CORNWALL'S TIN COAST

To anyone whose idea of England extends to rolling hills and quaint villages, the far west Cornwall coast might feel like the ends of the earth. The landscape is, in places, as rough and ragged as the hands of the workers who have toiled here for several thousand years – for this is mining country.

Metalliferous mining is thought to have begun in Cornwall around 2,000 BC. It started with copper, then tin and later arsenic, lead and silver. The geology was such that granite and slate collided, resulting in metallic mineral rich deposits – in fact, some say our tin resources were one of the reasons the Romans invaded Britain in AD 43, as the ore was used to forge bronze.

By the early 18th century, shafts were being built and rapid expansion was underway. The introduction of new technology, including steam pumps and “man engines” to ferry miners underground, hastened production and Cornwall boasted as many as 2,000 tin mines. These metals increasingly served