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As a follow up to my review of Clive Carter’s Holman book can I say the
book covers the installing of the Dorothea Beam Engine at Nantlle
(1904/5).  This is the most detailed account I personally have read of the
engine’s installation.  It appears to be based on the office diary of the
Dorothea Quarry Manager, though as I noted in my review Clive Carter has
been sparing on revealing his sources.  In the book there is also a whole
page picture of the front of the engine house taken in 1951.  I wonder if
this is a still from the Holman’s Film Unit coverage of the engine.

Much to my amazement Clive Carter mentions that a ‘W H Curnow’ was sent, by
Holman’s, to Nantlle in May 1905 to teach the local men how to drive the
engine.  This name ‘Curnow’ rang a bell with me and eventually I remembered
that a ‘W H Curnow’ was the author of an old and very good Tor Mark Press
book called, ‘Industrial Archaeology of Cornwall’.  This particular book
has no publishing date but my copy has the date 1969 written inside it by
its first owner.  If Mr Curnow was say, 25, when he went to Dorothea he
must have been well in his eighties when he wrote the Tor Mark book.  Does
anybody know any more about him?  For example, what he did he do in the
over 60 year gap between 1905 and 1969!

Russell Bennett