*Mine Pumping Engines in Eighteenth Century Cornwall* Rick Stewart, Sb,
176pp, £17.50
The published history of mine pumping in Cornwall is extensive but to date
has largely concentrated on the use of steam in the nineteenth century; the
story of the eighteenth century and its pioneers has received considerably
less attention. It is to this period that Rick Stewart, author of the
Trevithick Society’s best-selling history: Devon Great Consols: A Mine of
Mines, has turned his attention.
Mine pumping engines in eighteenth century Cornwall opens with a discussion
of adit drainage and the use of waterpower including the pioneering water
engines developed by the Coster family. The history of the Newcomen engine
in Cornwall from the first tentative steps in the 1710s to a point when
over “three score” atmospheric engines were in use in the county is covered
in detail. The work of Boulton and Watt in Cornwall is examined as is their
sometimes highly acrimonious relationship with Cornish mine adventurers.
The book’s closing chapters cover the work of Jonathan Hornblower and
Edward Bull both of whom challenged Boulton and Watt’s near monopoly on
engine construction. Appendices outline the numerous engineers who erected
engines in the county and a technical discussion of pumps and pump
technology during the eighteenth century.
This publication has, in part, been made possible by generous assistance
from the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site
Office."
Mike
www.moorebooks.co.uk
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