A TOWERING man-made cast iron giant is being built to celebrate Cornwall’s mining heritage.
The ‘Man Engine’, which will be around 40ft tall and feature a working steam engine, will make a spectacular impact as it visits the World Heritage Site mining areas in the county this summer.
The Cornish Miner giant, commissioned as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations of the heritage sites, will be at Kit Hill, near Callington, on Monday, July 25, and promises roaring flames and belching steam. The next day the giant, hailed as the largest puppet ever made in Britain, will visit Minions on Bodmin Moor.
The construction, which will be animated by a team of people in costume, will also visit Lostwithiel. Discussions are taking place to site the creation in Liskeard town centre as well.
Caradon Heritage Partnership is working with local schools and organisations to ensure a big welcome for the giant at Minions. Iain Rowe, of the former Caradon Hill Area Project, is involved with the schools as part of his learning officer role with the Cornwall Record Office (Kresen Kernow Project).
He said Liskeard School will be participating in the event and contributing a pageant wagon to the Man Engine tour.
Cornwall Councillor Derris Watson (St Cleer) said: ‘The scale of what we plan for the exciting visit of the Man Engine depends on how long it will be in our area and currently we are waiting for these plans to be announced.’
Councillor Julian German, chairman of the world heritage site partnership, said: ‘Tinth will bring alive the past, showing its meaning and significance in the present and for the future.’