King Edward Mine

  • Client Cornwall Council
  • Location Camborne, Cornwall
  • Completed 2015
  • Cost £2m

The King Edward Mine complex is recognised as having 'Outstanding Universal Value' as the oldest and best preserved mine within the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site (WHS) for the pre-1920 period. The entire complex is within the WHS and includes sixteen Grade II* Listed buildings.

The works comprised of the conservation, repair and conversion of the existing grade II* listed Count House Complex and Carpenters' Shop. The buildings were provided with a sustainable future through their conversion to nine new sympathetically designed and fully accessible workspace units.

The approach to the conservation of these buildings was guided by early discussions between the design team, Cornwall Council conservation officers and English Heritage. Due to the buildings’ historic significance the approach was to adopt the minimum level of intervention necessary to achieve a design and layout which addressed the needs of the wider brief, broadly restoring the complex to its 1910-1925 appearance.

The proposals represent a comparatively modest level of intervention and most importantly the interventions have protected the building's future and the Count House Complex has now been taken off the English Heritage Buildings at Risk Register.

The conservation expertise that PBWC Architects brought to the project was vital; managing negotiations with Historic England and ensuring that the refurbishment was sympathetic to the historic significance of the buildings.

Tamsin Daniel, Client
King Edward Mine
Awards
  • Cornish Buildings Group Awards 2016 Heritage Commendation
  • Association for Industrial Archaeology 2016 Best Creative Re-use of an Industrial Building
Count House Complex, Pre-Construction © King Edward Mine
Mining Complex Circa 1912 © King Edward Mine
Mining Complex Circa 1925 © King Edward Mine
Mining Complex Circa 1974 © King Edward Mine
Mining Complex Circa 1987 © King Edward Mine