Poldark Mine

Poldark Mine

Formerly	Wendron Forge, Ha'penny Park
Industry	tourism
Founded	1972
Founder	Peter Young
Website	http://www.poldarkmine.org.uk

Poldark Mine is a tourist attraction near the town of Helston in Cornwall, England, UK. It lies within the Wendron Mining District of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site. Its features include a guided tour through ancient mine workings, a museum of mining equipment and craft workshops.

It opened in 1972 as Wendron Forge and was later known as Ha'penny Park. After an ancient tin mine was discovered on the site it was renamed to take advantage of Winston Graham's Poldark novels and the BBC television series that was first broadcast in 1975.

The mine was researched by Dr. A. K. Hamilton Jenkin, an authority on Cornish mining history, who attributed it to Wheal Roots which had been active in the 18th century.

The original owner, Peter Young, sold Poldark Mine in 1988 following which it passed through several owners and declined in popularity. It went into administration for the second time in 2014, and in that year was bought by David Edwards who had been involved with the Ffestiniog Railway and the Llechwedd Slate Caverns in Wales. He said he hoped to keep Poldark Mine as an open-air museum and heritage centre.

History of the tourist attraction

Purchase and early history

Poldark Tin Mine and Open Air Museum started life in 1966 when Peter Young, a retired Royal Marine, purchased the local smithy, Wendron Forge, in an auction in the local hamlet of Trenear. Young then acquired some adjoining land which was needed for his growing collection of historic steam engines.

In 1972 a large beam engine was acquired from the now vanished village of Greensplatt where it had been pumping 500 gallons of slurry a minute from 280 fathoms at a china clay pit near St Austell. The engine was the last to work in commercial service in Cornwall when the engine was stopped in 1959. The engine dates from 1850 when it was built for the Bunny Tin Mine probably by Harvey of Hayle. It was the last Cornish beam engine to be relocated in such a fashion and took six months to erect at Poldark Mine at £8,000 for the moving costs alone. A team of volunteers under the direction of an engineer the late Peter Treloar did much of this work in 1972, the year that Wendron Forge opened to the public.

The historic Trenear tin stamping mill and its leat, and some riverside meadows were acquired in 1974.

The Poldark land now extended to around 4 acres of rural Cornwall. Several more acres of farmland above the mine were leased from farmers the late Mr and Mrs Lawrence and the meadows were used for additional parking during special events and busy times. The ground floor of their farmhouse was used for serving cream teas.

Discovery of the mine and its development for tourism

Young continued to acquire steam engines that were being scrapped at the time. Many were donated to the museum. The engines and beam engine were operated by compressed air and the steam engines soon required a larger compressor. The noise generated by the compressor caused complaints from nearby residents. Young discovered a short man made tunnel in the escarpment that overlooks the gardens and the compressor was sited near there to deaden noise. The grounds continued to have excess water and Lawrence, the neighbouring farmer advised that the water was coming from an old mine and there were some old filled in shafts and an old drainage adit on the farm.

Exploration soon followed and this proved to be the long forgotten workings of Wheal Roots, a tin mine described in 1856 as 'old mens workings' that had become part of a group of mines called Wendron Consols (consolidated) to which it was linked underground. Young decided to open the mine workings to the public. With the assistance of many volunteers, work to clear the mud and debris filled mine commenced. Many were from the Camborne School of Mines. Five shafts were discovered along with tunnels and caverns on several levels. A 1' 10" narrow gauge railway was built in the mine and another on the fields above to remove the mud using the 1905 Holman Bros winch and some mining trucks.

In 1975 a new adit tunnel was driven into the hillside granite at considerable cost to allow safe and more convenient public access and the mine opened during that year. Lighting and forced ventilation had been added. The Wendron Forge Showrooms were selling many things that were hand-made on site, these included etched stainless steel clocks and pictorial plaques. The money raised was invested into the gardens and museum.

A further long tunnel was driven through the granite in 1985 to open up deeper parts of the mine to provide a more extensive tour, these new tunnels were a major investment of over £150,000 at the time, but more and more visitors came to see Poldark Mine. Money generated by the craft shop sales was continuously ploughed into the mine and the machinery collection.

Ha'penny Park

The attraction became known as "Ha'penny Park" because Young wanted to have a licensed restaurant and to do this had to charge an entry fee - so he made it a nominal sum of a halfpenny to get around the licensing laws at the time so that drink could be served during the gardens' daytime opening hours. The council took Young to court over the entry fee.

A working waterwheel was installed inside the Garden café. Young coined the advertising phrase " A little piece of heaven on the A3297". Brass bands, Morris Dancers and the band of the Royal Marines were regular performers in the riverside gardens.

After Peter Young

Peter and Jose Young retired to Spain and sold Poldark Mine to John McCloud who ran it until it was placed in receivership in 1999. In 2000 the property was purchased by a company set up by Richard Williams who "put all of his efforts into developing this into one of the most atmospheric tourist underground mine experiences in Europe". In reality much of the collection was sold off and the entire mine and premises allowed to fall into a state of neglect. At this time one of the attractions was Evening 'Ghost Tours'; the site was licensed for the holding of civil weddings; and it was twinned with the Llywernog silver lead mine in Wales.

Following Williams' death in 2012, the attraction again declined in popularity until it went into administration in 2014. Early that year the property was put up for sale, with a guide price of £350,000. It was purchased by David Edwards who had been involved with the Ffestiniog Railway and the Llechwedd Slate Caverns in Wales, and work to repair and restore the mine commenced immediately: it reopened in May 2014.

The mine

The mine workings discovered in the 1970s were attributed by A. K. Hamilton Jenkin to an old tin mine known as Wheal Roots, which had been worked between about 1720 and 1780. In 1856 it became part of the Wendron Consols Mine and is shown on the surface plan of that mine as 'old men's workings' meaning that it was at that date considered a very old mine.

Because of the unusual way in which Wheal Roots' lode had been worked, there is little doubt that it had been discovered by tin streamers in the bed of the River Cober and was from there mined into the hillside. This is exactly the same way that the lodes of the nearby Medlyn Moor, Basset and Grylls and Wendron Consols mines had been discovered and worked. Within the mine, in an area inaccessible to ordinary visitors, are tunnels which were dug without the help of explosives and where the marks of miners' picks are still clearly visible. This indicates that some of the workings may well have been made before the introduction of explosives in the mines of Cornwall in 1689.

The mine was worked using horses and water wheels to power all the machinery and to pump water from it. In the Museum there are the remains of an early 'rag and chain' pump used before the days of steam to raise water from mines and which was found when the mine was rediscovered in the 1970s. The pump consisted of a series of wooden pipes made from tree trunks and through which a large endless chain was pulled. The chain had rags tied to it at intervals which when pulled up through the pipes lifted the water out of the mine.

In the mine at Horse Whim Shaft the granite on the side of the shaft has been worn smooth by the rubbing of the kibble against it, this shaft is over 200 feet deep and its further depths remain unexplored. In the Museum a large cast and wrought iron kibble recovered from the main shaft can be seen, it dates from the 18th century when the mine was active in tin production.

Media

The BBC approached Peter Young to use the mine as location for a number of scenes for their 1977 series "Poldark" based on Winston Graham's novels. This included some of the underground sequences and brought even more visitors to the mine.

A further but shorter BBC series Penmarrick was filmed at the mine in 1979. The Man in Iron Mask had his mask made and fitted on the anvil at Wendron Forge in the 1977 TV production, most other locations being in France.

The most recent filming on the site was in summer 2014, for the new BBC series of Poldark broadcast in 2015.

The museum

Holman Brothers factory in Camborne Cornwall was the major maker of mining equipment and had made Richard Trevithick's first high pressure boiler in 1803. The Holman family and Compair were anxious to save the extensive collection for posterity as the company had great pride in its museum which was an important part of their factory, many items working on compressed air. The company had a dedicated curator for many years. Peter Young purchased the unique collection for a nominal £1 but the arrangement included the acquisition of the museum building at a more commercial price. With the assistance of a team of volunteers, the entire Holman collection was moved to Poldark during 1979 and the vacated Camborne building was then sold.

A Holman steam winding engine was sold to King Edward Mine museum at Troon where it can be seen running on its original foundation.

St Day turret clock and bell

The Holman Museum contents included the St Day turret clock and its bell dating from 1771 that had been donated to the museum in 1948 having been moved to St Day in 1905. The workings of this 244 year old clock were from the original wooden Redruth Town Clock Tower, now replaced by a later stone tower.

The turret clock mechanism and its cast bronze bell are both on display at Poldark. An original engraved brass plate on the clock confirms the 1904 date when it was moved from Redruth and erected at St Day. The bell casting includes the date of 1771.

The bell and clock were in use at Redruth during John Wesley's last preaching in the town in the 1790s when he preached within earshot of its chimes. The same bell is used today at the mine at the start of each underground mine tour.

The bell was tolled 21 times before the first tour started on the day following Peter Young's death (Poldark Mine's founder) in summer 2014 as a tribute. That day all visitors were presented with a replica Cornish Penny made for Peter Young in 1985.

Holman (Morgan) patented traversing winding winch

The globally unique (1898) traversing winding engine deigned and patented by Holman's engineer Charles Morgan won a gold medal in Paris in 1900. In the Holman Museum from 1901 - 1979 the patented winch is now at Poldark mine museum. It is often incorrectly referred to as a model. In fact it was built by Holman Bros as a one-sixth size prototype of that later built at the Williams' Shaft of the Dolcoath Mine. They were so proud of this patented machine that it went to Paris to be seen by many millions at that time. The Gold and Bronze medals won by the company are on display in the Poldark Museum, the winder being outdoors.

The prototype or "model" weighs several tons and was exhibited at the Holman museum for 78 years and since 1979 at Poldark Museum where it is demonstrated from time to time. It has been in museums for over 114 years. The actual steam traversing winding engine weighed over 120 tons and lasted till the failure of the company in 1921. I had larger 28 inch diameter cylinders fitted circa 1911. It was mounted on 16 railway wheels and moved laterally on rails rather like the bobbin on a sewing machine, that was to save on limited space and wear and tear on the cables. There were two large balanced cages. The roofless and vandalised winding house is Grade 2 listed but in an out of the way location. At the time the Williams shaft (named after the chairman Michael Henry Williams) was the deepest mine shaft in the world at over 3000 feet, the shaft is brick-lined throughout. The unusual lattice winding head gear was moved to another shaft later in its life. Holmans were engineers for the shaft and the headgear.

Ting Tang mine bell

The Ting Tang Mine bell is believed to weigh at least 2 cwt. - 250 pounds (approx. 100 kilos). All Cornish mines had a bell that was used for various purposes, but this is the only known surviving Cornish mine bell. Used for shaft signals, calls to work and changing of the shifts, at other times the continuous tolling would summon wives and others to a mine in the event of major accident. Ting Tang Mine is located near St Day at Carharrack, the remains of the Count House can still be seen and the mine was active between 1750-1867 producing tin and copper. The mine bell was cast at the Perran Foundry in 1844. The Perran family were related to the Trevithick family by marriage.

Two Holman steam or air driven winching engines dating from 1905 and 1910, the Pendarves Estate Turret clock made in the mid 1700s by John Bennett of Helston and a range of Holman Drills and other items from the Holman Museum can be seen at Poldark Museum.

Holman Cornish boiler

Although not from the Holman museum a large Holman made riveted wrought Iron Cornish boiler from Medlyn Moor Mine close to Poldark Mine dating from the mid to late 1800's is also at Poldark Museum having been rescued from a local farm.

Association with Winston Graham

The author of the Poldark books Winston Graham, became good friends with Peter and Jose Young. Winston gave permission to use the title of his books as the name of the mine. Mines in Cornwall often changed names to attract new adventurers so the name change was nothing new, even so this change was not universally approved at the time.

Winston Graham was often at Poldark Mine and launched some of his books there. The launch of the last Poldark book was at Poldark Mine in 2002 a year before his death.

Actress Angharad Mary Rees, Lady McAlpine CBE (16 July 1949 – 21 July 2012) had the leading role as Demelza Poldark in the 1970s BBC TV costume drama Poldark. She too became a regular visitor to the mine and gardens up to the time of her death, there is now a memorial to her at Poldark which was dedicated by her son.

Falmouth Docks steam locomotive and railway items

Cornwall's last steam railway locomotive in industrial commercial service had come to Poldark in 1986 from nearby Falmouth Docks along with some other machinery as a gift to the museum. Built in 1919 as No. 1530 by Peckett and Sons of Bristol for the CWS factory in Irlam beside the Manchester Ship Canal, the 26 ton saddle tank engine was moved to Falmouth Docks where it worked to the end of their steam operations, the last driver being the late Mr Tarry. It was at one time owned by the British Transport Commission until the docks were privatised.

Following many years preservation at Poldark this locomotive was sold in 2013 to the Chasewater Railway in Staffordshire, but it was returned in October 2014.

A largely restored three foot gauge well tank 0-4-0 steam locomotive made in Berlin in 1912 has been presented to the mine. This was made by Orenstein and Koppel who supplied a similar narrow gauge engine to the Basset Mines nearby. On St Piran's day 2015 the locomotive was loaded up in Ross On Wye and was dispatched to Poldark Mine.

The mine also has a few historic narrow gauge explosives wagons: in 2014 one of these was recovered from a hedge at the mine and the other from the local pub. Another mine tip wagon is on loan to the Camborne School of Mines.

World heritage site

The mine and its museum are part of the UNESCO Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape, a World Heritage Site, and Poldark is the Wendron Mining District's interpretation centre. The Wendron mining area once employed over 9000 workers and was more than twice the number of those in Redruth and Camborne combined at the time.

Scheduled ancient monument

Near the entrance to the property is the Trenear or Poldark Mortar Stone, a unique Bronze Age Scheduled Ancient Monument to alluvial tin processing.

Tin stamping mill circa 1493

The world's first recorded site of a mechanised tin stamping mill (1493) is at Poldark along with an aqueduct over a mile long, and a water wheel pit of the same date on the surface at Trenere Wolas, a tin stamping or "scoffen" mill. The lease is recorded in the Duchy of Cornwall Rolls of that time and was granted to a Mr John Trenere, the present hamlet of Trenear being a corruption of the name. It is likely that the wheel pit and leat were in existence before 1493 as the lease, which is contained in the Rolls of the Duchy of Cornwall in London, appears to have been granted retrospectively. The waterwheel pit, leat and mill race remain today.

Trenear Dairy, Waterways & Mill Race

Tin prices fell in the late 1800s. The former Stamping Mill was sold and became a dairy from the 1880s until 1972. This was the Trenear Dairy Company Limited who used the water wheel to drive the machinery needed for the dairy for making butter and cheese, this company became part of Unigate. Known locally as "The Factory" it employed many people and took the produce from a number of local farms.

The waterwheel was latterly used to produce electricity. The pit and all of the water courses date from 1493 and flow from Porkellis Moor over a mile up the valley.

The River Cober flows first in a deep wooded gully between the road to Porkellis and the west side the Mine car park and then levels out to cross under the entrance and almost immediately turns under the Porkellis Road, dividing again to serve another mill, it flows on towards Helston. The mill supply leat forms a boundary all along the north eastern side of the Poldark Mine Demesne's car park, but at a higher level. As the grounds fall away to the south the leat reaches a head of about 20 feet above the water wheel behind the original mill.

The mill race flows under four concealed bridges through the gardens and ponds of Poldark Mine Demesne and then alongside the lower car park. All of the water pumped from the mine is added to the leat and can be heard and seen flowing from the mine's electric pumps.

It is then called the Wendron Leat and flows under Trenear Bridge down the valley behind St Wendron's Church. It supplied two further wheels before rejoining the River Cober. Water from the same source flows along both sides of the main street in Helston.

A wheel of smaller size and made in 1904 at Harveys of Hayle is now fitted in the pit.

The compressor house used by the dairy for refrigeration remains today as does the egg packing station and cold store which has three loading bays with large sliding doors at dray level. This latter building at over 150 feet long and specially insulated is now the main museum for the mine but was used by Peter Young for his Wendron Forge factory making plaques and other items.

The dairy canteen, staff lavatories and offices were here too in an adjoining building. The mine office is in the former canteen kitchen. A detached small concrete building served as a "fireproof" document store. A similar concrete paint store complete with a WC remains behind the compressor house. Underground tanks are known to exist for the storage of whey and old milk that was used by local farms as pig feed.

The Tin Mill was enlarged by the creation of a matching building alongside the original in 1896 or thereabouts. A ramp to the rear of the building at first floor level enabled the raw milk in churns to be delivered easily and poured into the machinery below. A round hole remains in the floor.

The mine and rural open air museum and gardens today

Poldark is today the only complete tin mine in the UK open to the public for genuine underground 18th Century mine tours and the only mine in Cornwall that pumps water (at a rate of around 50 million litres per annum - that's 30 to 40,000 gallons a day) just to allow public access. Most of the machinery and winding equipment is well over 100 years old and much is unique.

Several antique Cornish beam engines and other models are now on display and this includes a number of scale model working engines. The largest Cornish beam engine was made in 1850 by Boulton & Watt as a salesman's model. It is a six pillar single cylinder tank-bed engine complete with Watts parallel motion. One of the smaller engines is also a tank-bed engine of considerable age.

A wooden and metal model of Trevithick's water pumping engine is well over 100 years old and is alongside some other elderly wooden models including a hand-cranked demonstration stamps engine that came from the Holman Museum having been used at one of the Schools of Mines.

The collection of surface mine models largely made by former miners or workers at Holman Brothers are now all in the new museum along with a section of an underground shaft and loading point.

See also

• Mining in Cornwall and Devon
• Wendron
• History of Cornwall

Sources

• Poldark Mine & Open Air Museum 2015, information from various sources provided by current custodian
• The Making of Wendron Forge: an illustrated booklet published by Peter Young 1972, 1973, 1974 et seq
• Wendron Tin by Dr A K Hamilton Jenkin: a definitive book on tinning in the Wendron area with detailed mapping published in conjunction with Peter Young
• Poldark Mining Limited: illustrated guidebook published in several editions
• Poldark People: an illustrated A4 guidebook published by John McCloud
• Richard & Pam Williams, managed Poldark Mine between 1999 and 2013.

External links

• Cornish Mining
• Official Web site of Poldark Mine