Wonder Wall

A new art installation has landed in Pool as part of Heartlands which captures the geological affects that mining has on the earth during the height of Cornish tin mining, when miners were hitting depths of over 1km.

Conceived by artist Walter Jack and involving a unique molding technique to create a fluid and voluptuous effect never seen before with concrete on this scale, 'Crushed Wall' will sit within the village of Pool in Cornwall. Rising to 3m high, the wall will act as a corner stone and defining art feature of Heartlands.

Diaspora Gardens starting to bloom

Planting is well under way in the five Diaspora Gardens. Each garden which is approximately half the size of a football pitch represents an area of the world where the Cornish emigrated. The 5 gardens signify North America, South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand where visitors can explore plants, flowers and trees that are native to those areas.

Listen now to our latest podcasts!

This month we're looking inside Heartlands with two delicious podcasts from our exhibition planner, Andrew Leitch. As well as restoring the former mine buildings at Robinson's Shaft and preserving many of the artefact's that were found there, the World Heritage Site exhibition within Heartlands will bring to life the history of Cornish mining in an innovative and interactive way. In the podcasts, Andrew Leitch gives an exclusive glimpse inside the exhibitions revealing the captivating human story as well as the challenges involved in interpreting the Cornish Mining story.

The exhibitions will be delivered within the restored Robinson's Shaft mine buildings over the next couple of months.

For more information and a Guided Tour, please contact the Heartlands Team on 01209 722320.

Applications now open for studio space

There are 15 studios at Heartlands which are located at the centre of the exciting development incorporating culture, history and play.

Studios are for the use of artists, makers and crafts people and with lots of natural light and views over the market square and World Heritage Site of Robinson's Shaft it certainly is an inspiring place to work.

For further information on how to apply for a studio, along with costs and floor plans visit the Business section of our website.

Many adventures in store!

The Heartlands site is looking more and more exciting each day. Last week saw the installation of the adventure playground.


From fishing boats, to trains, twisting slides, swinging cradles and a huge climbing net this really is the start of something wonderful happening at Heartlands for young people. The creation of the play space is all thanks to local students who helped design the playground. We cant wait for local young people to be let loose and get to grips with one of the largest playgrounds of its type in Cornwall.

Sustainable living on a World Heritage Site

Ever thought about living on a World Heritage Site? Well this could be the opportunity you were waiting for!

Thirteen first floor, one and two bedroom apartments have just gone on sale at Heartlands, with views over the Grade II listed buildings of Robinson's Shaft. The apartments sit above artist studios with the possibility of renting the studio space below if a live/work space is of interest.

The residential accommodation reaches a variety of environmental sustainable standards, with a central biomass boiler for heating and photovoltaic cells for producing electricity.

For further information on how to arrange a site visit and for further information on each apartment please go to www.rightmove.co.uk

Engine starting to take a shine thanks to volunteers

Work on restoring the engine is well underway thanks to a group of 15 volunteers.

Volunteers are working alongside engine restorer Geoff Wallace to clean and polish the engine which sits in the engine house at the centre of Heartlands. Geoff is working to get the beam engine moving which will become one of the main attractions within the Heartlands exhibition.

Seams and Veins art commission finds its home!

It was a wonderful moment to see the first of the seven art installations arriving on site.

David Mackie's 'Seams and Veins' commission comprises of twelve Cornish granite boulders inlaid with bronze symbols and motifs representing where the Cornish emigrated to around the world. The boulders are positioned around Heartlands' five Diaspora gardens of North America, South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Local poet Bob Devereux wrote an exclusive poem for Heartlands that has been etched on the granite, telling the story of miners who took their skills abroad.

The boulders are lifted in to position within the Diaspora Gardens.

Artist David, casts a watchful eye on his work as it is carefully positioned to follow the mineral lodes underground.

Emblems in bronze representing Cornish emigration to South America.

Bronze emblems in the Australian gardens.

Remembering Cornish traditions such as the Stargazy Pie originating from Mousehole.

Cornish travels to South Africa are remembered.

Bob Devereux's poem is etched in the Cornish granite.

David putting the finish touches to the boulders in the South African garden with Robinson's Shaft in the background.

New view for webcam!

We have repositioned one of our webcams to capture all the happenings in the park area of Heartlands.

The view above shows the red river water feature zig-zagging its way down to the main water feature on the bottom left of the photo. The water water feature will be surrounded by the Diaspora Gardens, which are 5 gardens which tell the story in planting of where the Cornish travelled around the world. The top right of the photo shows the space where the playground will be built.

Keep your eyes glued on the webcam updates as things will really start progressing quickly now trees and top soil have started to arrive!

Headgear and Engine House look in great shape

As you drive past Heartlands you may notice the scaffolding is slowly being removed from the headgear to unveil the newly painted structure.

Also, all works to the exterior of the engine house has been completed and scaffolding has been removed from this building, uncovering beautifully re-pointed stone work and arched windows that were previously covered up.

Remember you can take a closer look by attending one of our regular guided tour. Please call Kirsty on 01209 722323 to book your space.

Introducing the new Heartlands Trust team........

We are pleased to announce that the Heartlands Trust's roles of Chief Executive and Marketing Manager are now in post.

Chief Executive, Vicky Martin and Marketing Manager, Kate Turnbull are the first two posts to be filled in the new Heartlands Trust.

Vicky has a vast range of experience and knowledge in running visitor attractions and also heritage sites which ties in great with the Heartlands site and the similarities that we will offer visitors. Vicky is also the England representative on the European Union of Tourist Officers (EUTO), which will be incredibly helpful in developing Heartlands as a site for Cornish visitors as well as further afield.

The Trust's new Marketing Manager, Kate, is also in post and has also worked in similar projects to Heartlands, managing the media and marketing at attractions such as Edinburgh Zoo and Kate also has a background with heritage projects when working for Historic Scotland.

We are delighted in welcoming Vicky and Kate on board and I am sure you will join us.

You can listen to Kate and Vicky in this months podcasts.

Creative Conversations Film

In March we held a Creative Conversations event to celebrate and inspire new ways of thinking. It was also a chance for participants to comment and reflect on the previous creative work that has taken place and to exchange knowledge, ideas and experience to contribute towards the thinking of Heartlands future Creative Strategy.

Find out about the day by watching our film produced by mycornwall.tv on our You Tube Channel http://youtu.be/rehJV_T12g8

Underneath the scaffolding...........

In the next month we will be revealing all the hard work that has taken place to the headgear when the scaffolding is taken down to unveil Robinson's Shaft headgear and engine house at Heartlands.

The photos above and below show the headgear which has been blasted to remove rust, made strong and painted, restoring the wonderful structure back to its former glory.

We are restoring our engine and need your help!

Do you have any spare time to volunteer? Are you interested in Cornish Heritage? Do you fancy getting involved in a project that will transform an area of Pool? Then our engine restoration project could be the thing for you!

We are looking for volunteers to work alongside our restoration company who will be working to get Robinson's Shaft beam engine moving again. Volunteers would be needed to help us clean and polish the engine back to its former glory.

We would love to hear from you if you are interested. Please call 01209 722323.

Notice to residents and patients of Pool Health Centre

We are pleased to tell you that work has commenced in Pool Village as part of the Heartlands scheme.

This work will focus around Station Road and Carn Brea Lane in Pool, with the following improvements going ahead:

- Village Green created, which will include tree planting and green space

- Resurfacing to pavements and road

- Further dedicated car parking spaces

- New entrance to Pool Health Centre - Health Centre car park will be accessed from Station Road rather than Carn Brea Lane

- New car park created for Pool Health Centre staff

- New car park created for Cornwall Development Company

- Renovation of Bassett Institute in to a community facility

- Entrance courtyard to the front of Cornwall Development Company which will form an entrance in to the main Heartlands site.

The initial works that will happen during May is work to the Health Centre entrance and staff car park, along with construction starting on the Cornwall Development Company. July will see work starting on the Village Green and entrance courtyard.

Please bear with us during this busy but very exciting time. We will aim to keep disruption at a minimum and will keep you updated as much as possible through this web link and local notices, please do hesitate to contact Kirsty Davies if you have any queries on 01209 722323 or kirsty.davies@cornwall.gov.uk

New aerial photo's show real progress on site

Last week we received some new aerial photos of the Heartlands site. Below is a 'before' photo taken prior to any works commencing on site and above shows a photo taken in the last 2 weeks.



Above shows a photo of the former mine buildings of Robinson's Shaft which are currently being renovated. Alongside these old building is the new community building, artist studios and apartments. Below shows Pool Innovation Centre in the background which is situated next to Cornwall College. Heartlands will be a very short walk from the College which will be linked via the new road that is also currently being built as a separate scheme.

The photo below shows the new road that skirts the Heartlands site.

Cornish stone hedgers on site

Cornish stone hedges are being built as a boundary to the site and will be a backdrop to the Diaspora Gardens.

David's Diaspora Blog

You can now get a real insight in to the ideas behind David Mackie's art work that will feature in the Diaspora Gardens. David worked with schools and community groups to develop the patterns that represent Cornwall's Diaspora. The Diaspora Gardens at Heartlands will include 5 gardens of North America, South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand each the size of half a football pitch. The planting represents the areas of the world that the Cornish emigrated, and took their mining engineering skills with them to leave the Cornish Mining legacy all over the world.

David's artwork consists of imagery inspired by the countries the Cornish travelled to, these images will be cast in bronze a mix of tin and copper, and attached to granite boulders in the Diaspora gardens. Some examples of the imagery can be seen below. Take a look at David's blog which gives a real insight in how the project start and was inspired by people in the community. http://www.seamsandveins.tumblr.com/

Things are really starting to come on.......

The park, playground and events space can now start to be seen above, with the whole area levelled ready for landscaping. The new road, shown above, which will skirt round the northern boundary of Heartlands is also progressing quickly with a finish date of this summer. There have also been big changes to the Carpenters Shed which will be home to the restaurant, cafe and bar. Above shows the interior of the restaurant which has been panelled and below is the outside of the building which is currently undergoing structural and roofing work.

Work on the first floor apartments has started with the block work walls currently being put in to place.

Local poet teams up with artist to celebrate the Cornish Diaspora

Artist David Mackie who is working on the seams and veins public art commission in the Diaspora Gardens at Heartlands has teamed up with local poet Bob Devereux.

Bob has produced a poem that will be etched in to the granite boulders that David is using as part of his art commission. Bob's poem is below and relates to how the Cornish migrated and travelled all over the world taking their mining skills with them ready to teach others.

Wise in ways of water, steam and engine beams

Seeking ore sheathed in knowledge of bronze

Families determined to flourish

Severed from heartlands uprooted

Sailed to uncertain destinies

Offered free passage they prospered

Followed lodes around the globe

Skilled workers in the seams no dreamers

Spoke of Mexico in epic letters home

Shared kinship in deep shaft in Moonta

Made fortunes mining the rand gold reef

New life blooms from hard rock history

Panoramic shots show full extent of Heartlands

The above shows the restaurant, cafe and bar (blue building) with the new road from Cornwall College edging around the site.

The new Chy an Bobel, Community Building with Robinson's Shaft in the background which is at the centre of the project.

The Diaspora gardens will be to the left of the above picture with the playground to the right.