PRINCE OF WALES ENGINE HOUSE The Story Of The Restoration
There was a public meeting held at the
Rural District Council offices at Camelford on 11th December 1972 with a view to
restoring the engine house in the Sanding Road. The principle speaker was Mr.
J.P.Stenlehofen of the Institute of Cornish Studies and a member of the
Trevithick Society. Officers elected by the public present were: Peter Knight
(Chairman), Derek Westwell, John Lugg, Reg Climo, and Mavis Lugg as secretary.
It was decided to proceed with the project
of restoring the Prince of Wales Engine House and to ask for a grant to help
with funding. The Manpower Services Committee approved the restoration and
granted the sum of £7,973 for that purpose. The project employed five
unemployed men in the building industry and completed the job in eight months. There
were many gifts of slates and other building materials and the scaffolding was
loaned for the period by Reg Climo.
The Engine House is
actually on Duchy of Cornwall land but they were not interested in restoring the
building although eventually they granted permission for the Prince of Wales
Engine House Society to do so. The Engine House is now a listed building and the
North Cornwall District Council are responsible for the maintenance of it.
The committee devoted a lot of time on the project and had great satisfaction on
completion.
The building is the
only Engine House in this part of Cornwall that housed a Beam Engine. It hauled
the stone from the pit and also pumped water from the Quarry to prevent
flooding. When the beam Engine was installed in July 1871 it cost a massive
£1,590–4s–0d.
