WITH just days to go until the Man Engine — the colossal mining behemoth — arrives in Tavistock plans are in place for a spectacular welcome and celebrating the town’s rich mining heritage.

The UK’s largest ever mechanical puppet, an epic ten metre plus mining Man Engine, will arrive in Tavistock on July 25 at 10am as part of its historic journey across the entire length of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site (WHS), for more than two weeks of major celebrations.

To mark the tenth anniversary of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape being added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site Partnership has commissioned an exciting summer-long set of inspirational events and experiential happenings entitled Tinth.

The key event is the two week awe-inspiring journey of the Man Engine — a monumental moving, steaming ‘beast’, which will make its way from Tavistock to the far western tip of Cornwall, between July 25 and August 6.

The largest mechanical puppet ever made in Britain, this major feat of Cornish engineering will be the same height as a double decker bus when in its ‘crawling’ mode, transforming to almost three times that height when stood up. The part man, part machine will be accompanied by animated theatrical shows with music, theatre and storytelling, created by a team of more than a dozen ‘miners’ and ‘bal-maidens’ who will animate the giant throughout his travels.

In a grand finale, The Man Engine will be coaxed to the height of almost three double decker buses in response to the Cornish Language chant, the ‘Haka Balweyth’ and the singing of the ‘Hard Rock Miner’ anthem. This is because the Man Engine will only be encouraged to fully stand up if enough people sing!

As the crowd watch, the presence of the colossus will fill the space. There will be movement beneath the cloth, sounds of metal on metal and wisps of steam will escape.

The drape will be pulled away and as the smoke clears they will see the crew of miners at work inside the belly of the behemoth. The Man Engine will be revealed: a mechanical giant on hands and knees.

The Man Engine will inch haltingly towards the crowd, but as the lights fade, the noise dies away and his head droops.

A single voice will lead the crowd through the haunting lament for Cornish and West Devon mining. Then, softly the chant will begin and start to build. Moment by moment life will return to the Man Engine, inch-by-inch he will rise upward. The combined voices will swell to push him higher and higher until he rears way up over their heads.

Tavistock is unlike any other town within the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site.

The dramatic remodelling of much of the medieval town by the 7th Duke of Bedford during the mid-19th century was achieved with profits from his mines, whilst a substantial proportion of the mining workforce was housed in model cottages built within the town, at the mines and across his estate.

Golden Tree Productions, the creators of the Man Engine, has been building the behemoth at a top secret location and has purposefully only revealed scant details of how the Man Engine will work. Its imposing appearance will only be seen by the world, as it awakens for the first time in Tavistock on Monday, July 25.

The Man Engine is the brainchild of Will Coleman, founder and director of Golden Tree Productions. He said: ‘Kernow, our horn-shaped granite kingdom of Cornwall, is a tiny 0.002 per cent of the planet’s surface, yet beneath our rocky shores can be found samples of more than 90 per cent of all mineral species ever identified. Millions of years in the making, the geology of Cornwall is unique. This unbelievable geological treasure (copper, tin, arsenic, lead, zinc, silver, etc) has powered the Cornish people’s endeavour through 4,000 years of mining history: innovation, triumph and heartbreak.

‘The creation and build of the Man Engine at our top secret location has taken us through a whole set of deep challenges, but we are now adding the final touches as our colossal beast prepares to take centre stage, and make this timely pilgrimage of more than 100 miles throughout our homeland.’

John Taylor, chairman of Tavistock Townscape Heritage Partnership, said: ‘We can’t wait to see this colossal Man Engine make his way from Bedford Square, Tavistock.  We have a proud and significant mining history here in Tavistock and we are delighted that the Man Engine will be launched here.

‘The whole experience, from the local choir rehearsals, to the organisation of the event itself has got everyone thinking and realising the part that their local ancestors, or their ancestral neighbours, played in the local mining story, but also in shaping the world way beyond our doorstep here. We’re very much looking forward to welcoming the Man Engine and his team into town and to joining the full Tinth celebrations for the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site.’

Cllr Julian German, chairman of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site Partnership, said: ‘Tinth is bringing something for everyone — schoolchildren, the general public, the wider community, visitors to the WHS and also to the Cornish and West Devon mining diaspora across the globe. Our mining ancestors were international entre-preneurs, who propelled mining into a new industrial era, on a worldwide scale. It wasn’t an easy journey for anyone then. It is a difficult history, however, this year, Tinth is bringing alive the past, showing its meaning and significance in the present — and for the future.

‘Special projects, like the towering Man Engine, show we still share this same gritty ambition and ingenuity with our ancestors. Alongside our other Tinth events, the Man Engine will quite literally elevate Cornish and West Devon Mining on a massive scale, highlighting its distinctiveness and importance through scale, rich stories and spectacle. 

‘We will be taking people right across the peninsula on a series of adventures and experiences that help them to learn, understand and ultimately feel great about their own and their community’s heritage.’

To find out exactly what is happening when the Man Engine arrives in Tavistock and at each 20 stops, visit www.themanengine.org.uk