Hayle is one of the ten parts of the Cornwall and West Devon mining landscape which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2006. The nomination recognised the significant ING regeneration plans being prepared at that time.
The values of the World Heritage Site primarily concerns itself with Copperhouse and the activities of the Cornish Copper Company, and similarly with Harvey & Co., their wharves and the Foundry buildings.
Hayle's importance relates to its role in assisting the mining industry and through its global reputation for steam engine manufacturing.
Much of the industrial heritage of Hayle Harbour has been demolished in the years after the Second World War. For example the historic lime kilns used in the smelting of iron ore which were situated at Carnsew Quay along with a row of historic cottages were demolished in the 1960s. That particular quay being accessed via the present Jewson site and being probably one of the oldest recorded parts of the harbour. South Quay itself was built later by Henry Harvey in 1819 and is a listed building.
However the Hayle story is as much about social and cultural history as manufacturing. The fascinating and deadly rivalry of the two companies - Harveys and the Cornish Copper Company led to open hostility in the town and split the town in half, with many families never setting foot outside their Company's boundary.
The Cornish Copper Company was originally founded in 1756 and developed a quay and canal through what is now Copperhouse Pool. They established a tin and copper smelting works close to the Angarrack River. Harveys also operated a copper smelting plant at their site close to Penpol Creek. However the escalating cost of coal from South Wales made this work unviable and both firms opened more profitable iron foundries and heavy engineering businesses.
John Harvey the local blacksmith began his extraordinary rise to entrepreneurial fame in 1779 by first servicing the mining industry, then through his foundry, casting everything from lamp standards to colossal stationary steam engines. Harvey was an exceptional businessman and knew talent when he saw it, forging relationships with individuals of great vision – none more so than Richard Trevithick who married into the Harvey family.
The early Hayle to Redruth Railway of 1837 supported both companies. Visitors to Hayle can easily retrace the route of the early line which ran from Foundry Square alongside Penpol Terrace to the North side of Copperhouse Pool and beyond to Redruth.
By 1875 Harvey &Co. were masters of all they surveyed, they had bought out their great rivals the Cornish Copper Company and were known the world over for making giant steam engines but within 30 years the Foundry would be closed and the company would be a shadow of its former self.
The writing was on the wall after the first World War, Carnsew Dock and South Quay were now used to break up ships with most of the scrap metal being sent to South Wales. Sluicing of the Harbour carried on until 1972 but by 1977 commercial traffic had completely ceased. Harvey's became a part of United Builders Merchants in 1969. The hammer fell on the Harbour in 1983 when the Port was auctioned in 10 lots and was acquired by a Tekoa.
