The Man Engine

Celebrating the Cornish Mining Landscape's World Heritage status, the colossal Man Engine is the largest mechanical puppet ever to be built in Britain.

When he 'transforms' he stands at 11.2m tall (two-and-a-half double-decker buses!)

However, The Man Engine will only 'transform' if enough people sing! All along the route last summer organisers worked with community choirs and invited spectators to sing and chant in the Cornish Language to help crank the Man Engine into life.

One hundred and fifty thousand people turned out to do just that at celebratory events all along his pilgrimage.

National Lottery funding helped the project design and construct the mechanical wonder and to run an educational programme

Working with Camborne School of Mines and Geevor Tin Mine, the project delivered Mining Heritage workshops at 30 schools across Cornwall. 1,500 school children dug deep into their mining heritage - including building working water pumps, exploring the stories of diverse Cornish Mining characters and going underground and blowing things up!

The initial economic impact of the tour was estimated at £2.9 million and the media reach was 112 million people across 104 countries!

The Man Engine unearthed a deep-rooted vein of pride and resilience running through Cornwall. He gave the Cornish people permission to tell their own story, to celebrate who they were, who they are, and who they want to be.

In 2018, the Man Engine said goodbye to Cornwall to tour South Wales and the North of England. Plans are in place for the man engine to rise once again in Europe in the future.

One hundred and fifty thousand people turned out to do just that at celebratory events all along his pilgrimage.

National Lottery funding helped the project design and construct the mechanical wonder and to run an educational programme

Working with Camborne School of Mines and Geevor Tin Mine, the project delivered Mining Heritage workshops at 30 schools across Cornwall. 1,500 school children dug deep into their mining heritage - including building working water pumps, exploring the stories of diverse Cornish Mining characters and going underground and blowing things up!

The initial economic impact of the tour was estimated at £2.9 million and the media reach was 112 million people across 104 countries!

The Man Engine unearthed a deep-rooted vein of pride and resilience running through Cornwall. He gave the Cornish people permission to tell their own story, to celebrate who they were, who they are, and who they want to be.

In 2018, the Man Engine will said goodbye to Cornwall to tour South Wales and the North of England. Plans are in place for the man engine to rise once again in Europe in the future.