|
Home |
Tin mining had employed relatively few people, but copper mining was
lahour intensive. The population of Redruth and the nearby villages
greatly increased. Despite this rapid expansion, and the vast fortunes
produced by mines often within only one or two years, conditions in
the mines were dreadful. Accidents were frequent, and there were many
deaths. Life was cheap. The average life-span of the miners was under
forty. Women worked on the surface handling the ore as bal maidens,
and children started work as young as eight. Most mining families were
desperately poor.
The long decline, brought about by international competition, began
in the l860s. By l880 two-thirds of Cornish miners had emigrated to
the mines of the Americas, Australasia and South Africa. Tin mining
lasted some 30 years longer but provided fewer jobs. Redruth and its
surrounding district gave to the world, not only a vital material, but
also a legacy of engineering innovation through the work of men such
as Watt, Murdoch and Trevithick. And there is a rich and varied architectural
heritage to enjoy today, making Redruth, with its memories of the miners'
hard lives, a special Cornish town.
 Redruth in the mid-19th century, viewed from the west Map | The Early Days | About Redruth Town Trail |
THE
BOOM YEARS 
Riots
against wage cuts working conditions and redundancies were common drunkenness
brawling and vice endemic. In this atmosphere similar to that of the
Klondyke frontier towns the mining communities were a fertile recruiting
ground for early Methodists and Chartist groups. John Wesley preached
several timcs at Redruth, giving hope and comfort to many.
