Wheal Basset

Caitlin — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 11:52:14 +0000

A common site along the heritage cycle path near Carnkie, the wonderful Wheal Basset is just a small part of a much bigger mine.

Mining started here as early at the 16th century, with the mine Carnkie Bal operating on the same site. Shafts can be seen on the site on maps dating from 1737 and the area would have been worked as part of North Basset and South Wheal Frances before becoming a mine in its own rite. The lease for Wheal Basset was granted in 1851 and over the next ten years grew in size. By 1865 248 men, 46 women and 63 boys were employed and the mine had numerous engine houses.

The most prominent engine house of the Wheal Basset sett belongs to the stamps engine built in 1868 which was erected with its neighouring vanner house. An incline tramway was then installed from Lyle’s shaft at the bottom of the valley up to the new engine, powered by a 12′ steam hoist.

A change in copper prices for the worst meant that mining the ore became unviable by 1870 and the mine switched to predominantly tin production, altering their dressing floor to compensate. The North Basset section of the mine was nearly exhausted by this point, and eventually closed two years later. Some of the western parts were sold to South Wheal Frances.

In 1878 the mine went back and revisited the North Basset mine, deepening these sections led to discovery of the Great Flat Lode tin deposits. Lyle’s shaft became the main focus for some time and new equipment was installed.

Despite this, over the next fifteen years the financial situation continued to worsened. Tin prices continued to drop and older machinery could no longer be maintained. In 1896 the sett was amalgamated with South Wheal Frances and West Basset to form Basset Mines Ltd.

The joint venture lasted until 1918. The onset of WWI saw a significant loss of workers, which along with every increasing costs meant it could go on no more. Ore prices continued to drop and couldn’t pay the expense of pumping three million galloons of water from the mine. Several of the engine houses, especially Pascoe’s, needed expensive repair work.

One last attempt began in 1938 and new dressing equipment was installed to rework the old burrows. The scheme was unsuccessful and put up for sale and the British and Malayan Tin Syndicate stopped work in the last 1940’s.

Engine Houses

Basset Mine had a number of engine houses over its life. The prominent remains belong to some of its later engines; at the base of the valley are the two houses on Lyle’s shaft. One is the 80′ pumping engine made by Harvey & Co in 1879 – to make this house, four other engine houses were demolished to provide the stone. The other is the 27′ whim, built just a year later. This was put aside about ten years later and a 24′ horizontal engine used instead.

Across the valley alongside the cycle path is the remains of the two 30′ rotary beam engines that worked 96 heads of stamps. These were erected in 1868 (although another text states the second wasn’t added until 1882) and worked until they were converted into an ore bin during the 1940 reworked, feeding 20 heads of California stamps instead.

During the 1890’s, another whim was installed on Miner’s shaft, this being a 24′ horizontal whim. Close to Lyle’s shaft is the remains of the small engine that circulated water around the dressing floor and may have done some crushing as well.

One of the engine houses demolished and recycled at Lyle’s was the one at Theager’s shaft; this was at work in 1876, but there’s no documented erection date. Others at Sump and Richard’s shaft were demolished at the same time. Remains of yet another house have been found at Robert’s shaft, although this doesn’t appear on any ordinance maps.

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West Wheal Basset Mine

Caitlin — Sun, 23 Dec 2018 22:36:44 +0000

On the road between Pool and Four Lanes stands a relic of West Wheal Basset Mine. It’s stamping complex sits down the road in Carnkie. Previously known as Wheal Charmer and Wheal Haste, mining in the area dates back to medieval times. The site was initially used for farming, but a 1700’s map does show a leat from Wheal Jowel adit all the way around to Wheal Druid in Pool, with the water used to power a water engine and later a pressure engine. A lease was granted for the area in 1835 by Lady Basset under the name Wheal Haste and a 36″ engine erected.

West Basset as we know it opened in 1846 and was a successful copper mine up until the discovery of the Great Flat Lode in 1869. Unfortunately the mine failed to fully transition over to tin production, predominantly due to poor management and lack of stamping facilities.

Thomas’ 60″ pumping engine house was built in 1854 and named after the companies chairman. In 1896 is suffered a fire which bent the piston rod and the bob was then moved to Pascoe’s 80″ pumping engine across the road. This house was unique as its chimney was inside the house walls. The engine did some winding along with its pumping duties.

In 1896, West Basset amalgamated with its neighbour South Wheal Frances and became part of Basset Mines Ltd. Underground mining ceased following this and the engine was only used to supply water to its separate stamps and dressing floor. The engine stopped working completely in 1899 and the site appears abandoned on the 1907 map, with the rest of the mine closing in 1917.

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While only the engine house remains, the mine previously had a substantial number of other buildings. In front of the house, to the east was a balance bob housing while to the west was a capstan. On the western side of the engine sat its very large boiler house which held two boilers, with another building on the eastern side, potentially a miners dry. Two tramways ran alongside the north and south of the site – one of these went to Old Skip shaft while the other went to the stamps in Carnkie. Maps show that on the northern side of the house used to lie a complex arsenic works including calciners, flues, labyrinth and a chimney while on the southern side of the road used to sit a winding engine house.

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basset mine Archives - Explore Cornwall

Wheal Basset

Engine Houses

West Wheal Basset Mine