Joseph Treffry facts for kids

Joseph Austen Treffry (1782 – 29 January 1850) was a clever engineer and businessman from Cornwall, England. He owned many mines and built important things like harbours and railways. He helped Cornwall grow a lot during his time.

Joseph Treffry's Life Story

Joseph Treffry was born in Plymouth, Devon. His birth name was Joseph Thomas Austen. His father, Joseph Austen, used to be the Mayor of Plymouth.

In 1808, Joseph inherited a large family estate in Fowey from his mother's brother. Because of this, he changed his name to Joseph Austen Treffry. He didn't finish his studies at Exeter College in Oxford. Instead, he returned to Fowey and began to rebuild his family home, Place House.

Mining Adventures in Cornwall

Joseph Treffry trained in civil engineering, which is about designing and building things like roads and bridges. He used his skills to help the mining industry in Cornwall.

He built a new quay (a kind of dock) in Fowey. This quay was big enough for larger ships to load and export tin, which was a very important product from Cornwall's mines.

Treffry became a partner in several copper mines. One of them was the Wheal Regent mine near Par. Later, he also became a partner in the Fowey Consols mine at Tywardreath. In 1822, he took full control of Fowey Consols. Under his leadership, it became the most successful mine in Cornwall. It employed 1,680 workers, which was a huge number for that time!

Building Par Harbour

Cornwall was quite far from big cities like London. Also, the narrow streets of Fowey made it hard to move large amounts of tin ore. Treffry needed a better way to ship his mine's products.

In 1828, he drew up plans for a brand new, safe harbour at Par. By 1829, he had built a very long wall, called a breakwater, to protect the harbour. This was a difficult project, and he even lost three of his own ships during its construction.

In 1833, the first ship docked at Par Harbour. This new harbour could hold 50 ships, each weighing 200 tons. Par Harbour is still used today! It was sold to a company called English China Clays in 1964.

Developing Transport Systems

When Par Harbour opened, Treffry started a new mine called Par Consols. He built a special tramway (a type of railway) with two slopes to connect this mine to Par Harbour. This was his first step into building land transport systems.

He built more tramways and Treffry Tramways to link with a canal that went up the valley to Ponts Mill. He also built an inclined plane railway to the Fowey Consols mine. These railways helped move tin ore out to the harbour and bring coal in to power the steam engines at the mines. To get water power for his mines, he built a leat (a channel for water) from Luxulyan.

Treffry also bought the port of Newquay and land near Goss Moor. He planned to connect these areas with a railway system too.

The Famous Treffry Viaduct

To connect his mines and harbours, Treffry started building a tramway from Ponts Mill to Newquay in 1837. This project included building a large bridge, called a viaduct, at Luxulyan. This viaduct was special because it carried both the tramway and water to power his mines.

Treffry and his manager, William Pease, built the tramway. It went up a steep slope, then ran level through Luxulyan to its end point at Bugle Inn. To cross the river at a high level, they built the impressive Treffry Viaduct. It is 650 feet (198 meters) long and 100 feet (30 meters) high!

The viaduct was built using stone from nearby quarries. The railway lines from these quarries to the viaduct were the first parts of the tramway to be used. The entire tramway was finished in 1844.

Joseph Treffry was the vice-president of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society from 1849 until he passed away from pneumonia in 1850. He also served as the High Sheriff of Cornwall from 1839 to 1840.

See also

• Fowey Consols mine – a very successful mine near St Blazey
• Par harbour – built to export products from Fowey Consols
• Newquay – a harbour bought and developed by Treffry on Cornwall's north coast
• East Wheal Rose – a lead mine near Newquay
• Treffry Tramways – the railway system he built
• Treffry Viaduct – a special bridge that carried both a railway and water
• Cornwall Railway – Treffry was the first chairman of this railway company