Harveys of Hayle

Harvey and Company of Hayle which is an inlet of St. Ives Bay on the North coast of Cornwall.

• In 1779 John Harvey, a blacksmith from nearby by Carnhell Green established a small foundry and engineering works.

• By 1800 the company employed more than 50 people and continued to grow as Harvey worked with many of the great Cornish engineers and entrepreneurs of the day. These included Richard Trevithick, William West and Arthur Woolf.

• Harvey and Co built up a reputation for world class stationary beam engines designed to pump water out of the deep Cornish tin and copper mines. The Cornish beam engine became world famous and was exported overseas and they remain the largest beam engines ever constructed. Harveys also produced a range of products, from hand tools to ocean going ships including the USS Cornubia (1858). The company was expanded by John's son, Henry, in collaboration with Arthur Woolf and at that time it was the main mining engine foundry in the world, with an international market served through their own port at Foundry town, Hayle.

• Harvey's of Hayle reached their peek in the early to mid 1800s and then, along with the Cornish mining industry, suffered a gradual and slow decline. Harvey's acquired the Cornish Copper Company in 1875 and the engineering works and foundry were closed in 1903 although the company continued to trade as a general and builders merchant, eventually merging with UBM to become Harvey-UBM in 1969.

• 1834 John Harvey began shipbuilding in 1834 in order to build coasters for the local trade. The Harvey family were also general merchants, engineers and foundry owners.

• 1845 Cornish engine for Liverpool Waterworks (Green Lane Station)

• 1857 Three Bull engines for The Metropolitan Water Board (Campden Hill Station)

• 1866 Details of modern mining machinery

• 1870 Engine for Metropolitan Water Board (Hammersmith)

• 1875 Harvey's acquired the Cornish Copper Co.

• 1876 Two Bull engines and six beam engine for Severn Tunnel (Sudbrook), Iron shaft pumps

• 1882 Cornish beam engine for Cape Copper Mining Company, Okiep, South Africa. Worked until 1929. Survives in situ.

• 1883 Limited liability was taken out in 1883. The yard then built a number of steel tramps and then made engines for a number of coasters.

• 1890 Article on the yard and its history in 'The Engineer'. Established over a century ago.

• 1892 Beam engine for East Pool and Agar Mine near Camborne

• 1894 Inverted vertical triple-expansion engine for the Metropolitan Water Board (Ferry Lane Station)

• 1903 The engineering works and foundry were closed in 1903 though the company continued to trade as general and builders merchant, eventually merging with UBM to become Harvey-UBM in 1969.

• In 1904, the shipyard and engine works closed and the company changed direction moving into building and coal and timber.

See Also

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Sources of Information

• [1] Cornwall Calling Web Site
• British Shipbuilding Yards. 3 vols by Norman L. Middlemiss
• The Engineer of 18th April 1890 p310
• The Steam Engine in Industry by George Watkins in two volumes. Moorland Publishing. 1978. ISBN 0-903485-65-6
• The Engineer of 22nd June 1866 p450
• [2] Wikipedia