Absolutely! What was done to Wheal Peevor is a real crying shame 😢

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Absolutely! What was done to Wheal Peevor is a real crying shame 😢

then again its better than leting the whole lot fall down and it is better than some they have done!

I remember what was done to the Basset Stamps ... and the reaction to one of the land owners of the West Basset stamps. The story I was told was that if they intended to do the same, then he was going to bulldoze the lot flat. Perhaps in some cases its better left alone, 'if it aint broke don't fix it'.

As one miner told me, the engine houses etc are only a monument to one classes control and abuse of another. Meaning the land and mineral owners vs the poor hard working miner...

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I despise the fencing off of everything at Poldice. I also saw no reason for choking allot of the shafts there, all they had to do was fence and clwyd them.

I remember in 2001 there was a nice open shaft not far from the one in the lower part of the valley, pretty much overnight it was filled in and flattened over like it was never there. It was a waste of public money and I saw no reason at all for it.

I see it as such an insult to the men who worked so hard, giving their own lives at times to sink the shafts and who were so skilled in their job that they could do more with a pick and shovel than most people these days can do with a JCB.

I see the shafts as being just as, if not more, important than the buildings.

Kids are going to have a hell of a time wondering what all these castle like buildings are with lots of park benches and pretty footpaths around them are. I can't count how many times I have been to an engine house filled with excitement only to see a blank patch of grass infront of it without so much as a shaft marker or plaque to say the shaft was ever there. Leave the damn shafts there, cover them with a grate or fence them if you have to, just don't erase it because some kid or fat tourist might be dumb enough to climb the fence and fall down it!!

Well said Tezarchaeon! :curse: I also deeply lament the filling in of shafts and the 'prettification' of our industrial heritage with mazy aggregate pathways and picnic benches. Although it is highly commendable that the extant remains of our engine houses have been consolidated and preserved for posterity, why the council (particularly Kerrier) have to tinker with the surrounding landscape, removing spoil heap, levelling the ground etc. alludes me. It is a waste of public money and removes the context for the industrial buildings as well as destroying vital contextual archaeology.

Finally, what you can see at the surface of a mine is but a small part of our industrial heritage. The labyrinthine underground workings are every bit as important as surface remains and are important for charting the underground workings of a mine, understanding how mines are developed, learning about hydrology and geology, as refuges for bat species, to say nothing of their importance to a great many people like myself who love to explore them. Capping the shafts with concrete and particularly marking their spot with shabby concrete bollards that resemble rubbish bins, is an affront to the generations of Cornishmen, women and children that toiled night and day in and on these mines. OK, rant over!

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I agree completely with your rant but what I do find slightly odd is the lack of a consistant policy. At Great Condurrow for example they have put a steel mesh over the shaft so can still get the impression of the effort required and the historical context. Mind I can still see little Johnny falling into the centre impression! Also Lyle's is still visible although I'm afraid surrounded by garden furniture. I'm awaiting the tea room.
🔗CONDURROW-GREAT-Mine-User-Album-Image-31567[linkphoto]CONDURROW-GREAT-Mine-User-Album-Image-31567[/linkphoto][/link]

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I believe the centre depression normally has one of croftys old cages sitting in it, so you can stand in the cage in the shaft