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Robert, In 1838 John Taylor, of Norfolk, read a paper 'On the use of wire rope in deep mines' to a meeting of the British Association in Newcastle upon Tyne. It had been prepared by Count Augustus Breuner, Oberberg Hauptman, of Hungary - all places a long way from Cornwall. In 1842, however, Taylor reported to the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society that 'some [wire ropes] are now in use in Cornwall'. From 1844 Stephen Eddy used one of Newall's ropes for hauling on an incline at the Burlington Slate Quarries, on the Furness peninsula. Eddy, who had worked for Taylor in Flintshire and later (1833-1861) at Grassington in Yorkshire, also used round wire ropes (as opposed to the flat ones favoured at many metal mines) extensively at Grassington. Ever conservative in their outlook, the Cornish did not embrace wire ropes enthusiastically and coal owners seem to have led the way in their use. There is nothing to suggest that any of these 'early' ropes were galvanised and perhaps instead of seeking the date when the process was invented, one should ask when it became a practical, industrial process. Galvanising a six inch nail in a test tube is one thing, but a 200 yard rope is another. Source: Gill, M.C. "Mechanisation at the Grassington Lead Mines" Industrial Archaeology Review, Vol.XI No.1 (Autumn 1988), pp.37-50. Mike Gill