THOMAS DAVEY (1794-1852)

In the flourishing mining industry of the 1830s, miner Thomas Davey along with the industry-renowned William Bickford, recognised the dangers of explosives for mine workers and collaborated to find a solution. This led to the patent of the safety fuse to create a slower, more controlled explosion when blasting rocks.

Thomas Davey was born in Illogan in Cornwall and baptised there on 6 July 1794, the son of Charles and Ann Davey, the eldest of their six children.

He married in Camborne church on 2 March 1818 to a local girl, Mary Thomas, and they had eight children. This was a mining district and along with many of his peers Thomas earned his living in the local tin and copper mines. He has been described as "a working miner who was a great genius for mechanical contrivances" ¹.

At the Great Exhibition of 1851 at The Crystal Palace the company of Bickford, Smith and Davey won the Prize Medal for the safety fuse.

Thomas died on 31 Dec 1852 at his home, Penlu, in Tucking Mill. He was buried on 7 January 1853 in the churchyard of All Saints, uphill from his home and the safety fuse works.

Thomas' son, also named Thomas Davey (1821-1863), improved on the process of manufacturing safety fuses and was awarded patent number 2382 in 1861.

The following documents and links give an account of the life and achievements of Thomas Davey In 1839 William Bickford was required to defend his patent through the courts because a Mr Skewes was also manufacturing similar safety fuses, contending that the Bickford patent did not apply. Click on the newspaper title to read the report on the case proceedings.   Thomas Davey's Last Will and Testament. The will was written on 17 August 1850 and probate was granted on 23 March 1853. Click on the image of the will header to read a transcript of his will taken from the copy made by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, now held by The National Archives.   When Thomas Davey's tomb was restored in 2021 this leaflet was prepared for both the local media and the Tucking Mill heritage trail. Click on the image of the tomb to read the leaflet about "The Devil's Tomb of Tucking Mill".     Images taken on the day commemorating the restoration of Thomas Davey's tomb. Click on each small image for a larger image. Thomas Davey's tomb in All Saint's Churchyard Before the unveiling of the new plaque The plaque and the flag of St Piran Wording on the plaque Alexandra with the plaque on the restored tomb The Davey family tree and Thomas' place on it (third generation) 2 Links (open in new tabs) Bickford's Fuse Works on cornish mine images Davey Bickford Safety Fuse on Wikipedia

Notes & Footnotes

Alexandra Lewis is the 4 x great granddaughter of Thomas Davey. She married David, the son of Ken & Teresa Ripper.

¹ .. The Spirit of Engineering; The Lives and Achievements of Inventors and Designers in the West Country; compiled by Members of the Retired Chartered Engineers’ Club – Exeter to commemorate the Club’s Twentieth Anniversary June 2006. William Bickford pp138-141 by J A Knivett.

² .. More recent generations have not been shown to protect the privacy of those still living.

Contacts .. alexandra.lewis@aon.com and kenripper@btinternet.com