John Harvey (ironfounder)

John Harvey was a Cornishman whose career started as a blacksmith and engineer at Carnhell Green near Hayle, in west Cornwall. In 1779 he established a foundry and engineering works at Hayle called Harvey & Co.^[1] 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, more importantly, Arthur Woolf. In 1797, Harvey's daughter, Jane, married Richard Trevithick.

John Harvey
Born	1730
Died	1803
Nationality	British
Occupation	Engineer
Engineering career
Discipline	Mechanical
Projects	Harvey & Co of Hayle
Significant design	Improvement of the beam engine

Simpson design waterworks beam engine by Harvey's of Hayle, Hereford Waterworks Museum

Harvey & 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 remains the largest type of beam engine ever constructed; the largest of all, with a 144-inch-diameter (3,700 mm) cylinder which powered eight separate beams, was used to drain the Haarlemmermeer in the Netherlands—it is preserved in the Museum De Cruquius.^[2]

Crimean siege mortar made by Harvey's of Hayle

Harvey's also produced a range of products, from hand tools to ocean-going ships including the USS Cornubia. The company was expanded by John's son, Henry, in collaboration with Arthur Woolf, who was the chief engineer. 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 peak in the early- to mid-19th century and then, along with the Cornish mining industry in general, suffered a gradual and slow decline. Harvey's acquired the Cornish Copper Company in 1875. The engineering works and foundry were closed in 1903,^[3] although the company continued to trade as a general and builders merchant, eventually merging with UBM to become Harvey-UBM in 1969.

List of ships

Ship	GRT	Yard No	For	Date of launch
Henry Harvey				23 May 1857[4]
Cornubia	589		Hayle and Bristol Steam Packet Company	27 February 1858[5]
SS Riviere	124			1860
Minros			Charles Henry Smith of Swansea	22 April 1860[6]
Penair	213			1862
Royal Bride	286			March 1863
Welsh Girl				1 August 1863
Cornish Girl	175		Porthleven United Shipping Company	April 1864[7]
Eliza Bain	300		Hitchens, Bain and Company	12 November 1864[8]
SS St Agnes	175		Mr. Hitchens of St Agnes	24 June 1865[9]
SS Bessie	287			6 September 1865
SS Margaret	232			June 1866
SS Western Wave	229			25 October 1866[10]
SS Hayle	353		Tom Mawr Company of Neath	10 June 1867[11]
Unnamed Brigantine	214		Captain H Thomas of St Ives	21 June 1867[12]
SS Mary Johns	181		William Johns of St Ives	21 May 1868[13]
Hannibal	370		Captain Hannibal Thomas	1868[14]
PS Dolphin			South Devon Railway Company	24 July 1869[15]
PS Guide	104		Dartmouth Steam Packet Company	7 September 1869[16]
SS The Girl of the Period	306			27 May 1870[17]
SS Batara Bayon Sree	118		J.B. Mansfield of Teignmouth	8 September 1871[18]
SS Senor Rostro	398		George Batters of London	29 March 1873[19]
SS Frank Batters	380			16 May 1874[20]
SS Lady of the Isles	152		West Cornwall Steam Ship Company	9 March 1875[21]
SS Victor			W. Jewell of Falmouth	10 June 1875[22]
T.S.B.	289		Thomas Bolitho and Sons, Penzance	5 November 1877[23]
SS Penwith	289			February 1878
SS King’s Bridge Packet	110			15 April 1879[24]
SS Thornhill	275	25		October 1880[25]
SS Emperor	106	29		July 1880
SS Tynron	306	26		January 1881
SS Emperor	114	32		July 1883
SS Eagle	103	33		August 1883
SS Dauntless	120	36		October 1884
SS Lanisley	148	42	Thomas Bolitho and Sons, Penzance	June 1887[26]
SS Carnsew	340	39		22 August 1888[27]
SS Dartmeet	655	43	Whiteway and Ball or Torquay	9 August 1888[28]
SS Lyonnesse	382	45	West Cornwall Steamship Company	2 February 1889[29]
SS Advance	154	46		1889
SS Tongshan	1750	47		24 October 1889[30]
SS Penwith	1978	48	R.B.Chellew	3 July 1890[31]
SS Penpol	2033	49	R.B. Chellew	12 December 1890[32]
SS Ramleh	2660	51		6 June 1891[33]
SS Landore	539	52	Welsford and Company	23 September 1891[34]
SS Mersey	536	53		30 November 1891
SS Avon	536	54		1892
SS Volney	361	55	Rogers and Bright of Liverpool	25 July 1892[35]
SS Hayle	423	56		20 March 1893[36]

See also

• Cornwall portal

• Mining in Cornwall and Devon
• Hayle and Bristol Steam Packet Company

References

1. Cornish mining engineers Archived 2008-03-21 at the Wayback Machine
2. Gisolf, Robert J. H. "Cruquius monument". Cruquius Museum. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
3. "The Port of Hayle Porth Heyl". Cornish Mining World Heritage. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
4. "Launch at Hayle". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 5 June 1857. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
5. "Hayle. Launch of a steamer". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 5 March 1858. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
6. "Yacht building". Exeter and Plymouth Gazette. England. 28 April 1860. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. "Ship Launch". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 29 April 1864. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
8. "Ship-building at Hayle". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 18 November 1864. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "Launch at Hayle". Lake’s Falmouth Packet and Cornwall Advertiser. Cornwall. 1 July 1865. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "Launch at Hayle". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 1 November 1866. Retrieved 10 October 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
11. "Launch at Hayle". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 11 June 1867. Retrieved 10 October 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
12. "Launch of a Brigantine at Hayle". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 27 June 1867. Retrieved 10 October 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
13. "Vessel Launched". Cornubian and Redruth Times. Cornwall. 22 May 1868. Retrieved 10 October 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
14. "Hayle". Cornubian and Redruth Times. Cornwall. 3 July 1868. Retrieved 10 October 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
15. "Fitting-up the Steam Paddle-Boat". Cornubian and Redruth Times. Cornwall. 6 August 1869. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
16. "Launch". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 11 September 1869. Retrieved 10 October 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
17. "Hayle. Launch". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 21 May 1870. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
18. "Hayle. Launch". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 9 September 1871. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
19. "Hayle. Ship Launch". West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser. Cornwall. 5 April 1873. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
20. "Hayle. Launch of a Steam Boat". West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser. Cornwall. 21 May 1874. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
21. "The Traffic with Scilly". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 20 March 1875. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
22. "Hayle. Launch of a Steamer". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 12 June 1875. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
23. "Launch". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 9 November 1877. Retrieved 29 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
24. "A Launch". Cornishman. Cornwall. 17 April 1879. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
25. "Hayle". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 29 October 1880. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
26. "Hayle. Launch". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 1 July 1887. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
27. "Launch at Hayle". Cornishman. Cornwall. 25 August 1887. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
28. "Hayle. Launching a new steamer". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 16 August 1888. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
29. "Ship Launch at Hayle". Cornishman. Cornwall. 7 February 1889. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
30. "Steamer Launch at Hayle". Cornishman. Cornwall. 31 October 1889. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
31. "Shipbuilding at Hayle. Launch of the S.S. Penwith". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 10 July 1890. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
32. "Launch at Hayle". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 18 December 1890. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
33. "The Shipbuilding Trade in Cornwall. Launch of a Steamship at Hayle". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 11 June 1891. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
34. "Successful launch at Hayle". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 1 October 1891. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
35. "A visit to the works of Messrs. Harvey and Co at Hayle". Cornishman. Cornwall. 13 October 1892. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
36. "Launch of a new steamer". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Cornwall. 23 March 1893. Retrieved 25 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.

• Edmund Vale The Harveys of Hayle. Truro: D. B. Barton, 1966

External links

• Harvey's of Hayle