It isn't often that I get a nice surprise but I visited the surviving Stank Iron Mines No 1 & 2 pits to see the remains of the Cornish Engine house on No 1 pit. On arrival I discovered that basically most of the mine and pit yard (bar the beam winder and number 2 pit engine house) survives. There is a very attractive managers house now in use as a farmhouse, an equally attractive but smaller engineers house, the stables and dry, the sawmill base, the powerhouse and fairly substantial remains of the pumping engine house on No 1 Pit which was used for pumping and winding. Sadly the number 2 pit engine house was blown up in 1905 for building stone for use in Barrow. The mines operated from 1879 until 1901.
The powerhouse is in use as a barn, but the stables and dry have been tastefully converted to holiday cottages offering the chance for mine enthusiasts to have a busmans holiday (Ring 01229-826969 for details)!! On arrival the first person I met was an enthusiast who regularly stays there and gave me the low down on the mine and pointed me to the site owners.
I knocked on the door of the Managers House and met both Glyn and Linda Caine who having made me welcome and over a very welcome cuppa showed me their archive material and told me about the site. I was then told where to go re the engine house and given pretty much full access. They don't mind serious enthusiasts visiting but access must be thru them as the site is all on their property so anyone visiting please knock and introduce yourself.
Its a lovely site in a nice rural location, but standing there at the engine house it was hard to imagine how industrius the place was when working. The No 1 engine house is run down and in need of some TLC but substantially in tact although one western wing wall has collapsed some time ago.
No trace could be found of the other engine house that used to be on site and No 1 pit is filled and grassed over entirely.
The railway into site can still be seen and is a grassy curved embankment. All other buildings are in fine condition and looked after. The managers house is a little gem with a super bay window one side looking over what would have been the pit yard, it also has fine wooden porch and front door facing out onto the lane.
I left feeling that my 30 mile detour to pull in what I thought was only an Engine House had been well rewarded.
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Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh Creeper!!!!!