Ding Dong Cottage - it's just a name
24/06/14 13:30 Comment
I must clear up possible misconceptions about my home address; why would any musician in his right mind choose to call his abode Ding Dong? Good question! When I moved into Ding Dong Cottage in 1958 with my wife Judith and our two small daughters that name was already given and it arises from the fact that this row of 4 miners' cottages were formerly, (back in the 19th century), the homes of people working in the nearby Ding Dong Mines; men, women and children, seeking copper, tin and other minerals deep in the Cornish granite beneath.
The Ding Dong Mines complex, now an Industrial World Heritage Site has been mined for tin, copper, lead and other minerals since pre-historic times and was reputedly visited by the Phoenicians for its valuable resources 2,000 years ago. The most remarkable thing is, that no-one seems quite sure about the name's origin or derivation, but this is Cornwall! The expression 'ding dong' is sometimes used to describe something which is 'good', but that is the best I can offer. It is certainly true that this particular part of far west Cornwall has been spectacularly rich in minerals and until the far East started producing competing supplies in the early 20th Century was one of the main sources of tin and copper for the world.
A handful of wealthy owners made huge profits by comparison with the low wages and long hours suffered by their thousands of workers. In the 19th century a miners' average working life was over by the age of 29 and death by 35, although it has to be said that many people in this area from that period did achieve their three score years and ten or more. The 2 most common causes of death while working are said to have been from falling off a ladder (they descended more than 700'), or from contracting pneumonia after coming to the cold surface after many tiring hours of work in the hot subterranean labyrinth of tunnels which was their working environment.
The Ding Dong Mines complex, now an Industrial World Heritage Site has been mined for tin, copper, lead and other minerals since pre-historic times and was reputedly visited by the Phoenicians for its valuable resources 2,000 years ago. The most remarkable thing is, that no-one seems quite sure about the name's origin or derivation, but this is Cornwall! The expression 'ding dong' is sometimes used to describe something which is 'good', but that is the best I can offer. It is certainly true that this particular part of far west Cornwall has been spectacularly rich in minerals and until the far East started producing competing supplies in the early 20th Century was one of the main sources of tin and copper for the world.
A handful of wealthy owners made huge profits by comparison with the low wages and long hours suffered by their thousands of workers. In the 19th century a miners' average working life was over by the age of 29 and death by 35, although it has to be said that many people in this area from that period did achieve their three score years and ten or more. The 2 most common causes of death while working are said to have been from falling off a ladder (they descended more than 700'), or from contracting pneumonia after coming to the cold surface after many tiring hours of work in the hot subterranean labyrinth of tunnels which was their working environment.
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