Has anyone any info as to wether some person or persons have been treading on twiggs during the night around Union Shaft?

Lozz.

Spoke to landowners son yesterday about access for myself - which I was granted.

He never mentioned anything untoward

Nothing to do with anyone I know and it really isn't.

I gather Union Shaft goes to water and it not worth looking at whatsoever. If I didn't know this latter fact, it quite well could have been me.

I was also told (by someone other than yourself) why it would not be a good idea, before I knew about the water level.

As discussed last week stuey I have lost confidence in what I have been told by other explorers and question their own agendas.

I am going to find things out my own way from now on, if it goes to water so be it, nothing like seeing it with your own eyes.

Were you scared off by the tales of unsavoury sorts up there?

Spoke to landowners son yesterday about access for myself - which I was granted.

He never mentioned anything untoward

Hi tomh, well done, you must call in for a cup o' tea when your up there.

Lozz.

Grrrr...Me unsavory...never.

There are two ways, apart from hellicopter, parachute, hand glider, astronaut doing re entry, meteor or comet riding, pogo sticking, swinging from a rope tied to a very tall tree outside the site, space hoppers, being fired in by a cannon or by any other means of propulsion, or by any means my brain has not thought of etc etc that there is in to Union Shaft.
One is by travelling over the landowners land, the other is by a private lane then over the landowners land.

If permission is gotten from the landowner then that's right and proper.

If permission has not been given from the lane owner then that's not proper.

Tomh knows me so going through the private lane is no problem for him or anyone accompanying him.

The other lane is a public right of way so is open to all.

In the vicinity are some ankle ripping dogs and also some arm ripping dogs.

A couple of fellas that scrap the odd car might or might not be around, if around, they tend to ask questions after....

Union Shaft is deep and open so far as I am aware, the sides might or might not be unstable, there might be levels above adit level, there is almost certainly one not that far down from the collar.
Fowey consols has lots and lots and lots of miles of tunnels etc collapsed or not collapsed.
I have only six cups to make tea in, any more then bring yer own.
Intentional poking around without any landowners permission gives explorers and those interested in mining history a bad name and spoil it for others.

Interested to know what's down there, who ever goes down Union Shaft should assume that the air is bad.

Lozz

Give me a shout Tom. I'll come along and do it with you.

Ok guys, milk? one lump or two?

Re: my original post:

A few nights ago heavy breaking of twigs around the vicinity of Union Shaft, two nights running, I saw 'nowt but next door reckoned they saw a light I was speaking to a guy who does a bit of work for the owners on that land a couple of days ago and he said he hadn't seen anything.

Lozz.

Stuck up here on my hill in the Peak District, I am intrigued; You know summat about this shaft do you Lozz?

---

I probably sound like a cynical b*stard as I dont trust what I have been told generally.

Ever since I read Jim Camp book 'start with no' it has really taught me to qualify everything myself, assume nothing and question the agendas of who has told me what.

I have got permission to go and look at it whenever, however I would rather that Nathan the landowners son is present so the others up there know im legit.

The whole Fowey consols and surrounding area is genuinely a bit 'get off my land' ESPECIALLY the bit near pontsmill!

Stuck up here on my hill in the Peak District, I am intrigued; You know summat about this shaft do you Lozz?

Hi, a bit, its about 80 ft from where I'm typing this, it was sunk down to just short of 2,000 ft, a lot of stuff was dumped down it 'till flush with the collar, usual hung up job followed by lots of rain and a rumble and woosh, even so I think it is open for a couple of hundred feet or more, I would think water down there but might not be above the adit levels and levels above adit.
Union shaft was the main shaft in the early days, pretty sure it pre dates Austens Engine shaft, probably named Union shaft when the adjoing mines were consolidated into Fowey Consols maybe.
I am not sure if the adits are actually draining or blocked, one I think came out around Ponts Mill and another came out South at the bottom of the valley where the mainline railway is.
I have a copy of the book on Fowey Consols "A Richly Yielding Piece of Ground" Some old Tythe map copies of part of the mining sett and the large scale 1880's series for some of the area as well as copies of part of the underground ground workings around Union shaft, if anyone else has any info they might share,
Fowey Consols was a fascinating place, it was by chance that I ended up living near by.
Does any one know if the twin shafts at Austens Engine are still open?

Lozz.

I probably sound like a cynical b*stard as I dont trust what I have been told generally.

Ever since I read Jim Camp book 'start with no' it has really taught me to qualify everything myself, assume nothing and question the agendas of who has told me what.

I have got permission to go and look at it whenever, however I would rather that Nathan the landowners son is present so the others up there know im legit.

The whole Fowey consols and surrounding area is genuinely a bit 'get off my land' ESPECIALLY the bit near pontsmill!

Your on the button there tomh, paddle your own canoe is the best.
Yes, a bit get off my land up around here but I will look after you.

Lozz.

From memory when I used to hang around with girls at the stables, what was then know as Snowlands 'Top Yard' (they were in my year at school before anyone makes a wise crack!) Austens had an awful lot thrown down it, there was a gate leading up to the south side of the collar (directly oppesite the engine house), which was decidedly ropey, I wouldn't be suprised it its full to the gunnels now, unless there's some decidely dodgy woodwork from the 1860's holding it up! As a matter of interest a shaft ran in about 10m south-east of the stable block about 1991, unfortunately at the time I wasn't into the underground side of things (that had to wait till Goothing in the late 90's with a certain group of chaps know to drink in Lanner on a Thursday night, I digress), I believe it was backfilled pretty sharpish...
One thing I'd always fancied doing was try to find/dig the portal for the incline railway tunnel that came up behind Austen's and brought up coal from the canal below.
As Lozz says the whole concern is fascinating on a whole series of levels...

From memory when I used to hang around with girls at the stables, what was then know as Snowlands 'Top Yard' (they were in my year at school before anyone makes a wise crack!) Austens had an awful lot thrown down it, there was a gate leading up to the south side of the collar (directly oppesite the engine house), which was decidedly ropey, I wouldn't be suprised it its full to the gunnels now, unless there's some decidely dodgy woodwork from the 1860's holding it up! As a matter of interest a shaft ran in about 10m south-east of the stable block about 1991, unfortunately at the time I wasn't into the underground side of things (that had to wait till Goothing in the late 90's with a certain group of chaps know to drink in Lanner on a Thursday night, I digress), I believe it was backfilled pretty sharpish...
One thing I'd always fancied doing was try to find/dig the portal for the incline railway tunnel that came up behind Austen's and brought up coal from the canal below.
As Lozz says the whole concern is fascinating on a whole series of levels...

Hi Darren, thanks for that, the run in South East of the stables might have been the back of a shallow tunnel,
According to De La Beche's early plan there was a shallow tunnel runing from Trathens shaft, its portal coming out onto a shallow cutting, the portal location was more or less on the boundary of Snowlands and another property South East of the stables, the Trathens tunnel was fitted with rail track, once the track broke surface it ran down to where the ore was dumped for processing, the other possibility for the run in might be pownes shaft which appears to be filled in with a horse fence round it.
The incline plane is shown on the 1840 tithe map, so far as I have made out the tunnel for the incline was lengthend a short distance to accomodate the widening of Penpillick Hill.

Lozz.

Pownes shaft rings a bell...
There was a pretty good plan and description of Consols in John Keast's 'The King of Mid-Cornwall'; a very readable biography of Austen/Treffry (he took the latter name on inheriting the estate (Reffry was his mothers maiden name). In Keast's preamble he's tells a story of emptying sacks of papers about the Treffry estate on the floor of Place House (the family seat in Fowey) after rescuing then from what was left of the estate's office at Par Harbour, I can't remember how much of the above plan was based on these papers but they're now held in the County Record Office if anyone is up for a trawl...

Pownes shaft rings a bell...
There was a pretty good plan and description of Consols in John Keast's 'The King of Mid-Cornwall'; a very readable biography of Austen/Treffry (he took the latter name on inheriting the estate (Reffry was his mothers maiden name). In Keast's preamble he's tells a story of emptying sacks of papers about the Treffry estate on the floor of Place House (the family seat in Fowey) after rescuing then from what was left of the estate's office at Par Harbour, I can't remember how much of the above plan was based on these papers but they're now held in the County Record Office if anyone is up for a trawl...

Hi Darren, yes I have heard of that book, the only one I have is A Richly Yielding Piece of Ground by Jim Lewis (still available) There are as I am aware only a few known plans, the underground plan, this is very large and detailed, I have copies of the section in the immediate vicinity of Union shaft, they are in the photo section of Fowey Consols on this forum, original at CRO.
CRO I believe have one unknown sectional view of one of the lodes showing the blocked out ground.
De La Beche's suface plan and transverse sectional shafts and levels plan running from Austens Engine shaft down to Sampsons shaft are in Jim Lewis's book, I think the originals are at CRO.
There are some leat plans at CRO which I have not seen.

As you say a fascinating place that once employed 1,600 or there abouts at it's peak with an extensive use of water power, his extensive use of water gave Treffry the edge I think. Not too many surface remains these days, a lot of the shafts can be made out but I have not been to see what's open and what's not, I've heard Trathens is but might have a few cars down it maybe?

Yes, I remember the pub at the bottom of Lanner, the Fox and Hounds, lived not far from there back then near Gwennap Pit.

There are 2 open shafts on the fields above The new houses on Tywardreath Highway, sound very deep and have crappy collars. I have permission to be on that land at the open so have had a good gander.

I seem to do well with permission to look at stuff, coming from what was a farming family has great advantages in this pursuit

There are 2 open shafts on the fields above The new houses on Tywardreath Highway, sound very deep and have crappy collars. I have permission to be on that land at the open so have had a good gander.

I seem to do well with permission to look at stuff, coming from what was a farming family has great advantages in this pursuit

Would they be part of Fowey Consols? Presumably these are on the left driving towards Penpillick Hill?

Lozz.

I 'assume' (a word I do not like) them to be connected to Fowey Consols.
As you come down Penpillick Hill look to the fields up to the left, you will see a clump of trees to the middle of one field, this is one of the shafts, the most easily identifieable.

http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=50.366248&lon=-4.705502&z=17.5&r=0&src=msa 

http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=50.367148&lon=-4.703319&z=17.5&r=0&src=msa 

I understand that this may be another shaft
http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=50.364344&lon=-4.704074&z=17.5&r=0&src=msa 

Thanks, they could well be, FC was a large set.

Lozz.