Explore Our Mining Heritage and World Heritage Site Landscapes this September at the Guildhall Heritage Centre

This September Tavistock Guildhall Heritage Centre is delighted to host the Ruin River Exhibition - Mining legacy of the Lower Tamar Valley and Kit Hill by Graham Warren and Duncan Rice as part of our Mining Heritage Month.

This exhibition focuses on mining remains of the Lower Tamar Valley and nearby Kit Hill. These areas were once huge producers of copper, tin and other metals, as well as arsenic. The evidence of mine remains is clear to see on the open flanks of Kit Hill, but the Tamar Valley largely withholds it’s mining story, burying surviving fragments in thickets of plantation and scrub. A hidden River of Ruins.

The exhibition is part of ‘Ruins and Monuments’ project which has been running for over ten years. The aim of the project is a series of exhibitions in the former mining heartlands in the South West. Initially the focus has been the abandoned remains of the buildings and structures but gradually the scope of the project has expanded to include the landscapes transformed by mining.

“When we started visiting the abandoned mine landscapes we had little knowledge of what we were looking at. Over time we have come to know much more about the story of mining for tin and copper. But in a sense, this is beside the point. The initial emotional response is what provides the impulse for the project – the feeling of discovering the remains of Babylon in Devon and Cornwall.”

The exhibitions combine photography, drawings and paintings. The photographic equipment used is not far removed from camera technology current at the height of mining in the mid to late 19th C. The pin-hole photography takes a step further back but seems particularly suited to the stark qualities of the mining ruins. The drawings are made on site and provide the basis for paintings that combine observation with memory.

Graham Warren started taking photographs from about the age of 10 with his working life covering many technical aspects of the medium. Deciding to 'unlearn' the rules, he returned to basics and used a pin-hole camera for some of the work in this exhibition, essentially a box with a hole at one end.
'Using old cameras produces a unique result which led me to the pin-hole, in this case a Zero 2000 wood & brass model with a 0.2mm hole. This is not far removed from the type of camera in use when mining was at its height in Cornwall. Selected negatives from the black & white films were hand printed on Silver Based Multigrade Art Paper. Some of the images have an almost ghostly quality which suits the abandoned engine houses and mine works. These sites are special places, once an industrial heartland they now seem to have an evocative echo from the past and a magnificent grandeur in their decay.'

The exhibition also includes black and white images taken with a more conventional twin lens reflex camera with a lens and colour digital photographs.

Duncan Rice has combined a working life in landscaping with drawing and painting. ‘Looking back there seems an inevitable attraction to mine ruins and landscapes as a subject. I live in a former copper and tin mining area on NE Dartmoor that shares much in character with Cornish mining areas. I have become increasingly interested in the way nature finds ways to recolonise often heavily polluted badlands and reclaims them as remarkable landscapes.
I am self taught as a painter and much of my work is based on drawing direct from the subject. In contrast to this approach, I also make paintings in my studio shed which are based as much on memory and imagination as on factual records. Both types of work are included in Ruins and Monuments exhibitions.

The drawings use a mixture of drawing mediums on paper or card. The paintings are built up with layers of paint worked into textures, overlaid with colour washes.’

The exhibition will take place from 2nd to 30th September 2025, 10am – 4pm Tuesday to Saturday here at the Guildhall Heritage Centre.

In addition to this wonderful exhibition, we invite you to join us for two captivating talks and dive deep into the rich history that shaped our community and the lives of many.

On 5th September, Simon Dell will take you on a journey through the Tavistock Canal, a vital artery of our mining history. Later in the month, on 26th September, Vanni Cook will share the remarkable tales of the Miners of Tamar Valley and Tavistock. Did you know that miners from our region ventured as far as South America, South Africa and Australia? Some chose to settle abroad, while others were drawn back by the strong ties of family and community. These stories are more vibrant and compelling than any historical fiction.

Explore our mining heritage, and discover why Tavistock is the eastern gateway to the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site, this September at the Guildhall Heritage Centre;

5th September, 7pm – 8pm Tavistock Canal, a talk by Simon Dell

2nd until 30th September - Ruin River Exhibition - Mining legacy of the Lower Tamar Valley and Kit Hill by Graham Warren and Duncan Rice

26th September, 7pm – 8pm - Miners of Tamar Valley and Tavistock, a talk by Vanni Cook

The talks and exhibition are free to enter but we do recommend booking your space for the talks. Contact guildhall@tavistock.gov.uk for more information

The Tavistock Textile – A Social History in Fabrics

The Tavistock Textile was officially unveiled by Tavistock Town Mayor, Andy Hutton on 13th February and takes pride of place in the Robing Room at the Guildhall Heritage Centre.The project has been years in the making and depicts over fifty scenes of local history, many inspired by the work of town historian Gerry Woodcock.

Cannes Movie shown at Guildhall

A showing of The Enys Men took place at the Tavistock Guildhall on 29th June 2023. The film, directed by Mark Jenkin, was premiered at Directors’ fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022 and received rave reviews and sell out performances across Cornwall.

The film was presented by Cornish Mining World Heritage Site and Bosena in partnership with C Fylm. C Fylm is part of Creative Kernow, a registered charity that supports the production, promotion and distribution of work by creative practitioners in Cornwall. 

The History of Mining in Tavistock and the Surrounding Area

 Click here to discover more about the history of mining in Tavistock and the surrounding area. 

Tavistock Guildhall: World Heritage Site

 Tavistock Guildhall Receives World Heritage Site Key Status

Born in Tavistock: The History of the Devonshire Cream Tea

 Did you know that the Devonshire cream tea was invented here in Tavistock? Click the button below to find out more!

Local Historian Raises the Bar on Tavistock's Pub History

 Local historian Alex Mettler has been visiting the pubs of Tavistock for decades, all in the cause of historical research, more than occasionally accompanied by a pint of the local brew.