Hey everyone!
Despite covering the mines at Botallack in a previous post admittedly just for the photogenic landscapes at sunset, I have never really looked into the industry that put the area on the global map. In this round sites of interest, they were chosen purely based on the size of the sites.
East Pool Mine.
Founded in around 1834, this was one of the main hubs of mining activity. The red wheal house to the left of the images houses the largest surviving Cornish beam engine in the world.
It was able to survive the decline in operations due to it's size and that it was deeper than other mines. Ultimately, the owner bought a neighboring mine in 1854 that was failing and unable to afford the upkeep of the pumps to keep water out.
The mine was closed in 1945.
Michell's Engine House is a restored and functioning pump which would have removed water from the shafts. The following few locations would have had the same appearance!
South Condurrow Mine Wheal Grenville Engine House.
North & South Fortescue Engine Houses.
South Wheal Frances Marriotts Shaft & The Great Flat Lode.
A 'lode' is a mining term for a large deposit of material in a small area, usually looking like a sliver through the earth.
These buildings housed huge pumps measuring 75 and 80 inches in diameter for removing water from 6000feet below the surface.
Between 1852 and 1818, over 67,866 tons of copper and 9,716 tons of tin ores were extracted at this location alone!
South Wheal Frances Pascoe's Shaft.
Wheal Basset & Stamps.
This is a short walk from the Great Lode via a path built for the miners along the side of a valley between each site for ease of access. The chunks removed from the mines were transported by tram to these stamp buildings where rocks would be compressed to separate the ore from the granite.
After which, a 40 inch pump was used to rotate two huge cam shafts with 80 heads of stamps (or protrusions) in total that crushed the ore into even smaller pieces.
There are a lot of individual wheal houses and remains dotted throughout the area and I just didn't have time to see them all but I would like to visit a few more at some point. Next year I will likely go back to Cornwall so I will maybe factor in going to other sites that are smaller.
#amazingnature #architecture #archon #creativecoin #curation #OCD #GEMS #photos #proofofbrain #alive #cent #ctp #pimp
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