William Martin owned a quay on the seaward side of Trevemper Bridge. An 1852 Quarter Sessions account records his complaint that waste from East Wheal Rose mine was obstructing the Gannel and making it difficult for barges to reach the quay.
He first complained to the mine and then approached the Admiralty. The account put his spending on keeping the channel clear at at least £100 a year for three years. His case makes the estuary’s industrial history tangible: mining upstream could impose expensive problems on a different business downstream.
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- When Ships Sailed Up the Gannel
The families who built ships, the merchant who fought the mud, and a working river with very little interest in anyone's timetable.