spitfire
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16 years ago
It was a shame that before the mine could re-open the old engine house ( which was superb ) on the orders of the mine inspector had to be demolished.
The manager however who had a feeling for the place ordered the stack to be filled with gorse and old tyres and set fire so the chimney could smoke one last time the day before demolition.
Latter on He had two of the underground loco's named Miner & Smelter after two of the three loco's on the Redruth & Chasewater Railway that ran alongside the mine.
spitfire
Tezarchaeon
16 years ago
I haven't seen many photographs of the engine house on Nangiles. The ones I have seen where usually from a distance. From what I saw it looked allot like Doctor's shaft engine house on North Treskerby.

What size was the engine?

It would also be good to see more photographs of the modern workings on the site. What level did they reach during the prospecting? Was it to be worked as a mine in it's self or was the prospecting just part of the process of re-opening Wheal Jane?
stuey
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16 years ago
Another tracic loss was Black Dog (Wheal Busy) and Killifreth (Hawke's) Whim. Lord Falmouth giving the go ahead for the Americans to knock some stuff down a while ago.

I have a picture on Nangiles engine house somewhere.

I'd like to know what is the other side of the collapse (in the main drive) towards top shaft.

Also, there is a bit of ambiguity about which adit is which. I think Top Shaft adit is not where people think it is. It's along a bit!
spitfire
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16 years ago
The size of the engine was a 70"
Stuey remarked on another tragic loss at black dog shaft.
The true tragic loss is we have lost over sixty engine houses in the past fifty years and that doesn't include those converted to dwellings!
spitfire
Roy Morton
16 years ago
There aren't too many pictures of Nangiles that survive. This is one I came accross a few years ago. What looks like a walled 'shaft' is an open stope on the main Nangiles lode, which was to become Wheal Jane's 'B' lode and Mt.Wellington's main lode. It was backfilled by the council (who I have to say made a magnificently incompetant mess of the whole thing), by just putting in a few timbers in the throat of the stope and then bulldozing earth over the lot. No more than a few months later the 'barricade' down below gave out and a large hole appeared at surface. This stope is historicaly significant, as it marks the outcrop of one of the richest lodes in the area, and it has been documented in detail by George Henwood in the Mining Journal around 1857/59. A collection of these 'Cornish Mine Photographs' as they were titled in the MJ, were published in a book called Cornwalls Mines and Miners, published by Bradford Barton 1972 (no ISBN number printed in the book anywhere). If you manage to get a copy read an article entitled, 'Carn Marth Hill' and near the bottom of page 179 there is a brief but unmistakeable description of this open stope.
This whole piece of land is steeped in history and there are still a few artifatcts left ...if you know where to look!
đŸ˜‰

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"You Chinese think of everything!"
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stuey
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16 years ago
Interesting info Roy.

The photo I have in mind is on P71 of Mining in Cornwall V4. (Bullen)

It shows the comedy weeny headgear over the shaft.

I suppose it's a case in point about how reworking is "more mining" and obliterates the last layer of history in some cases.

Another prominent loss were the bunch of engine houses on Penhale Point, knocked down as they were a landmark (potential) for a WWII attack.

Looking at the 1888 maps of Cornwall, just goes to show what a huge amount of stuff went missing between then and the subsequent 1909 edition. It's just the way the ball rolls onwards.

At a risk of sounding like my dad, I suppose that we will see the gradual overgrowing of workings like Consols, S Caradon, Wheal Busy, until the landscape is unrecognisable. Talking of which, Bullen's book has a photo of Killifreth back in the day when it looks more like the photos from a mars landing. Fantastic series of books and well worth a thumb through....

Roy Morton
16 years ago
This is is the method they (the council) thought would be OK. Just shove a load of dirt in there..It'll be alright!....!Yeah! ...Sure!
Its going away again now after they planted trees on top, another bright idea, not wispy little Sallow, but whopping big pine trees. Not much weight there...!!!!
Picture taken 1981.
đŸ”—Personal-Album-342-Image-110[linkphoto]Personal-Album-342-Image-110[/linkphoto][/link]

đŸ”—Personal-Album-342-Image-131[linkphoto]Personal-Album-342-Image-131[/linkphoto][/link]
"You Chinese think of everything!"
"But I''m not Chinese!"
"Then you must have forgotten something!"
justin
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16 years ago
Roy
Thanks for posting the nangiles picture...........

nangiles is unfortunately one on those mines with a lot of history.........but very few images............

it's great to seem them when they do appear

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

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