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]]>Old Cook’s Kitchen Mine in Pool, Redruth is a fine example of a very rich, very deep and very long lived workings. Bound by Dolcoath to the west, Tincroft to the east and South Crofty in the North, official work started at the end of the 1600’s and start of the 1700’s. Between 1710 and 1730, Brea Mine and Wheal-an-Care Mine opened together under the name Cook’s Kitchen, a name that is said to derive from a miner commenting that the lode was a similar size to his kitchen. Unfortunately there are few records from before 1760, as they were destroyed by mine agents. The period between 1763-77 saw a depression in the area due to Anglesey copper mine, however while this had disastrous effects on many of it’s neighbours, Cook’s Kitchen soldiered on through and even had good sales. During this time, the mine was using at least 13 shafts.
In the 1790, the mine was employing 340 people and continued to make excellent profits, making over £1,600 some months. Some of its best ore was producing 90% copper and sold for over £30 a ton, over three times the standard price at the time. Parts of the North Lode had reached 50′ in width.
The later part of the decade saw the mine fluctuate from rich to poor, with large sections of poor ground cropping up between the fresh sections of copper. However by May 1799, the mine was again at breaking point.
By 1819 the mine was up and going again, having reached 160 fathoms (below adit) and utilised a number of pieces of equipment, including two whims, a 36″ pumping engine and had a waterwheel on each side. The eastern wheel worked underground alongside the pumping engine, with the other on the western Red River side. Although a small amounts of tin had been found before, it was in 1835 that larger discoveries were made. In 1837, a branchline of the Hayle to Portreath railway reached the site, joining the main line at Cook’s Kitchen.
The mine closed again in 1848, reopening a year later with tin production taking over from copper. The mine continued to struggle, making fewer profits. In 1872, the whole sett was divided into two, with the northern section becoming New Cook’s Kitchen and the southern railway side forming Old Cook’s Kitchen (New Cook’s was later bought by South Wheal Crofty in 1899).
In 1872, the whole sett was divided into two, with the Northern section becoming New Cook’s Kitchen and the Southern railway side forming Old Cook’s Kitchen (New Cook’s was later bought by South Wheal Croft in 1899). In 1895, the mine sett was amalgamated with it’s southern neighbour Tincroft, with Carn Brea being added to the fold the following year. This group was rebranded as Carn Brea & Tincroft Mines Ltd. The entire venture closed for the final time in 1913.
There are few prominent remains left on the Cook’s Kitchen site. The largest structures are those of Chapple’s 55″ pumping engine and 26″ whim. The engine house was originally built in 1838 to house a 50″ engine, but this was replaced by a 55″ engine in 1872. It’s boiler house would have stood on the eastern side near the free standing chimney, which is now only two thirds of its original size. The whim was built in 1860 and hoisted using an old fashioned kibble, making it much less efficient than others at the time. Its boiler house would have stood on the northern side.
The recently uncovered remains on the southern side of the whim is that of the 1871 horizontal engine. This was used to drive the man engine, replacing the older one. Closer to the western side of the site is the remains of the arsenic stack, which originally would have been surrounded by the now buried dressing floor.
Like many of the other prosperous mines in the area, Cook’s Kitchen had numerous shafts, some of which were renamed over time.
Chapples (430-fathoms/786m), Dunkin’s Manengine, East Sump, East Sump whim, Great Engine, Middle, Horizontal, William’s (270-fathoms/494m), Dunkin’s (190-fathoms/347m), Mias, Old East, Blight’s, Bramble’s, Machine and Water.
A total of four lodes were worked on the mine, including Middle, Eudy’s, Chapple’s and Dunkin’s.
1815-1897
40,920 tons of copper, 120 tons of arsenic and 222 tons of arsenical pyrite, although this can’t be a complete reflection of its output.
Engine Houses
1794 – Boulton and Watt on Engine shaft
1789 – 3 x Harvey’s engines
>1819 – 2 x 15″ whims
>1819 – 36″ pumping engine
>1819 – 54″ waterwheel, with another of similar size
1838 – 50″ pumping engine on Chapple’s shaft
1859 – 52″ man engine on Dunkin’s shaft
1860 – 26″ whim on Chapple’s shaft
>1865 – 50″ pumping engine
>1865 – 25″ whim engine
>1865 – 18″ whim engine
>1865 – 26″ stamps engine
>1865 – 6 x waterwheels
1871 – 26″ Harvey’s horizontal engine
1872 – Chapple’s pumping engine resized to 55″
1880 – compressor house for rock drills
There is no official right of way onto the Old Cook’s Kitchen site, however there are a number of footpaths leading up from the river and the neighbouring road where you can view the engine houses through the fence. Strongbow, the company that recently bought neighbouring South Crofty have said that they intend to fix the site up, including excavating the remains of the horizontal engine in the photo above.
There is no official parking for this site, although there may be small places to pull in along the road.
Brown, K. and Acton, B. (2007) Exploring Cornish Mines: Volume Two. 2nd edn. Truro: Landfall Publications.
Buckley, A. (1997) South Crofty Mine. Truro: Truran.
Cornwall Archaeological Unit (1997) South Crofty and Cooks Kitchen: Shaft Capping Report. Available at: http://map.cornwall.gov.uk/reports_event_record/1997/1997R036.pdf (Accessed: 17 March 2018).
Dines, H. G. (1956) The metalliferous mining regions of south-west England. British Geological Survey.
Hamilton-Jenkin, A. K. (1963) Mines and Miners of Cornwall: X Camborne. Truro: Truro Bookshop.
Nance, D. and Brown, K. (2014) A complete guide to the engine houses of West Cornwall. Gloucestershire: Lightmoor Press.
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]]>Tincroft mine is another one of those seriously old and successful mines with long and diverse histories where there are very few surface remains left.
First worked at the dawn of time, work began in earnest at Tincroft mine from 1783 with a new lease was granted for the area. Not much happened until 1790 and by 1793 it was 50-fathoms deep and had a 45″ pumping engine. Over its lifetime, the mine had a vast number of engine houses and I’ll try and make a comprehensive list somewhere below.
During these early years, the success of the mine fluctuated but by 1797 was making good profits, £21,000 (£1,611,983.10 nowadays). Around this time the lease for the land was coming to an end and the mine was faced with a law suit for infringing a Boulton & Watt patent.
In 1804 a new lease was signed but the rich ground worked in the previous years was rapidly disappearing and the machinery on the mine was getting worn out. The older parts of the mine were abandoned in 1806, with work concentrating on Martin’s and Chapple’s lodes; the mine had continuous water issues during this period, heavy rains outmatching the tired old pumping engines.
In 1819, the beam on the pumping engine at Wheal Fanny, an immediate neighbour, broke leading to increased water levels in the Tincroft workings until it was fixed. Prices for copper continued to slump and in 1826 Tincroft closed, selling off all its machinery. Work started again in 1833, and by the 1840’s Tincroft was making money again; copper prices were good and production much better. In 1862, Tincroft was connected underground with Cooks Kitchen and an agreement was made that Tincroft miners could drive the 180 and 200-fathoms levels. It was however discovered that Cooks Kitchen miners had already been mining on Tincroft land on other levels resulting in £1,800 in compensation.
In 1866 tin prices crashed, ruining mines all around the county. Tincroft however had become a very proficient tin producer so still managed to make its dividends. 1868 saw in the introduction of rock drills (F. B. Doering ones) into the mine for trials, although they were not kept on despite saving time and money. Other drills were introduced at a later date.
Tincroft continued to be a successful tin mine in the 1870’s, selling 829 tons for £74,206 (£4,645,963.45) in 1872. By this time copper production had fallen by the way side, selling only £473 of in the same year. However, while its tin production was up, this did not reflect in the mines financial situation. In 1877 the mine owed £15,593 (£976,262.14) just as tin prices dropping yet again. Things didn’t improve as stoppages and ground falls reduced production. The debt was paid off in 1881 and the mine continued to produce enough to muddle by. In 1885 Tincroft and South Wheal Croft connected underground.
Tin prices collapsed again in 1893, but Tincroft was able to continue on. It began to contribute to the pumping charges of its neighbouring mines, namely Wheal Agar and East Pool; if these mines were to close it would have a disastrous effect on the water levels of Tincroft and South Crofty. In August 1895, Cook’s Kitchen was merged with Tincroft as it was threatening to close and stop pumping.
In 1896, Carn Brea mine and Tincroft amalgamated to form Carn Brea & Tincroft Mines. The mine ceased any underground work in 1921, although in 1926 its stamps engine was used briefly to treat burrows before being scrapped.
Barncoose Engine (148-fathoms/270m), Martin’s East (350-fathoms/640m), Boundary/Palmer, Old Sump (Harveys Engine, 320-fathoms/585m), Highburrow West (325-fathoms/594m), Highburrow East (390-fathoms/713m), North Tincroft, Willoughby’s (170-fathoms/310m), Downright (335-fathoms/612m), Blight’s (100-fathoms/182m), Harvey’s Engine (335-fathoms/612m), Tyrie’s (208-fathoms/380m), Old Tincroft (140-fathoms/256m), South (100-fathoms/182m), Miner’s (136-fathoms/248m), Davey’s (60-fathoms/109m), Roger’s, Fanny, Man Engine (320-fathoms/585m), Sincock (100-fathoms/182m), Polkinghorne (80-fathoms/146m), Teague’s Engine (250-fathoms/457m), Barker’s and Sykes.
Tincroft/Old Tincroft, Barncoose, Highburrow, Martin’s, Dunkin’s, Chapple’s, Teague’s, South, Pryce’s, South Branch, Grout’s, East Pool, Stainsbury’s and Druid’s.
Engine Houses
1793 – 45-inch pumping engine
1791 – 21/27-inch Hornblower and Winwood compound engine
1794 – 45/53-inch compound engine
1814 – 48-inch pumping engine
?1819 – 16-inch stamps and steam whim
1820 – 66-inch pumping engine
1825 – 18-inch whim on Martin’s shaft
1830’s – 56-inch pumping engine, 36-inch stamps with 48 heads
1832 – 24-inch whim on Old Sump
1835 – 20-inch whim on North shaft
1836 – calciner
1839 – steam winder
1840 – pumping engine on Martin’s East, ran flatrods to Palmer’s and Old Tincroft
1857 – 30 slime frames
1863 – 26-inch man engine and whim
1865 – 56-inch pumping engine and ?36-inch pumping engine
1873 – Blake rockbreaker
1874 – stamps engine, pumping engine installed at North Tincroft
1890 – 70-inch pumping engine on Old Sump, second hand Harvey’s
1891 – compressor house
What remains of Tincroft is on the mineral tramways trail and is open to public access. The man engine is the only remaining one in existence in Cornwall and has been consolidated.
There is not parking for this site.
Brown, K. and Acton, B. (2007) Exploring Cornish Mines: Volume Two. 2nd edn. Truro: Landfall Publications.
Cornwall Archaeological Unit (1991) Engine House Assessment: Mineral Tramways Project. Available at: http://map.cornwall.gov.uk/reports_event_record/1991/1991R008.pdf (Accessed: 17 March 2018).
Dines, H. G. (1956) The metalliferous mining regions of south-west England. British Geological Survey.
Morrison, T. (1980) Cornwall’s central mines : the northern district, 1810-1895. Penzance: A. Hodge.
The National Archives (no date) ‘The National Archives – Currency converter: 1270–2017’. The National Archives. Available at: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency-converter/#currency-result (Accessed: 13 March 2018).
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