Golow Gas

William Murdoch and the history of light making technologies in Cornwall

Hands on Heritage; exploring local heritage through creative practice
Our exciting new heritage and film project began with Zoe and Pete from Barnoon Workshop giving an inspiring hands on heritage lighting workshop to children from Year 3/4 at Pennoweth School, Redruth.

Our focus for this project is to learn more about William Murdoch and the history of light making technologies and for this we felt that feeling and smelling the lighting materials from the years before Murdoch's gaslight would give the young people a real sense of their heritage. This week, the children will all have a chance to become heritage researchers for a day, making their own investigations into William Murdoch's inventions at the Cornish Studies Library and taking a tour around Murdoch House, the site of the first coal-fired gas lighting in the country. The children are now finalising their contributions to a new local heritage leaflet about William Murdoch, which will be printed and shared via Murdoch House and the Cornish Studies Library. Watch this space!

Project team research

Find out more about the project
Murdoch Flyer at Moseley Museum
Visiting the Murdoch Flyer at Moseley Museum

Pennoweth School

Young people from Years 3/4 investigated the kinds of lighting people used in Redruth before Murdoch invented gaslight, to help understand what an amazing invention it was. The young researchers went to Moseley Museum to find out about Murdoch's other inventions. The children have been writing a blog about their experiences researching Murdoch and then making their animated film about his life and inventions

The children's animated film was shown at the Cornwall Film Festival as part of the  Cinestar Film Programme (click for details)
William Murdoch
8mm still from Murdoch House

Cornwall College

Students from Contemporary Creative Practice BA at Cornwall College worked with Cinestar and Redruth Cafe Scientifique to investigate the properties of light, limelight and Murdoch's 'new light'.
 
Film Premiere showing Friday 13th Nov 2015 at the Cornwall Film Festival as part of the Cinestar Film Programme (click for details)
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