Lot 391. Redruth School of Mines Assay Laboratory
‘Wherever there is a hole in the earth, you will find a Cornishman at the bottom’
Devotees of Winston Graham’s ‘Poldark’ will be familiar with the importance of mining to Cornwall; it brought immense wealth to the county and copper-rich towns such as Redruth and Camborne were once at the centre of this prosperity. Influential men such as Richard Trevithick and James Watt both lived near Redruth, and since the early 1800s, mine owners and investors recognised a need for mining schools in the immediate locality, with technical and scientific education for their mine captains.
With this intention, the Miners Association was founded in 1859 and the decision to establish Redruth School of Mines was made in 1860. It was eventually opened in 1871, in the grounds of Treruffe Manor House in Clinton Road. It was called the Redruth School of Mines and Art School.
Former School of Science and Art, Clinton Road, Redruth
The immense success of the Great Exhibition of 1851 had furthered interest in the Arts and Sciences and in 1853, the 'Science and Art Department' was formed, a British government body for the promotion of education in art, science and technology. Although the Cornish mining industry was in decline by the end of the 19th century and many miners by then were emigrating to the newer mining industries in the Americas and South Africa, in Victorian England education systems were improving, and in the early 1880s government funded mining and art schools were also established in Camborne and Penzance as well as Redruth.
Coming back to the present day, we were delighted to be asked to handle the sale of two rather wonderful paintings that depict interiors at the Redruth School of Mines. They show the ‘Assay Laboratory’ and the ‘Chemical Laboratory’. Both are dated 1897 and we believe both are by a Margaret J Jenkin. These fascinating pictures provide a window into long forgotten histories and in many ways, pose many more questions than they answer.
The aforementioned Science and Art Department took over the Government School of Design, founded in 1837, which became the National Art Training School in 1853, and finally in 1896 the Royal College of Art. It developed the 'South Kensington System' and students from across Britain and indeed the entire commonwealth, sent their work to marked in London, at a huge site in South Kensington, which now houses the Victoria & Albert Museum.
It would be interesting to know what the criteria for the creation of these paintings was, perhaps 'an interior study', in which case, what an excellent choice Margaret made, to depict these two laboratories in such detail with all their tools and paraphernalia. They were no doubt a source of fascintion to the art and design students at Redruth School, and possibly a no-go area to those not on the mining and scientific courses. She may well have gained special permission to paint them.
Sadly, we can find no other paintings by Miss Jenkins or records about her life. Despite her obvious talent for meticulous observation, it is likely that she did not pursue a career in art. In 1897, it would have been an unusual course and it is more likely that she married and raised a family after her studies. However, she has left us these two exceptional paintings, which provide an important historical record. We can find no photographs of the laboratories at Redruth, in fact no contemporary photographs of the school at all. In 1910, all three mining schools were amalgamated at a site in Camborne and became The Camborne School Of Metalliferous Mining. Redruth remained an art school, but we imagine, these laboratories were no more.
Camborne School of Mines went on to gain an international reputation of the highest standard. It attracts pupils from around the world, and its students are recognised globally. The education gained there is one of Cornwall's greatest exports, and these intriguing paintings are an important historical record of mining education in Cornwall from its earliest days.
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