Front Range To Former Bickford Smith'S Fuseworks

The front range of the former Bickford Smith's Fuseworks is a building located on Pendarves Street in Camborne. It dates partly from the mid-19th century but was rebuilt and refronted in 1910 when the site, previously occupied by a foundry, was acquired by Bickford Smith's fuseworks. The structure is constructed from coursed and dressed granite, topped with a dry slate roof and featuring brick stacks.

The building has a rectangular plan with an off-centre through-entry. To the right, there is a one-storey, four-bay range, while the left-hand side consists of a two-storey, three-bay range. The left-hand range features full-height canted bays with mullioned windows flanking a central bay, which includes a slightly projecting entrance bay with rusticated pilasters, a Dutch gable, and a two-light segmental-arched stone-mullioned window with moulded imposts. This is set above a keyed segmental-arched doorway with moulded imposts. Similar windows are present on the pedimented left-hand return.

The one-storey range to the right has a rusticated facade, with a central gabled entrance bay that features a keyed semi-circular arch. Rusticated outer arches, which are surmounted by oculi, flank large square-headed window openings. There is also a projecting canted bay for an office at the rear.

William Bickford invented the safety fuse in the early 19th century, with production beginning at Tuckingmill in 1831. The current site was acquired in 1910, marking an important development in the industry.