The largest mechanical puppet ever constructed in Britain will be visiting Trewithen Gardens on its Cornish tour in July.
To celebrate the ‘tinth’ anniversary of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site, Golden Tree Productions are currently building the largest mechanical puppet ever made in Britain. Crawling down the road, the height of the Man Engine is 4.5m (a little taller than a double-decker bus) but when he ‘transforms’ he will stand at over 10m tall (two-and-a-half double-deckers!). A huge man-machine Cornish Miner – living proof that Cornwall is still home to World Class engineering!
The Man Engine project celebrates the ‘tinth’ anniversary of our World Heritage status as well as the successes and the struggles of the real people whose lives shaped the Cornish Mining Story.
Some interesting facts about the Man Engine:
- Largest mechanical puppet ever made in Britain
- Gwrys yn Kernow / Engineered in Cornwall
- Crawls at 4.5m high
- ‘Transforms’ to stand over 10m high
- With vehicle weighs nearly 40 tonnes
- Unveiled Tavistock Monday 25th July 2016
- Two weeks 130-mile pilgrimage Tamar to Geevor
- Visits all 10 Cornish Mining World Heritage Site areas
- 25+ events along route
- 50,000+ participants
- Cornish Mining Heritage workshops with 1200+ school pupils
- 5 ‘Mining Wagons’, designed by local schools and community
You can see the Man Engine on the Roseland when it visits Trewithen Gardens on 29 July for a ticketed event. If you would like to help to fund the project, you can find all the details here!