Camborne

Once the capital of Cornwall’s main tin and copper mining area, Camborne and neighbouring Redruth at one time accounted for two-thirds of the world’s copper production. In the 1850s, there were well over 300 pits in the area employing some 50,000 workers. At the end of the 19th century the mines had to close when the discovery of extensive mineral deposits in the Americas, South Africa and Australia rendered the local industry no longer economically viable.

Before the mining boom, in the first half of the 19th century, Camborne was a small village surrounded by moorland, and the results of its rapid expansion at the time can still be seen in the numerous terraces of 18th and 19th century miners’ houses. Contrasting with these densely populated streets and alleyways, the Literary Institute, built in 1829 in granite, has a grand Tuscan style. A Town Trail now guides visitors around this historic former mining town, introducing the many interesting buildings that could easily be missed among the bustle of Camborne’s busy town centre. One such building is Camborne Library, which is a fine example of Cornish architecture. It was designed by well-known architect Sylvanus Trevail and opened for the first time in 1895. The St Martin & St Meriadocus Parish Church is another interesting building; inside the church itself is a fascinating sight. The ‘Levuit’ altar slab is a piece of grey elvan with a key-patterned border - historians believe it to be at least 1,000-years-old. Left of the Leviut stone is the memorial to Sir William Pendarves (1726); his coffin is said to have been made out of the first copper that was raised from the South Roskear mine.

Camborne is particularly associated with a number of great engineers and inventors who helped to transform the industry and economy of the county and made Cornish mining engineering famous throughout the world. It’s not surprising then, that Camborne was once home to the School of Mines (now at Penryn). In the town centre you can see Richard Trevithick’s (1771-1833) statue, standing prominently outside Camborne Library. In 1932, Prince George unveiled the famous piece of work in front of a crowd of thousands of proud Cornish residents. The statue depicts the inventor with a model of the Camborne locomotive under one arm and a pair of dividers in the other. Look at the panels on the statue, which lists Trevithick’s other famous inventions. Trevithick Cottage, at Penponds where he was born, is owned by the National Trust, and can be visited on Wednesday afternoons between April and October. Though a genius, Trevithick died penniless and was buried in an unmarked grave in Dartford, Kent. The town still honours its great son on the last Saturday in April each year, with the Trevithick Day Festival.