Here's part two of the remaining headframes in the country. Other than Chatterley Whitfield, the South Wales Coalfield definitely has the best remaining colliery infrastructure I would say. The amount left in Cornwall was rather surprising, made for a decent day out though! Be a while until part 3, unless something changes, I've no plans to head up to Scotland until September.
Cornwall
Botallack
This Headframe is a peculiarity. It's the youngest on the list, not including replicas.
Archeological evidence suggests mining occured at Botallack as early as the Bronze Age, with the first recorded activity taking place in the 1500s. The mine was fully active from the late 1700s, with the first steam engine being installed in 1795 at Carnyorth Moor. Botallack Tin was £64 4 shillings per ton in the early 1800s, falling to £45 by 1838. The losses from this decline were offset by the abolition of the Tin duty to the Duke of Cornwall, which was 4 shillings per 120 lbs.
In the early 1860s, a diagonal shaft (Boscawen) was driven. It was 3,000 feet long, extending 1,800 feet under the seabed, and was 1,440 feet deep at the bottom. In 1865, the Prince and Princess of Wales visited the mine, descending this shaft. This caused a boom in tourism, which the mine owners capitalised on by charging 1 Guinea per person.
The mine was put up for auction on the 2 October 1883, as an ongoing concern requiring £20-25000 of investment. It failed to sell. The mine closed in 1895 along with many others due to the fall in Tin prices.
There was an attempt to breathe new life into the mine in the early C20th. A new deep level shaft, one of the largest ever sunk in Cornwall was commenced in 1906. It had five compartments, and the internal measurements were 19ft 6 inches, by 6ft. It was named the Allen Shaft, after Francis Allen, one of the directors of the new company.
In 1908, a horizontal steam winder was installed, along with a new mill with 40 Californian Stamps, and a dedicated power station to power the pumps and the mine workings. Unfortunately due to the reserves being far out to sea, the venture ended up failing, with the site closing again on the 14th March 1914, with the shaft having reached a depth of over 1,400 feet.
The Headframe that remains in situ today was erected by the nearby Geevor Mine in 1985 so they could expand their sett into the Botallack workings as the price of Tin was at an all time high. Unfortunately, only a small amount exploratory work took place before the collapse of the International Tin Agreement in October 1985, which sent the price of Tin plummeting. The mine was subsequently abandoned again.
No drone here, was lazy and used photos from a prior visit, sorry 😂
Wheal Concord
Situated within an active Firewood business, I was surprised to see the shaft was wide open. Wheal Concord and Wheal Briton were two small Tin mines located in Blackwater, Cornwall. Their respective opening dates are unknown, other than some time in the 1790s. Both were failures, and ended up closing again. They reopened together as a single entity in 1810, and remained open until 1868.
The wooden Headframe is another relatively recent affair, being erected in 1980 for exploratory work to reopen the mine. Small scale production occured for 2 years, before closure again due to a lack of investment in processing facilities. The Headframe was relocated from the Nangiles mine in Twelvehead, which was owned by the Wheal Jane Mine, so I'm unsure of it's actual age.
Levant
Situated on the coast, this Headstock is located directly on the cliff edge, powered by it's original Steam Engine which has been restored. Levant exploited Tin seams that stretched out over a mile under the sea bed at a depth of 1,969 feet
There are more shafts located slightly further inland, including one exclusively for winding men. Levant made use of a 'Man Engine', rather than ladders. Installed in 1847 it was used to send men to and from the workings faster. The Man Engine suffered a catastrophic failure in 1919, collapsing machinery down the shaft, resulting in the death of 31 miners. It wasn't repaired, and the deep levels were never worked again.
The mine closed in 1930, and subsequently flooded from a breach in the seabed. In the 1960s, nearby Geevor needed new seams to exploit, so they plugged the breach, and began exploratory work in the mine. They decided to reopen the mine, working it from an inclined shaft dug down from the Victory Shaft at a 25° angle. It was opened on 28th November 1980, closing again when Geevor itself closed.
Geevor Tin Mine
Was surprised to find two Headstocks here, was only expecting the massive one.
Workings at Geevor date from at least 1791. Geevor Tin Mines Limited was formed in 1911, primarily working the Wethered Shaft, named after the chairman of the mine. Sinking of the shaft began in 1910 from within an Adit. In 1911, shaft sinking from the surface began to intersect with it, which was achieved the same year. It measured 14ft x 5ft 6 inches, and had three compartments, two for skips, and one for a ladderway.
The shaft continued to deepen as the levels were worked out, with it reaching a final depth of 800 feet by the 1930s. It was decommissioned in 1944, but was retained as secondary access until the mid 1950s.
The Wooden Headframe suffered extensive storm damage in 2002, but was rebuilt with most of the original parts, and from the original plans.
Expansion of the operation westwards towards other seams facilitated the need for a new shaft, so in 1919 a new shaft was sunk 500 metres away from Wethered, which was named Victory. The shaft had 5 levels initially, with it being sunk deeper as the mine developed, reaching a final depth of 1,575 feet in 1975.
The mine entered a care and maintenance program in 1990, with all miners laid off, and the pumps were switched off allowing the mine to flood in May 1991.
South Crofty Mine
There are extensive workings under the town Pool, with the mine being 2.5 miles wide and 3,000 feet deep. The first recorded workings at South Crofty date from 1592, although it is believed mining was taking place as far back as 2300 B.C. It is a mineral rich area, producing Copper and Tin. Copper production ceased in 1880 when the shallow reserves were exhausted, with the mine financially dependent on Tin, which was being mined at the 1,560 feet level at this time.
In February 1896, mining activities were suspended and the mine allowed to flood due to costs and the low price of Tin. New investment was found, and the mine gradually reopened from 1899, with South Crofty acquiring the old Cook's Kitchen Mine. Work on sinking a new shaft down to the old workings began in 1908. The New Cook's Kitchen Shaft replaced the Robinson Shaft as the primary means of access in 1996, and was 2,523 feet deep when the mine closed in 1998.
The Headframe over the Robinson Shaft was originally made from wood, with the steel frame being added over the top in 1925 to maintain working during the upgrade.
The Robinson Shaft is currently part of a museum in Pool. Sinking of the shaft probably occurred some time in the 1800s, with it being recorded on a mine plan in 1833. In 1900, work began to deepen and upgrade the shaft, as it was to be the principal shaft of the mine. The Headframe was erected, and a pumping engine dating from 1855 was installed in 1903. It had three compartments consisting of Man riding, Haulage and Services and ladderway, with the shaft measuring 18ft x 6ft.
The shaft reached a depth of 1,860 feet by 1914. The shaft reached a final depth of around 2060 feet. It was abandoned on safety grounds in 1996 after the discovery of movement from a 'tooth' of rock between 2 Stopes next to the shaft. If the rock collapsed, it was feared it would seriously damage the shaft, causing it to collapse.
The workings are currently owned by Cornish Metals, who have been carrying out feasibility studies to restart production. They have a mining licence valid until 2071, and they own four useable shafts and a 300m decline which provides access to the upper workings.
South Wales
Dolaucothi Gold Mine
Dolaucothi is an ancient Gold Mine, first worked by the Romans. It is of great significance, because the Roman workings are very well preserved, showcasing their technological advancements. The mine was rediscovered in the 19th century, with attempts to make a successful venture out of it in the early 20th century.
In the 1930s, a 430 feet deep shaft was sunk in order to locate new seams. This venture failed, so the shaft quickly fell into disrepair, and was dangerous due to flooding on the lower levels. It closed for good in 1938. The Headgear and winding shed situated over the shaft was saved from the Olwyn Goch Shaft at Halkyn Lead and Zinc Mine in North Wales, so it's a long way from home! The Olwyn Goch Shaft was 490 feet deep.
Kidwelly Museum
This Headframe was saved from the nearby Morlais Colliery at Llangennech which was demolished in 1999 I believe.
It was first listed as a Colliery in 1883, and was the last colliery in the South Wales Coalfield to still have a steam powered winder. By 1947, the two shafts were apparently at a depth of 322 feet. And were worked alongside two Drifts.
In 1976 a roadway was driven under the Llwchwr Estuary to link up with the Brynlliw Colliery, which operated on the opposite side. The two collieries were subsequently worked as a single operation, with all the coal brought to the surface via the Brynlliw shafts, and the Morlais shaft was used for men and material. It closed in 1981.
Tower Colliery
Tower Colliery was the oldest continuously worked coal mine in the UK, with drift mines working from Hirwuan Common as early as the late C18th. The first significant workings were begun in the late 1860s.
The remains of Tower Colliery today are centred around the No.3 Drift Mine, work on which began in 1920. The Headframe is situated over the shaft for Tower No.4, with work beginning to sink the 495 feet to the workings in 1941 and finishing in 1944. It was used for the winding of man power only. In 1958, the No.3 drift was extended to reach the No.4 shaft workings, and became the primary means of moving coal and material.
The Colliery was closed in 1994 by British Coal, but was saved by the miners pooling their redundancy and buying out the mine. It remained active until the 25th January 2008, when it closed due to its reserves becoming exhausted. An Opencast operation was conducted on the other side of the Rhigos Mountain road to extract remaining coal on the surface at the site of the old coal washery.
Weather hasn't favoured me twice, so no drone here unfortunately.
coal authority does seem to be on top of it at the moment, fair bit of new fencing. Farmer has filled in another too.
