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