An attempt to sort fact from fiction.....
It appears to be generally accepted that Thomas Epsley introduced blasting with gunpowder into cornwall in 1689. The evidence for this is the Breage parish register:
"Thomas Epsley Senior of Chilchumpton pish of Bath and wills in Sumersitsheere he was the man that brought that rare invention of shootig the rocks which came here in June 1689 and he died at the ball and was buried at breag the 16 day of December in the yeare of our lord Christ .....1689".
So far so good, however things start to get murky - a quick web search revealls that Epsley was invited by the Godolphins to introduce the use of gunpowder into their mines, variously noted as Wheal Vor or Great Work (the front runners). Likewise Earl in "Cornish Mining" notes that Epsley was invited by the Godolophins. Unfortunately non of the sources I have looked at have credible reference (or any references in some cases).
Beyond the evidence in the Breage Parish register is there any other robust evidence regarding Epsley and the introduction of gunpowder?
Rick Stewart
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