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| World Heritage: Celebrating Cornwall's international impact |
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Page 1 of 2 In July 2006, 19,800 hectares across 10 discrete areas in Cornwall and Devon, stretching from St Just in Penwith to Tavistock and the Tamar Valley, were declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee. Officially titled the The Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape, it is popularly known as the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site, and represents formal recognition that during the 18th and 19th centuries our hard rock metalliferous mining industry made an outstanding contribution to the development of human society - equivalent to that of the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids or the Taj Mahal. These 10 areas are where you can see the best surviving examples of the distinctive landscape formed as a result of our extensive, world-changing mining industry. The iconic Cornish engine house is just one element within this landscape – equally important are the foundries and factories that produced the mining equipment exported across the globe, the miner’s cottages which housed the workforce, often in new industrial settlements which developed to serve the industry, and the great houses and gardens of the mineral lords and entrepreneurs, paid for with the profits. Whilst conservation of this internationally significant asset was one of the prime motivations for pursuing World Heritage status, the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site Bid Partnership which steered the application had an agenda which placed protection in the context of an evolving, living landscape. Made up of the nine local authorities in the relevant areas, major charitable and private owners, special interest groups and regeneration agencies, the partnership approved an ambitious management plan which articulated the need to respect the cultural legacy of the mining industry whilst rebuilding Cornwall and west Devon’s economic fortunes. Doing so will maintain the distinctive character of the area – an asset upon which so much our existing economy depends. |
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