A project which aims to connect communities surrounding the Treffry Viaduct near St Austell with their unique industrial history has received a £8,105 grant from Great Western Railway.
Built between 1839 and 1842, Treffry Viaduct was designed to carry trucks and water across the Luxulyan Valley for local mining entrepreneur, Joseph Thomas Treffry. The first large civil engineering structure of its kind to be built in Cornwall and the only known viaduct in Britain to combine these two uses, it is now a Scheduled Monument and part of the Cornish Mining World Heritage site, as designated by UNESCO.
It is one of 16 historic sites cared for by the small, independent charity, Cornwall Heritage Trust, and is free to visit all year round. It can be reached via Luxulyan Valley train station, on the Atlantic Coast railway branch line between Par and Newquay, which runs directly underneath the monument.
The project will focus on uncovering hidden parts of the historic site with a week-long archaeological dig and a community day, where the public will be invited to see the work in action and chat with the excavation team. A series of free fun events, health and wellbeing activities and educational workshops will also be hosted as part of the project to help more local people engage with and benefit from the site.
Cornwall Heritage Trust CEO, Cathy Woolcock said: “We’re hugely grateful for this funding from Great Western Railway. We know what an incredible feeling it is to experience the past being uncovered, so it’s wonderful to be able to deliver this exciting programme of archaeological work and engagement activities to give local communities the chance to learn more about this nationally significant site and discover its story for themselves.”
GWR West Regional Growth Manager, David Whiteway, said: “The Customer and Community Fund is a fantastic opportunity for us to invest in projects that really make a difference to our customers and communities at a local level. We were delighted to support this particular initiative, which will help to connect local communities to one of the most historically-important industrial sites in Britain. The series of events planned by the Cornwall Heritage Trust promise to be absolutely captivating.”
