This Saturday, we once again celebrate Murdoch Day with the regular parade through Redruth town centre. Hopefully, the weather will hold up after the great weather we had at the Royal Cornwall show last weekend.
William Murdoch was one of the pioneers of steam power development in Cornwall and also famously invented the first-ever gas light using piped gas. Last year, at Murdoch House, they were showing the amusing and creative short film produced by Squashbox Theatre on the Life of William Murdoch which is available to view on YouTube. Produced during lockdown when celebrations couldn’t go ahead, it’s an engaging and light-hearted story of Murdoch’s life (even if a little unfair on Richard Trevithick, the neighbour from Camborne!).
Redruth has some amazing architecture, and it has been great to see progress made under a number of funds to bring old buildings back into use. The Highstreet Heritage Action Zone centred around Fore Street and the Buttermarket, was awarded £1.68 million by Heritage England last year. This has allowed work on projects to proceed swiftly.
The Buttermarket, in particular, is very exciting as it brings back into use a space that used to be the centre of one of the most historic towns in Cornwall. Redruth’s market was built in 1825-26 at the instigation of local landowner Sir Francis Basset (1757-1835). The name ‘Buttermarket’ was first used in 1884; however, it was never a true butter market for the sale of dairy goods, with its focus being on fish, meat (particularly pork), and shoes. By 1791 Redruth’s was the largest market in Cornwall, but its existing timber-framed and thatched building was demolished in 1795 as it was obstructing traffic. It was noted by many contemporaries that this was a great improvement in terms of space and increased trade.
Today, with funding from Historic England and the exceptional work of people like Ross Williams and Judy Davidson, and Cornwall Council officers like Tamsin Daniel, the space will now return to its former glory, filling again with a buzz of small traders, business start-ups, cafes, and workspaces. This, in my view, is the true meaning of levelling up: using our existing tools to really help build a sustainable path to prosperity and growth for our community. I would like to thank the brilliant team at Redruth Revival for helping to deliver this.
Cornwall has a unique place within the United Kingdom and made a unique contribution to the industrial revolution with inventors like William Murdoch and Richard Trevithick shaping new technologies that created huge change. Today we are at the centre of new technologies again such as floating offshore wind, geothermal energy, and some of the minerals needed for a new generation of electric vehicles. I look forward to joining in the festivities and celebrating this on Saturday.
