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We have been on quite an adventure for the last five weeks. On our trip around Southern England, we climbed the cliffs of Tintagel, floated down the River Avon, walked along the beaches of St. Ives, and explored the small hamlets of the Cotswolds, still trapped in a time foregone.
This week we are onto another part of Cornwall. We chose to keep the same hub for our lodgings while exploring several Cornwall regions. The distance between the many cities was reasonable for day travel, so it seemed like a no-brainer. What I had been interested in visiting, while in Cornwall, were the tin mines. We had touched on this a bit while visiting Tintagel, hence the name, but I had learned of this place, not by King Arthur, but by another famous name, Poldark.
A series that was set in Cornwall back in 1783, with a soldier named Ross Poldark, played by Aiden Turner. You may remember Aiden Turner from such appearances in The Hobbit. He was the dwarf who fell in love with an elf. While he was great in that film, I feel that Poldark was his crown jewel, in terms of performance. He plays a soldier who was presumed dead after failing to return from the New World after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War. Upon his return his families state, that his father is dead, his cousin is marrying the woman he loves, and he is left with a derelict mine with zero prospects. Being the capable man he is, his urge to help his community thrive brings about success in his mines once again. If you have not seen this, you must.
While I knew that the cast of the show would not be present, I had a keen interest in the history of mining and wished to see them up close. I researched the area of Cornwall to determine the best places to visit. While Ross's home was in Truro, far more inland, the mines were actually along the water. Why, may you ask? Luckily, I was just about to tell you. You see, tin and copper mines were found along the water's edges. Most of the common minerals, such as copper and tin form along the earth's crust, created in volcanic fissures. The chemical reactions create a sediment that is eroded by the ocean and brought closer to shore. To find the real treasure troves, one must go to the crust. The easiest gathering place would be the ocean, but in 1783, the technology did not allow for drilling or mechanical abilities to pull the road from the ocean floors. Instead, they would dig the mines down into the ground and then out under the shores. While the ocean floor has exceeding depths, they would only have to dig underneath the shelf if they stayed to the shoreline—first, manpower. In small towns such as this, it was not just men who were working. While women were rearing children, and handling the farm, they were also responsible for sorting the rocks that came up, sending food down to the men underground, and at times they would even hammer away at the debris that was retrieved to extract the minerals themselves. All hands on deck. Pretty incredible if you ask me. When they say, it takes a village, they mean it.
Having all the feels for this mining expedition, we headed over to the most talked about historical mine in Cornwall called Bottalack. This mine operated from the early 1500s to 1919 when a mechanical failure took the lives of 31 men. While the mine tried to sustain production after such a catastrophic failure, it finally closed its doors. The mining went out a half a mine under the seabed during its hay day. But it wasn't without compromise with 14,500 Tonnes of tin and 20,000 Tonnes of copper, this was not filled with rich history, but mineral riches galore.
Many who have seen the show Poldark or who are familiar with the mining process are well aware that the names of the mines were known as Wheals. In the show, his tin mine went by the name, Wheal Leisure. At first, I attributed the name to the Wheel that worked on the engine to not only pull up the tin from the mines but also operated the steam to hold off the water from flowing back into the mining shafts. But boy was I
wrong. I asked a gentleman who worked at the mines where the names came from. As some of you may know, Cornwall is one of the oldest areas of England. Their Cornish language, most similar to the Welsh, at least in my opinion is a complicated series of sounds jumbled together. Perhaps if I understood it, I would feel differently. Then again, their interpretation of many Americans is probably reciprocated. In Cornish, the word wheel, or huel, refers to a work/working/mining. Each mine was also given a special name to identify its familial connections or tie to the history of the town. The Bottalack Mines or Bostalek in Cornish meaning Talek's dwelling (Talek is linked to the word tale and often is considered related to the color green) was named for the town of Bottalack in Western Cornwall only twelve miles away from St. Ives. The convenience between locations on this section of the trip was incredible.
After a spot of breakfast on our balcony, we were driven and within 30 minutes we arrived at Bottalack. There were no formal gates, no welcome office. This was not a paid attraction or managed by the National Trust as far as opening or closing times. You found parking among the mud-ridden areas devoid of grass with a long wood plank to tell you how far you could pull forward. Once you stepped out you could use this area as your playground. A plaque was placed at the entrance if you could call it that, only steps from the parking area. This gave a brief history of the mining and showed a great sense of pride among the community. After all, it was during the Industrial Revolution that these places advanced their mining skills. What once were wheels and some steam-powered pumps with general manpower available for the chiseling and Horses to tow the carts containing several rock buckets to actual power that could ease the suffering of the workers, or at least make some of their conditions better. Now the job is without its dangers. While men were less concerned about bodily injury from manual labor, the fear of collapsed walls and drowning below ground was always possible. Not to mention the man men who would die from lung disease from breathing unfathomable amounts of metal dust in the dark for hours and sometimes days on end.
The Geevor Mines was a whole other ball game. While the Bottalack mines were far archaeological finds now in their present condition, the Geevor Mines were open for exploration. You could not only walk through a series of mines underground but explore the mine as it was when it closed its doors. Industrial historians would love this!
Our ticket price not only included a tour of the retired facility but also a tour through the mine shaft. In 1985, the Cornish people observed as we went through a Worldwide Tin Crisis. The price of tin plummeted overnight. Without the backing of the markets, production fell off the grid and against storms of protest by the community whose livelihoods depended on mining. Tourism, fishing, farming, and mining were the essential occupations and without the mine, thousands would lose everything. What we found out walking through the sturdy-planked walkways and the steam-engine room was a sense of pride. It was as though you could still smell the blood, sweat, and tears of those who gave up endless hours of their lives to support their families. The best part of the tour was the tour guides. They were men who had worked at the Geevor mines before their closure. They told us, firsthand, what it was like to work here. They didn't wake up and go to a job, this was a family. They depended on one another to not only get the job done but to make sure that they all made it home safely. They had each other's back. Of course, with any job, there are inherent risks. But mining was far more dangerous than the everyday 9-5 job. As mentioned previously, they spent hours below ground, breathing in heavy amounts of metallic dust, working with both archaic and modern machinery. But as time went on, and the machinery began more advanced it was obvious that the risk factors changed. The loads were lighter, but the danger was still ever present in their daily routines.
The Bottalack Mines are a great reminder of how far we have come as a people. While it is a great part of Cornish heritage, it reminds us of how much our forefathers and foremothers had to push through adversity to survive. Many families would starve without adequate mining. If the rock that was mined did not produce enough tin, copper, or arsenic, they may face homelessness. I'm astonished at the bravery and tact of these individuals who not only built these wheels but built them to test time. Pictured above you can see the remnants of a passage-built hundreds of years ago, still standing, broken yes, but standing. To the left a mining chimney, stack, still standing with its original Engine house. Below it, is what the original engine house may have looked like. Notice the giant wheel in its foreground. This device was used to pump water from the mines and then pull both men and ore from the bowels of the mining shafts that sat 550 meters below the Earth.
Wheal Mexico, a name I kind of cocked my head at the first time I saw it. What on Earth was the name Mexico doing in a Cornish mine? Well, it turns out that Geevor was not only a tin and copper mine but had also produced a good amount of silver. While they were mining for minerals here, Cornish people were also mining in Mexico. While visiting the Mexican mines, they also introduced this delicious treat. A pastry that pocketed meat, cheese, and vegetables with a crust to keep their hands off their food. Anyone who remembers my Tintagel blog will know that this is called a Pasty. Lo and behold, it traveled to Mexico, and they loved it. While the ingredients in the English pocket surely reflected an English pallet, it is obvious that this decadent dish went off without a hitch. The Mexican people took their spices and created their interpretation, calling it a paste. (Click the link to learn a little more about the history of Mexican/Cornish Mining heritage.) Having such strong ties to the Mexican mining culture, I guess it makes sense that would name a Wheal after them. Makes me wonder if the Mexicans have a mine named after the Cornish.
This was a different kind of experience altogether. While the tour of the factory portion was really interesting, it was far more surreal to walk through this dirt shaft lined with thick heavy boards. Lanterns were hung up by the beams that supported the roof from collapsing and the puddles at our feet were not of rain but from the moisture of the ocean still seeping through the small cracks in the earth below our feet, beckoning to break through. I took a moment to think of these men. How many had lost their lives drowning, being crushed by a cave-in, or poisoned slowly over time to ensure their families were fed? While we may not see mines like this anymore, it's wonderful and humbling to be able to walk their halls and hear the faint echo of those who came before, who made it possible for the amazing city of Cornwall that I love to thrive.
Well, that will conclude our time here in Cornwall, I look forward to seeing you at our next spot as we travel from St. Ives to Bridport, Dorset on the Jurassic Coastline.
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