St Agnes Archives - Explore Cornwall

Polberro Mine

Caitlin — Sat, 11 Jun 2022 07:26:48 +0000

Situated on the cliffs south of Trevaunance Cove are the scant remains of Polberro Mine.

Polberro is an ancient mine composed to a great number of smaller setts. These include Trevaunance, The Pell, Wheal an Cleath, Pulstean, Seal Hole, North Seal Hole, East and North Pell, Dolga/Carnmeal, Balnoon, Old Polberro, East Trevaunance, Wheal Squidler, Wheal Prosper, Wheal Park, Wheal Hope, Wheal Sperries, Wheal Kine, Wheal Paul and Wheal Ferrol.

It originated as lots of small open cuts and adits scattered across the cliff, much like it’s neighbour Wheal Luna. Over time this developed into an unmappable mix of tunnels and stopes. Even the above ground parts of the mine were a jumble, with dressing floors next to the cliff while the engines were mostly inland away from the main shafts and all sorts in between.

Some of its earliest mines date from the 17th century, although the more serious work took place from 1800 onwards. Several engine houses were erected on the site, stopping and restarting several times, putting its equipment up for sale numerous times.

In 1843 it was working under the name Royal Polberro and was visited by Queen Victoria three years later. It closed again in 1848, with work commencing just two years after, producing 200 tons (203,209 kg) of tin a year. Underground work stopped during the 1870’s, with focused turned to processing the burrows. Between 1886-92 there was another attempt to make the sett work, but this too failed. In 1892 Polberro was amalgamated with neighbouring Trevaunance mine and continued until 1895 when low tin prices forced another closure.

The final endeavour occurred between 1937 and 41 under the name Polberro Tin Ltd. The engine house on Trevaunance mine was converted into a miners dry and a new dressing floor installed. Electrical equipment was moved from Wheal Kitty and the underground workings were joined with the West Kitty lodes, however discoveries were disappointing. It closed in 1941 due to lack of money, with one of the lodes they were searching for turned out to be disappointment and the other was never reached. Trounson described this as ‘one of the most regrettable happening in Cornwall for many year past”, particularly as he felt that the miners were very close to their goal and only erroneous advice from geologists inexperience’s in St Agnes lodes preventing them from getting there.

The only remaining engine house belongs to Trevaunance mine; a 60″ Harvey & Co engine, this was erected in 1885 and came second hand from North Pool Mine, briefly working at South Penstruthal before moving to St Agnes. In 1902 the engine went to Wheal Friendly.

Seal Hole was the first mine in the St Agnes district to have an engine; a Boulton and Watt 40″ was installed in the 1780’s and sold in 1805. Old Polberro Sump/Engine had a 60″ pumping engine by 1840, Seal Hole 60″ pumping engine by the 1860’s, 50″ pumping engine on Trevaunance Mine in 1885, 60″ pumping engine on Viger’s (could be the Seal Hole engine). An 80″ was put up for sale in 1848.

Two whim engines, a 22″ and 20″ were put up for sale in 1843, with another 18″ from Wheal Coates being erected in 1887. There were at least two stamps engines, one 36″ on the cliff edge that operated 72 heads of stamps and another 30″ stamps.

Shafts

Lodes

Output

Shafts

Lodes

Output

Access

Parking

References

Access

Parking

References

The post Polberro Mine appeared first on Explore Cornwall.

Wheal Prudence

Caitlin — Sun, 25 Jul 2021 09:10:20 +0000

On the cliffs between St Agnes and Perranporth are the ancient remains of Wheal Prudence.

Records date back to 1812, but many of the adits and other markers of the mine date from long before this. From 1825 it was purchased by English Mining Association along with Cligga and Perran St George, a venture which came to a halt in 1839 having reached 78 fathoms (143m) below adit. There was a 33″ pumping engine on the site at this time.

In 1862 it was reopened to work the seaward lodes and the western end of Perran St George, with the sinking of the very unique Island shaft. This was done on a rocky outcrop that the miners would reach via a wooden bridge, however by November of the same year the Mining Journal was calling it a failure. It was during 1862-3 that a 70″ pumping engine and 24″ whim were installed on the mine, these were destroyed in 1942 as they were believed to be too prominent a feature on the coastline during WWII (like those at Penhale and Wheal Golden, although many others were left standing).

From 1864 further attempts were made, but this came to a halt in 1868.

Shafts

Lodes

Output

Shafts

Lodes

Output

Access

Parking

References

Access

Parking

References

The post Wheal Prudence appeared first on Explore Cornwall.

St Agnes to Perranporth Walk

Caitlin — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 06:56:50 +0000

The north coast of Cornwall has more beautiful stretches of coast path than you can shake a chough at, and the section between St Agnes and Perranporth is a popular one.

This walk will start off in the thriving village of St Agnes. Littered with quaint little streets, quirky shops and quintessential views, this is a great little visit. The coastpath begins just up from Trevaunance Cove, the main beach and climbs to give fabulous views.

Reaching the top, you’ll pass through the site of Wheal Kitty, with the remains of its later concrete workings on your right. The path winds through some of the waste dumps, and even without the sun out you can see the distinctive red and green colours.

Past the workings you should get your first view of Trevellas Combe. The path here is quite steep, but eventually makes its way down to the bottom of the valley, where you can take a short detour to visit the 60″ pumping engine house of Blue Hills mine. There are more bits and pieces of the mine scattered down by the little beach.

The paths goes up the other side of the valley and stretches on through the gorse before reaching the edge of Perranporth Airfield. The path does stray along the edges of the runway, but don’t go too far as planes do regularly use the area.

Past the airfield you’ll start heading into mining country again. The first being Wheal Prudence, of which little remains bar a large clwyd cap; this is a very ancient mine that was actually made up of several smaller ventures. This mine is unique in that it had a shaft sunk on one of the rocky prominences, stretgically named Island Shaft. This would have been reached via a wooden bridge, which must have been a beautiful spot on sunny days, but miserable when pelted with the full might of the Atlantic winter gales.

Next up are the striking red cliffs of Cligga Head, another ancient mine with the older workings taking the form of the pock marked cliff ahead. The concrete structures at the top of mine are from the early 20th century when it was reworked for tungsten.

The coastpath is also a great place to spot the locals. Choughs were reintroduced into Cornwall in 2001 and are a real treat to see. Other birds such as fulmar’s, black backed seagulls and stonechats are also a common site.

The coastpath winds through these concrete remnants and continues on towards Perranporth. The next red section of ground belongs to Perran St George, a very old copper mine. Little remains of this workings, although there are shafts and low stone walls dotted around.

As you get closer to the grand expanse of Perranporth, you’ll begin to see the rock arch and pitted cliffs of Droskyn Mine. Just after the youth hotel, if the tide is out, there’s a set of steps that head down to the beach and you can get a good look at the old adits.

This is the end of the walk, although Perranporth beach makes a good extra emplore, especially with Chapel Rock in the centre.

Access

Parking

Access

Parking

The post St Agnes to Perranporth Walk appeared first on Explore Cornwall.

Blue Hills Mine

Caitlin — Mon, 24 May 2021 08:22:33 +0000

Just up from the beach in Trevellas Coombe are the remains of a small mine named Blue Hills.

Blue Hills was formed in 1810 out of a number of smaller concerns, including Wheal Betsy. This only lasted for nine years before closing again, with the seeing no action until 1858. From 1879 it was amalgamated with its southern neighbour Penhalls; these two mines were connected underground.

Fourteen years later the mines were operating as separate concerns once again, although Blue Hills closed in 1897. During the early 20th century it was included in the reworking of Wheal Kitty.

Shafts

Lodes

Output

Shafts

Lodes

Output

The main engine house belongs to a 60″ pumping engine from 1869. This is made entirely of slate, suggesting that the mine didn’t have a lot of money at the time it was built. Just up the valley are the remains of the horizontal whim and stamps, while closer to the beach are what’s left of a waterwheel which also ran stamps.

Access

Parking

References

Access

Parking

References

The post Blue Hills Mine appeared first on Explore Cornwall.

Cligga Head Mine

Caitlin — Wed, 11 Mar 2020 16:22:51 +0000

The Cligga Head mine sits on the coastpath between St Agnes and Perranporth and is characterised by the ruinous remains of 20th century buildings and the striking red stained cliffs.

Like so many other Cornish mines, this section of cliff has been worked for centuries, however the earlier records are few and far between. Much of what little remains of the original workings has been built over in the last 100 years, making room for the extensive wolframite and explosives works that occupied the area since before first world war. The mine is bordered by Perran St George, Good Fortune and Wheal Prudence mines.

Just east of the headland was once the location for the explosives works. These were first built in 1889 when the British and Colonial Explosives Company worked here. In 1893 the famous Nobel Explosives Company took over, although work only lasted until 1905. There was a small revival during WWI, but little came from this.

In terms of mining, work began under the Cligga Wolfram and Tin Mines Ltd in 1938 and then the Rhodesian Mine Trust Ltd in 1939. The site became of interest during WWII, with the rich wolfram veins ideal for the production of tungsten, a useful product in making armour plating and bullets. However, but 1945 the mine had closed as the American’s were able to provide more regular shipments to satisfy the wartime needs. The mill was also shut as it proved too costly to run.

Little occurred after this time. Geevor took a look at the site during the 1960’s, deepened Contact shaft and commenced some underground work. This was short lived and in 1964 Geevor turned its attentions back to the far south-west and Levant mine. Between 1984-85 Wheal Concord evaluated the area for potential work, but a drop in tin prices made this impossible and the site was left alone again.

Shafts

Adits and Levels

Output

Shafts

Adits and Levels

Output

Access

References

Access

References

The post Cligga Head Mine appeared first on Explore Cornwall.

Wheal Kitty

Caitlin — Sun, 07 Jul 2019 14:22:57 +0000

Perched on cliffs overlook Trevaunance Cove sits the remains of Wheal Kitty mine. Mining has occured all around the St Agnes area since the time of the old men, but this particular sett was first documented in 1758.

The mine was next mentioned under the names Pink and Goonlaze in 1778, with reference made to ore remaining unsold on the surface, potentially due to a lack of stamping equipment. By 1838, functioning as a copper, tin and iron pyrite mine, Kitty had reached a depth of 50-fathoms and employed 258 people.

At some point, the separate workings dotted along this patch of coastline, including Wheal Pink, Goonlaze and Wheal Bottle/Vottle were all amalgamated into one. Penhalls, a larger neighbour, remained a separate enterprise until 1904.

In 1852, the mine was reopened following a boost in tin prices, sparking celebration throughout St Agnes. The mine remained fairly prosperous until the 1890’s; in 1896 all of the pumps were stopped and work concentration on the area above adit. The following year work had ground to a halt.

The early 20th century saw more work being done on the site. In 1907, Wheal Kitty opened alongside neighbour Penhall’s mine, which had been idle since 1888, as Wheal Kitty and Penhall’s United Ltd in 1907 along with Gooninis mine. This venture came to its end in 1919.

Another attempt was made in 1926 to connect Wheal Kitty, Polberro and Wheal Friendly workings; this was completed in 1929. However, by 1930 most of these sections were exhausted and work was transferred over to the Polberro area, focusing on Turnavore shaft and Wheal Kitty stopped work for the final time.

Shafts

Lodes

Output

Shafts

Lodes

Output

Engine Houses and Equipment

>1842 40″ pumping engine
>1842 32″ stamps engine with 72 heads of stamps
>1842 16″ whim engine
1852 50″ pumping engine on Old Sump shaft
1852 60″ pumping engine from Perran Foundry
1863 50″ pumping engine on Engine shaft, built by Harvey’s
>1874 a stamps engine caught fire, with the surviving bob wall being used to provide rotative power
1910 65″ pumping engine on Sara’s shaft, built by Perran Foundry

>1916 30″ double acting engine with 2 flywheels and 48 heads of stamps

Other equipment that would have been used over the years included a Holman’s whim, a 150HP horizonal engine, a compressor that ran 3 drills, a 14″ steam winder, the 1926 mill that contained 40 electric California stamps, shaking tables and 2 Bruton calciners. There was also a tailings and slime plant and Penhall’s had an arsenic plant built in the 1870’s.

Access

Parking

References

Access

Parking

References

The post Wheal Kitty appeared first on Explore Cornwall.