Sunday 26 February 2017

A Richly Yielding Piece of Ground

History of Fowey Consols Mine 1813 to 1867

By Jim Lewis

Fowey Consols and William West

William West's fame and fortune was built on the events at this rich mine. It was here that he built his famous Austen's engine, it was here that he installed his first man engine, and it was here that he expanded his skills out from steam engines. More importantly, Fowey Consols was where the fruitful relationship between West and the industrialist J.T. Treffry was born.

The story of William West, 'The Last Great Cornish Engineer', cannot be told without understanding the scene within which many of its most important events played out, and this is the book that tells the story of that mine.

The Book

A Richly Yielding Piece of Ground is the definitive publication on Fowey Consols. It is extremely well researched and Hillside publications have produced a crisp  styled book that makues researching a pleasure. The text is supported by a wealth of supplementary information held in tables and annexes. 

Unfortunately, the book's format does not do some if its map reproductions justice; tantalising glimpses of some amazing Victorian Cartography that defied my attempts to squint at nose length to extract information from.

Second hand prices for this book  are normally reasonable, and for anyone interested in Cornish Mining, Treffry (Austen), mid Cornwall history, and William West this is a book that should be on the shelf.

Book details


  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Cornish Hillside Publications
  • Published: 1997

Friday 10 February 2017

The King of Mid Cornwall- The Life of Joseph Thomas Treffry by John Keast


My research for  Luxuylan Valley talk gave me the reason I needed to fill in some gaps in the William West story by learning a bit more about J.T. Treffry ( Austen), an industrialists whose life intertwined with that of the last great Cornish Engineer. This is the definitive book on Treffry.


J.T. Treffry


"Joseph Thomas Treffry (1782-1850) has been aptly described as "a Captain of industry, master of his own economic fate, an assertive, individualist sole who pioneered the development of transportation to facilitate the exploration of his mines and marketing of the ores they produced"

His legacy includes the magnificent Treffry viaduct, Par docks, the Cornish mainline railway and the spectacular remains of 'Austen's 'engine house at Fowey Consols, a mine he developed into one of the largest copper producers in Cornwall.


The Book

This paperback of about 200 pages by John Keast was published in 1982 by Dyllansow, It is the definitive biography of the industrialist, and as such is a 'must' for anyone starting to study his life. Unfortunately the book has been out of print for some time, and its price can be ridiculously high. So it is well worth keeping an eye on the prices, and grab a copy when one turns up at a sensible price,  
 This is defiantly a book to grab if you spot a cheap copy in your local second hand bookshop.


The book on Amazon