Downgatebatman

When I came to live in East Cornwall it was inevitable that I would become interested in geology and industrial archaeology. I am surrounded by the remains of all the mining history which made Cornwall famous throughout the world. Walking the “grass” over the surface of these long-abandoned works the evidence stretches far and wide. Not least among these disturbances is the miles of leats, channeling water off the moor or from the streams to provide power for hauling, winding, stamps, etc. Although steam was used, the fuel, coal, would have been shipped across the Bristol Channel to North coast ports. Our presently wooded valley sides would have been denuded of anything combustible early on. There was competition from the tanning industry and for timber. So water power was an integral part of the process. In the Tamar Valley, near Luckett, leats collect water from side valleys and channel it to wheels at several levels, up to 300ft. above the River. Water from the higher levels wou...