1Welcome to Manham Port, where a thousand years of history are brought to life.
2All the family can enjoy a day out at Manham:
3visit our copper mine, see models of the machinery it used,
4have your photo taken in nineteenth century costume,
5experience at first hand how people lived at different stages throughout history,
6and especially how children studied, worked and played.
7The port of Manham is located in beautiful and peaceful countryside,
8on a bend in the great River Avon,
9and developed here because it's the highest navigable point of the Avon -
10boats can go no higher up this river -
11and proved a handy place to load and unload cargo to and from the sea,
12which is over 23 miles away.
13A small port was already established here when, about 900 years ago, tin was discovered nearby,
14though it wasn't until the Industrial Revolution, when a tremendous need for metals of all kinds developed,
15that Manham expanded to become one of the busiest ports in the country.
16And because it was already so busy, prospectors began to look for other minerals,
17and by the end of the nineteenth century, lead, copper, manganese and arsenic were added to the cargos leaving Manham.
18In the early days, the ores had been smelted - or processed - in the same area they were mined.
19But, as demand grew, the smelting process required huge factory furnaces or fires to melt the metal from the rock
20and there was not enough coal in the local area, so the rocks containing minerals had to be shipped long distances.
21Sadly, in the twentieth century, the great port of Manham declined,
22and thousands of workers were forced to emigrate out of the area.
23The building at the port fell into disrepair,
24and the place became almost forgotten.
25But then, the Manham Trust was formed to conserve the historical resources of the area.
26It organised scores of local volunteers to remove undergrowth to find the original outlines of the installations.
27It then brought in paid professionals to match installations with maps of the original port complex
28and to set about reconstructing it.
29Today you can see the results of this ambitious programme of restoration.
30The intention, and we believe this will be realised before the end of the year,
31is to return Manham Port to the condition it reached at its peak as 'the greatest copper port in the country'.
32But what can you do and see on your visit today?
33Here are just a few highlights.
34We suggest you start with the visit to the copper mine.
35Travel on converted mining trains and journey into the depths of the mountain along seams once worked by hundreds of miners.
36Watch out especially for the great pumping machines which rid the mine of water.
37But please be warned that, like all mines, ours is very dark and closed in
38and we do say that children under five and also dogs should NOT be taken into the mine.
39The next recommended visit is to the village school.
40While looking round the classrooms, take a special look at our display of games, which is one of the largest in the world.
41And it's recommended that you time your visit to coincide with a guided tour.
42This will give you the opportunity to ask lots of questions.
43Near the school is the beautiful old sailing ketch called 'The George'.
44You are welcome to board the boat and look round the cabins.
45Look out for the ship's wheel which was missing until only five years ago
46when it was dredged out of the silt by a local fisherman.
47We have no idea how it got there
48but it's been polished and proudly restored to its original place on the boat.
49Please take care going down the ladders if you wish to visit the lower deck -
50we don't recommend you allow young children to use them.
51So we hope you have a memorable visit to Manham Port
52and will tell your friends all about us.