stamps Archives - Explore Cornwall https://explorecornwall.org/tag/stamps/ & The Cornish Abroad Tue, 02 Feb 2021 20:24:48 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://explorecornwall.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/cropped-Explore-Cornwall-Colourless-32x32.png stamps Archives - Explore Cornwall https://explorecornwall.org/tag/stamps/ 32 32 164779662 West Wheal Basset Stamps https://explorecornwall.org/west-wheal-basset-stamps/ Fri, 28 Dec 2018 16:19:34 +0000 http://explorecornwall.org/?p=1003 The West Wheal Basset stamps sit on the side on Carn Brea in the village of Carnkie. The complex was built in 1875 in an […]

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The West Wheal Basset stamps sit on the side on Carn Brea in the village of Carnkie. The complex was built in 1875 in an attempt to keep up with the stamping and dressing needs of West Wheal Basset Mine (written about here). The 40″ stamps engine built by Tuckingmill Foundry, worked 80 heads of stamps, 32 on one side and 48 on the other. It has a separate stack behind the house, its boiler house would have sat between them.

The stamps engine also drew water from the shaft at its rear, although the West Wheal Basset engine provided some water from 1896. Two tramways also served the mine, one coming from West Wheal Basset and South Wheal Frances, and another coming up the hill from Lyle’s shaft.

The vanner house would have contained Frue vanners, shaking tables that separated black tin from other materials. These were driven by a smaller steam engine which sat in the projecting section of the front wall.

The site also contains two Brunton calciners with a separate calciner stack along with both concave and convex buddles. The complex did however extend past the walls still standing today, with further buddles to the west, remains of settling tanks and various frames to the east and west. Five ponds used to sit above the engine house.

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]]> 1003 Wheal Grenville https://explorecornwall.org/grenville/ Sun, 16 Sep 2018 15:12:19 +0000 http://explorecornwall.org/?p=265 Wheal Grenville mine in Troon.

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Wheal Grenville, much like its compatriot South Condurrow, is smuggled away in the back and beyond of Troon.

Grenville

The earliest records go back to the 1790’s, covering a number of mines that would later become Wheal Grenville, including Newton Moor and Poline Mine. It officially became Wheal Grenville in 1845, but was sold in 1855 due to lack of success. The mine continued to deepen until it hit the Great Flat Lode in 1877, allowing it to access more valuable tin. It remained successful after this, amalgamating with South Condurrow in 1903 and West Wheal Frances in 1906, forming Grenville United Mines. The industry took a significant downturn with the start of the World War along with falling tin prices, with the mine closing for a final time in 1920.

Grenville

On the eastern end of the sett sit the two engine houses on Fortescue’s shaft. The larger is the 90″ pumping engine, built in 1892. After the closure of the mine, the engine went on to work at New Cook’s Kitchen. The stack was shortened after being struck by lightening in 1897.

Grenville Grenville
Grenville

The other house belongs to the 28″ whim built in 1892. Remains on the other side of the path may have once been a two cylinder horizontal engine and may have drove a stone crusher. Behind the foundations would have been roughly the start of the incline tramway that would have run up to the new stamps on the hill behind

A little bit further west is the new stamps engine house, built in 1891 for a third-hand 36″ engine. The engine was originally built for a gold mine in Wales in 1864, then went to Nangile’s mine before going to West Condurrow. Some of the boiler house walls remain at the back of the house, and would have contained three boilers. The stamps would have run 136 heads of stamps.

Grenville

The little stack further down the track would have belonged to the calciner.
Other things near the stamps are foundations for a 20″ horizontal engine, which would have been involved in re-pumping water used by the stamps for its use in the dressing floor.

Last but not least is the sad remains of Goold’s pumping engine house. Built in 1877-78 for a 80″ pumping engine to replace the 60″ engine on Engine shaft. It’s boiler house would have stood on its western side and housed four boilers.

Grenville Grenville

Over its life, from the old mines to Grenville United, there were a lot of engine houses. Some that have no remains are a 30″ stamps with its dressing floor and a 24″ whim on Pease’s/Western shaft. Engine/Newton Moor shaft had a 36″ pumping engine erected in the 1830’s, which was replaced by a 60″ engine in 1860; this continued to pump until the new engine was put in at Goold’s.
The Polgine section of the mine had a 30″ pumping engine on New shaft and another 58″ engine on another shaft that was sold in 1827. The Belonowe Mine (South Wheal Grenville) bit had a 24″ pumping engine working in the 1820’s and a 30″ engine working in the 1860’s following it’s amalgamation with Wheal Grenville. This section was abandoned in 1869.

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