TAVISTOCK’S Bedford Square was full of smoke and good cheer on Monday morning as the Man Engine, the UK’s largest ever mechanised puppet, was unveiled as part of the tenth anniversary celebrations of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site.

Part of the ‘Tinth’ (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 provided the initial funding for the two week journey of the Man Engine -  a monumental moving, smoking, metal-worked, mining 12 metre ‘behemoth’.

He ‘awoke’ for the first time today in Bedford Square and over the course of a 50 minute ceremony ‘transformed’ up into the sky, to the height of almost three double decker buses. 

Hundreds of people turned out to Bedford Square to see the unveiling of the puppet in a grand ceremony with traditional Cornish songs and a reflective look back at the impact mining had on West Devon’s landscape and communities.

The brainchild of Will Coleman of Cornwall’s Golden Tree Productions, the Man Engine was designed and overseen by Hal Sylvester, a big puppet specialist, using a talented team of engineers, fabricators, welders, smoke and lighting experts and artists, from right across Cornwall and the South West. 

Will Coleman said: ’Kernow, our horn-shaped granite kingdom of Cornwall, is a tiny 0.002% of the planet’s surface, yet beneath our rocky shores can be found samples of more than 90% of all mineral species ever identified.

’Millions of years in the making, the geology of Cornwall is unique. This unbelievable geological treasure has powered the Cornish people’s endeavour through 4,000 years of mining history: innovation, triumph and heartbreak.

’I was brought up on the banks of the River Tamar with the stories and the legacy of Cornish mining all around me.  The landscape is deeply rooted in the impacts of that industry and in the successes and the struggles of the real people whose lives shaped our Cornwall and West Devon mining stories.

’With the birth of our ultimate mining machine, we have toiled long and hard to embed into this single huge object, the meaning and feeling of the stories of the real people, and the real lives of those people, their sorrows, their achievements and their journeys, over thousands of years.

’With 19th century mining vernacular and motifs throughout, we have all worked together to drive a colossal scale and excitement into him, honouring the achievements, the harshness, the beauty and the significance that the work, energy and brainpower that these people brought to our entire world.

’Now he’s alive and off on the timely pilgrimage, with our team of miners and bal maidens, of more than 100 miles throughout our homeland. I can’t explain how extraordinary the feeling is to see the people on the streets meet him, and be so in awe of him.’

Tavistock Mayor Cllr Mandy Ewings received a token of appreciation from organisers, a model engine house made from scrap metal taken off the Man Engine puppet.

She said: ’The unveiling was absolutely fantastic, a truly amazing event. To be involved is brilliant, but to have the launch here is truly amazing for Tavistock.

’There are so many people here from different areas, it has really brought people in to the town — even from abroad. It is huge for Tavistock, and to have it happen on the first Monday opening of the pannier market is great. I’ve been encouraging people to go to Morwellham as well, as it’s all a part of it.’This is a once in a lifetime event, we won’t see anything like this again. I heard one child say that it was bigger than the biggest Transformer! So it’s clearly captured the imagination.

’I hope that as it travels through Cornwall it gets the same sort of reception as it did here today, and brings in as many people into those towns as it has Tavistock. It would be a win-win for Tavistock, West Devon and Cornwall.’

To find out the rest of the Man Engine’s route through Cornwall, visit www.themanengine.org.uk