Has the shaft been capped, or is it open still?

Nice to see the buildings having the due care. :)

Photograph:

🔗TREWAVAS-Mine-User-Album-Image-006[linkphoto]TREWAVAS-Mine-User-Album-Image-006[/linkphoto][/link]

There are twin shafts right on the edge of the cliff (one used for pumping, the other for winding) and they're still open at present. I don't know if there are any plans to cap them, or the adit portal into the workings which was still open when I was there. But I can't imagine ithe adit will remain ungated as there is an open winze inside. It was pretty amazing looking down the shafts from the scaffolding, a view few can have seen. You could see the water churning round in them as the sea rose and fell!

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If you haven't seen, there are a couple of good photos of some chaps abbing out of the engine house down the shafts on ME.

I haven't had a look there. Last time I turned up, it was howling and the handbrake refused to get out of the car....

Yeah, it can be really wild down there! I know of a few people who have dropped Old Engine Shaft 😉

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Do you mind if we rig off your scaffold? 😉

Dunno, what with 'elf and safety' issues, mate!!! ::)

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is that trewarvas? my friend owned the site untill recently, lot history around that site

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yer we dropped down the shaft. rigged the ropes of the stone blocks inside the engine house then dropped out of the widow. quite an intresting drop, only problem was camera wasn't working too well so didn't get many photo's. the sea has broken in the bottom of the shaft. a rope has been put across to pull your self in to the level about 6ft above sea level (well it was 6ft on the way in but a fair bit less on the way out. bit of a storm that day and some fair sized waves in the shaft). didn't really get too far into the workings, passed a couple of ore passes and a wheal barrow in the drive which has fallen apart flat on the floor of the drive with just the wheel standing up. think there's a pic of it on me. it was looking a bit wet on in and was time for the pub by that time. would be worth another trip on day tho.

jim was that vyvien p by any chance... he was the farmer at Trewavas farm when I went... he was a good guy and let me wander everywhere I wanted! He had some plans from memory too.

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viv penrose and his family are right on, known them for a few year, was drinking buddys with his boy untill kids slowed that up , we use to have a few bbqs down there back in the day, there is cut out in the cliff just up from the engine house was ideal in the summer!!! nice to hear there are some artifacts remaining down there, how far down is the accesiable level?
will have a look for those photos you mentioned cousin jack

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A couple of us did look at the dig in the adit below the higher (new) engine house. Large amount of slime in the adit, and a fair amount of timber would be required. Access to the adit mouth is interesting and only best attempted during the summer when its dry and attached to a safety line.

Its good to know that at last these engine houses are being stabilised before they deteriate further. I know a number of locals who would say that these are better than the Crowns. Quick duck ..... 😉

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i think they are better, especially with the original horse platform still in such good condition, trewavas is always forgotten alongside the crowns and is a suprise to anyone who doesnt know of them,

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Better picture than the Crowns IMHO... must admit when the farmer let me over his land to them I was blown away!

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the whole cliff area is in national trust hands now, im still not sure about access i think the coast path is the proper way around, the reason they let the area go to the national trust is because they were worried about the condition of the houses so they let them go to someone who could look after them, read in a book once that trewavas flooded during an anual underground dinner, apparently it was a rush to get out

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VP made the point that all the land and the engine house were his land (except the path) but that he never stopped anyone having access as everyone thought they could help themselves anyway so the fact I asked seemed seemed abit alien to him at the time.... he was a nice bloke who gave me a welcome mug of tea (sunny but bloody cold)... not surprised he let the NT have em ... back then he was worried they would just fall into the sea....

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whole family salt of the earth, was you lucky enough to have your mug of tea of one of the twin daughters 😉 should get round to prosper (rinsey) and trewavas a bit the next few days, its literally around the corner from me in praa sands

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Current issues for future access at Trewavas are being negotiated between National Trust & Carn Brea Mining Society, even if these are sorted out there are ecolgical problems (well known locally but can't be advertised) which would result in a close season. We did a detailed survey of most workings some years ago, apart from the obvious there are some very obscure workings only accessible in calm seas & some we need to investigate further. Hope to publish these eventually. There is some doubt about the long term security of the seaward side of the western engine shaft, CBMS have been discussing with NT about doing a detailed survey of this shaft. As stated the sea has broken in to the shaft around high water mark.
The much quoted reports about the sea breaking in and closing the mine seem to have been a rumour in London designed to push down share prices, in fact the mine closed because of heavy financial losses - like just about every other mine.

a big fat fib then? have read that tale of the sea entering the mine in a couple of different books!!

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