Tuckingmill, Camborne, Cornwall
Tuckingmill
| |
|---|---|
  Tuckingmill | |
| Tuckingmill shown within Cornwall | |
| OS grid reference | SW658405 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | TR14 |
| Dialling code | 01209 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Cornwall |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Tuckingmill (Cornish: Talgarrek, meaning hill-brow of a rock) is a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.
The parish of Tuckingmill was constituted in 1845 being carved out of a western section of the parish of Illogan and an eastern section of Camborne parish. It covers 1,300 acres (5.3 km2). Tucking Mill (Cornish: Melyn Droghya, from the verb troghya) was the Cornish term for a fulling mill which was where homespun cloth was dipped, cleansed and dressed. There is a mention of a fulling mill in this region as early as 1250.
Geography
Tuckingmill is a post-industrial village on the A3047, between the former mining towns of Camborne and Redruth. Camborne-Redruth is the largest urban area in Cornwall, and is on the northern side of the Carn Brea/Carnmenellis granite upland which slopes northwards to the coast. Cutting north-south is the deeply cut valley of the Red River which has been exploited for minerals and other industrial processes for centuries. Settlements between Camborne and Reduth were on the original country road which was turnpiked in 1839, later becoming the A30 and now the A3047.[1][2]
History
Evidence of prehistoric settlement is from the name of nearby Roskear which refers to a fortified site, probably an Iron Age round (farmstead) and there are records of mills in the Red River valley in the 13th-century.[1]
Mining was probably centuries old, with tin-streaming in the valley, when examples of deep-mined copper were recorded from the late 17th-century. Cook's Kitchen is recorded by 1690, as is Dolcoath, and on a 1748 map, mines are shown at Dolcoath and South Roskear. A copper foundry at Entral was started by Sampson Swaine and other gentlemen of Camborne in 1754 and Long Close, Wheal Crofty and Wheal Susan were mines operating in what is now the built-up area of Tuckingmill. The parish also contained, what is said to be the greatest of all Cornish mines, Dolcoath and also the South Crofty Mine which was at one time the deepest in the world as well as being the last tin mine in Europe, only closing in 1998.[1]
William Bickford took out a patent in 1831 for the safety fuse; a device for igniting gunpowder that saved many lives. With his son-in-law George Smith, he established a factory and in its first year produced 45 miles (72 km) of fuse. Bickford died just before the factory opened.[3]
Religion
The parish church of All Saints was built in 1843–44 in the Norman Revival style with the north aisle having a heavy granite arcade. The architect was John Hayward of Exeter. The Norman font came from the chapel at Menadarva.[4] The church was renovated in 1878–79 by Piers St Aubyn with the raising and tiling of the chancel, removing the tower gallery, replacing the seats and repairing the walls and windows. A new organ costing £120 was purchased from Hele and Sons of Plymouth. The church was re-opened on Thursday, 20 February 1879.[5]
Economy and development
The area consists of terraced miners' cottages and rather barren industrialisation. With the demise of this economic activity, many thousands of jobs were lost and Tuckingmill became a bleak post-industrialisation urban area. However, in recent years regeneration has picked up and improvements are expected over the next few years. Kerrier Council's bid for £23 million from the BIG Lottery Fund was successful - and announced in November 2007. The grant will be used to re-build the Pool area between Redruth and Camborne (Pool sits at the top of East Hill, immediately next to Tuckingmill).
A Cornish property development firm called Porthia acquired a huge site at the centre of Tuckingmill. The site includes the old Fuseworks building and brownfield land previously mined by South Crofty. It was their intention to transform this site into "New Tuckingmill" – a development of over 400 new homes as well as commercial space and community facilities. Porthia's environmental proposal failed to satisfy Kerrier Council, so it stalled.
Notable residents
William Bickford, inventor of the safety fuse, lived and worked in Tuckingmill.
Ben Salfield (b.1971), lutenist, author, composer and promoter, lives in Tuckingmill.
References
- 1 2 3 Cahill, Nick J (2002). Cornwall Industrial Settlements Initiative. Tuckingmill and Roskear (Camborne-Redruth Area). Truro: Cornwall County Council.
- ↑ OS Explorer Map 104. Redruth & St Agnes (Map) (B2 ed.). Southampton: Ordnance Survey. 2013. ISBN 978 0 319 24034 2.
- ↑ "William Bickford, inventor of the safety fuse". Cornwall Calling. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ↑ Pevsner, N (1970) Cornwall; 2nd ed., revised by E Radcliffe. Harmondsworth: Penguin; p. 236
- ↑ "Roskear Church". The Cornishman (33). 27 February 1879. p. 5.
External links
Media related to Tuckingmill at Wikimedia Commons