The Trevithick Society is a registered charity named for

Richard Trevithick Richard Trevithick (13 April 1771 – 22 April 1833) was a British inventor and mining engineer. The son of a mining captain, and born in the mining heartland of Cornwall, Trevithick was immersed in mining and engineering from an early age. He ...

, a Cornish engineer who contributed to the use of high pressure

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

s for transportation and mining applications.

History

In 1935 the Cornish Engines Preservation Committee (CEPC) was formed to rescue the Levant winding engine which was deemed outdated and scheduled to be scrapped. CEPC were forerunners in the field of

Industrial Archaeology Industrial archaeology (IA) is the systematic study of material evidence associated with the Industry (manufacturing), industrial past. This evidence, collectively referred to as industrial heritage, includes buildings, machinery, artifacts, si ...

. They acquired another winding engine and two pumping engines. CEPC merged with the newly formed Cornish Waterwheel Preservation Society in 1971 and named the organisation the Trevithick Society after Richard Trevithick.

Chapel Coombe

At Chapel Coombe a set of old Cornish stamps has been re-erected by the Trevithick Society.

Dolcoath pumping engine

Dolcoath was the largest and deepest mine in Cornwall, with its principal shaft, known as New Sump Shaft, eventually reaching a depth of below the surface. The pumping engine that worked this shaft dated from 1815; a piece of the

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

bob from this engine is preserved in the collection of the Trevithick Society.

Membership

Although founded in Cornwall, members are located across England and the world. An annual celebration is held to celebrate Richard Trevithick's life in Cornwall at

Camborne Camborne (from Cornish language, Cornish ''Cambron'', "crooked hill") is a town in Cornwall, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 20,845. The northern edge of the parish includes a section of the South West Coast Path, Hell's Mouth, C ...

. Membership is offered to students, individuals and corporations domestically and internationally. Members receive the quarterly newsletter. All members, except students who receive a discounted membership fee, receive the annual journal. Members may attend Cornish Engines (free), Geevor Tin Mine (free), lectures, activities and the Society's annual meeting.''Membership.''
Trevithick Society. Retrieved 22 September 2012.

Journal of the Trevithick Society

The organisation produces the ''Journal of the Trevithick Society'' annually and a newsletter quarterly. The purpose of the journal is: "For the study of history of industry and technology in Cornwall."''Trevithick Society.''
Cornish Miner – Books on Cornwall. Retrieved 22 September 2012.

Publications

* Climax Rock Drill Company, Trevithick Society.
Climax Illustrated
'. Trevithick Society; 2006. . * John Corin.
Levant: A Champion Cornish Mine
'. Trevithick Society; 1992. . * Richard John Cunnack; Justin Brooke; Trevithick Society.
The Cunnack Manuscript: from notes taken between 1845 and 1907
'. Trevithick Society; October 1993. . * Bryan Earl.
Cornish Explosives: A History from 1900 to 1976
'. Trevithick Society; 2006. . * Thomas Roberts Harris.
Sir Goldsworthy Gurney, 1793–1875
'. Trevithick Society : Federation of Old Cornwall Societies; 1975. . * Peter Joseph.
Hard Graft: Botallack Mine in the Twentieth Century
'. Trevithick Society; 2010. . * Peter Joseph.
Mining Accidents in the St Just District, 1831–1914
'. Trevithick Society; 1 January 1999. . * Frank Michell; Trevithick Society.
Michell: A Family of Cornish Engineers 1740–1910
'. Trevithick Society; June 1984 * L. P. S. Piper.
A short history of the Camborne School of Mines
'. Trevithick Society; 1975 * Nigel Tangye; Trevithick Society; Institute of Cornish Studies.
Cornwall newspapers, 18th & 19th century: gazetteer & finding list
'. Trevithick Society; 1 December 1980 * Trevithick Society.
Cornish Pumping Engines
'. Trevithick Society; 1985. . * Trevithick Society.
Cornish Pumping Engines and Rotative Beam Engines: Containing a Reprint of a Book Published in 1953 by the Cornish Engines Preservation Society
'. Trevithick Society; 1998. . * John Hubert Trounson.
Cornish Engines & the Men who Handled Them
'. Trevithick Society; 1 January 1985. . * J. H. Trounson; Trevithick Society.
Mining in Cornwall 1850–1960
'. Dyllansow Truran; 1989. .

Gallery

File:Woolf's Engine House at Condurrow - geograph.org.uk - 176746.jpg, Woolf's Engine House at Condurrow. More information on this building can be found at the Trevithick Society. File:Replica of trevithick's "Puffing Devil" - geograph.org.uk - 1424283.jpg, Replica of Trevithick's "Puffing Devil", built by the Trevithick Society and regularly demonstrated in Cornwall.

References

External links

Official site: Trevithick Society

Former Trevithick Society website
Industrial archaeology Archaeological organizations Cornish mining organisations Charities based in Cornwall

Society A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...