The Battersea Crucible

The Royal College of Art's Dr Peter Oakley invites you to participate in a discussion about his research on gold mining and assaying at heritage sites around the globe, including his encounters with Battersea crucibles.

Over the past twenty years, Peter has been undertaking field research on historic mining sites across Europe and North America. These include locations across the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site (the Cornish Mining WHS), such as the Geevor Tin Mine and Morwellham Quay. He has also conducted field visits to Dolaucothi in Wales, Boliden in Sweden, Bodie and Sutter’s Mill in California, and Fairbanks, Kennicott, and Skagway in Alaska. As well as providing an overview of visits to these sites, Peter will also explain how many of them have a direct relationship with Wandsworth through the Battersea Crucible, a piece of assaying equipment made by the Morgan Crucible Company at their Thameside factory during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Organised by RCA Community Engagement and the Material Engagements Research Cluster.