Cornish Tin Mines

Once renowned for its tin and copper, Cornwall's industrial heritage is easily identified by the many ruined structures scattered around its coast and countryside. Although mining operations can be traced back to the 18th century, the remnants visible today recall the industry's Victorian heyday when there were some 600 steam engines working in the Cornish Tin Mines. By the beginning of the 20th century the industry in Cornwall was in serious decline, and local miners were driven to search for work overseas. So respected were these men within the industry that an observer once remarked "wherever a hole is sunk in the ground today, no matter in what corner of the globe it may be, you'll be sure to find a Cornishman at the bottom of it".

Heavily concentrated in West Cornwall, the prominent chimney-stacks and the derelict stone engine houses now stand as dormant survivals and form part of the natural landscape. An area popular with visitors is the St Just mining district, near Pendeen, where several examples of the old industry can be found. At Geevor the visitor can take a tour of the Tin Mine, the largest preserved mining site in the country. Because of its late closure, and the fact that it was a mill as well as a mine, the site provides a rare opportunity to experience the entire mining process. All the major buildings still survive on the surface, and it is possible to walk through the mill to see where the mined material was washed, crushed, ground, separated and refined. For the more adventurous, an underground tour of the 18th century tunnels of 'Wheal Mexico' is not to be missed. This was one of the last mines to open in the St Just district and, surprisingly, it was still being worked well into the 1980s.

In close proximity is Levant Mine, where a working example of one of the famous Harvey Foundry winding engines, designed by Francis Mitchell, still survives. Quite unusually the entire beam is contained within the little engine house, rather than half of it being exposed as was more common. Currently, the engine is put into operational status at least once a week throughout the year. The Levant's mining history is comparatively recent to the known mining operations in the area, and did not really begin until 1820. By the time of its closure in 1930, this mine had produced in excess of 130,000 tons of copper, 24,000 tons of tin, and substantial quantities of arsenic.

Probably the most famous, and definitely the most evocative of all the coastal ruins, are the Crowns engine houses belonging to the Botallack Mine. In the early 19th century, this was the richest of the Cornish Tin Mines and had 11 engine houses working throughout the complex. Only two of these now remain, clinging dramatically to the rugged shoreline cliffs, a few miles along the coastal path south of Levant. The larger, lower house once contained a pumping engine, and the narrower structure above housed a winding engine. It became something of a tourist attraction as far back as 1865 when Queen Victoria was invited to travel down the Boscawen Diagonal Shaft in a small carriage.