industrial Revolution
The substantial remains are a testimony to the contribution Cornwall and West Devon made to the
Industrial Revolution in the rest of Britain and to the fundamental influence the area had on
the mining world at large. Cornish technology embodied in engines,
engine houses and mining equipment was exported around the
world. Cornwall and West Devon were the heartland from which mining technology rapidly spread.
Footnote
The above text has been adapted from Brief Description/Cornwall and West
Devon Mining Landscape on the World Heritage Centre UNESCO website.
|