Hello Folks,

I am currently about 80 miles away from my copy of the mining journal (digital), therefore I am unable to root through the 1840 edition, to see if anything was written about the end of Taylor's time at Consols (Gwennap)

I'm digressing a bit, but I wonder if Consols actually had a higher output of copper than Devon Great Consols. My reasoning for thinking this is that Wheal Virgin kicked off about 1757 and records of ore sales are intermittent. I saw some non-mining record office plans and sections of Consols dated 1815, which shows a HUGE amount of stoping in all sections (W Virgin, E Virgin, Fortune). When compared with later plans, it appears that it's quite a mystery how it registered such high scores in terms of tonnage.

Consols had been abandoned for a while....off the top of my head, I think 1815 was when United was re-worked and the plans probably date from this period prior to the 1819 rework....the really famous one with Woolf as chief engineer.

I have a copy of John Taylor by Roger Burt and this sheds a bit more light on the end of the lease. To sum up for those not in the know, Taylor was a flash northerner and came down here and upset the Williams lot at Scorrier House (who were the major copper players in the area). They did some nasty hillbilly activities and Taylor could not renew his lease.

As a result, Taylor decided to strip the place and "picked the eyes out". This is what I'm interested in and I wonder what records are hiding where. Possibly mining journal, possibly some correspondence to Scorrier House (big fire lost a lot of their records, apparently). I wonder whether any other contemporary records would show what was going on. It is something I'd like to know more about, for idle curiosity.

Apparently the degree to which things were stripped out was quite impressive, apparently lots of whims were rigged, sometimes more than 1 on a shaft and they literally emptied the place. Williams paid them something like £80k (might have been £100k) to stop it and finish early.

I gather subsequent plans to rework consols were ruined, largely due to this activity. From what I remember, Burt inferred from his records (that's 80 miles away as well) that they pumped the place out and not much work was done....this contributed to the non-success, despite the richness of Wheal Clifford, of Clifford Amalgamated (the title of the last working, also including United).

It's a fascinating place with probably the most spectacular set of plans in Cornwall, which reflect the prowess it held. It is a kind of insult that it is popularly referred to as Wheal Maid, which was a not very rewarding venture stemming out of one corner of the sett.

I'd be interested in finding out more about the end of Taylor's reign and what the detail of one of Cornwall's most interesting industrial stories.

Those with a digital copy of the mining journal handy are invited to flick though the 1840 pages! Roy.

S

Ill have look tomorrow for you

John Taylor was from Norwich and as such would be an outsider both in Kernow and Wales.
The story goes that when he was working Llyn-y-pandy Mine there were already shafts everywhere named Taylors and he was looking for an alternative.
Someone commented that "at the rate he was going he would eventually conquer Wales"
So the new shaft was named "Conqueror of Wales shaft"
Bet this went down really well with the Welsh.

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His performance at Devon Friendship and Gwennap was utterly awesome. He was a young man at Friendship.

It's a shame that little is written about the characters of these men.

It's also a shame that no-one has penned a mining book on Gwennap yet. Morrison's Central Mines could have used a volume 3. Buckley's County Adit skims though with the right level of detail, it's just a shame it is 8mm thick, rather than 40mm

I'm also quite keen on "harvesting" the rest of the mining journal, if we can put together a team.

the new shaft was named "Conqueror of Wales shaft"
Bet this went down really well with the Welsh.

In the Llanelli coalfield in the late 1820s a largely English company sank what was at the time the deepest shaft in Wales at 660ft and very appropriately named it St.David's Pit. Shortly afterwards an English coalowner leased a nearby promising area of this coalfield and began sinking another significant (but not as deep) shaft and, in the words of the Cambrian newspaper " a new colliery shaft was begun by George Bruin, Esq. ... called the St.George's Pit!" [the exclamation mark in is the original 1837 report].

And on the theme of "Conqueror of Wales": in a previous career, I coordinated the purchase of land for the construction of the Gwynedd section of the A55. On the Penyclip Tunnel section, a lot of the landtake was owned by the Crown Estate. Land owners had to produce deeds to prove ownership. The Crown Estate could produce no deeds and replied that they held the land "By right of conquest"! The use of this phraseology seemed a tad insensitive to Welsh feeling in the late twentieth century...

I'm also quite keen on "harvesting" the rest of the mining journal, if we can put together a team.

I did that years ago at the old Passmore Edwards ('druth studies library) for that small mine on my piece of land, a magnifying glass was essential...

Lozz.

And on the theme of "Conqueror of Wales": in a previous career, I coordinated the purchase of land for the construction of the Gwynedd section of the A55. On the Penyclip Tunnel section, a lot of the landtake was owned by the Crown Estate. Land owners had to produce deeds to prove ownership. The Crown Estate could produce no deeds and replied that they held the land "By right of conquest"! The use of this phraseology seemed a tad insensitive to Welsh feeling in the late twentieth century...

To quote Mike Harding, there's an easy answer to that "Right, get yer coat off and I'll fight you for it!":lol:

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It amazes me that Consols (or indeed any of the Gwennap mines) has not been the subject of a meaty tome. Consols certainly deserves something on the scale of Buckley's Dolcoath.

As a mining historian I do feel that we are living in a potential golden age. Significant mines like Consols are ripe for the plucking and research has never been easier what with interwebs and the like.

It amazes me that Consols (or indeed any of the Gwennap mines) has not been the subject of a meaty tome. Consols certainly deserves something on the scale of Buckley's Dolcoath.

As a mining historian I do feel that we are living in a potential golden age. Significant mines like Consols are ripe for the plucking and research has never been easier what with interwebs and the like.

Just give up work and wwrrite full time... The amount of books you want to write should keep you busy for a while 😉

Figures for post 1801 production are included in our new edition of Cornish Mines (should be on the CD), but prior to that only scattered ticketing data is available. But fuller figures could be obtained from dues accounts as much as they have survived at CRO & private hands (incl possibly Lord Cliffor's records which may be available). I think it was Lynn Willies who did a lot of work on the area, & did a presentation at the NAMHO seminar in Exeter (can anyone remember what year that was?)

I think it was Lynn Willies who did a lot of work on the area, & did a presentation at the NAMHO seminar in Exeter (can anyone remember what year that was?)

Should you be interested in a serious project I have all of Lynn's Archive on the excavations etc. prior to the building of the tip, scanned and available on 3 CD's. Lynn has, unfortunately lost 90% of his sight, and I am working my way through his archives and scanning the contents. At present I am about half way through 2 crates of stuff relating to the Roman and later mining at Rio Tinto!

Should you be interested in a serious project I have all of Lynn's Archive on the excavations etc. prior to the building of the tip, scanned and available on 3 CD's. Lynn has, unfortunately lost 90% of his sight, and I am working my way through his archives and scanning the contents. At present I am about half way through 2 crates of stuff relating to the Roman and later mining at Rio Tinto!

It is so important to preserve such information. :smartass:
All too often things are lost or just thrown away as rubbish when someone passes away.
It would we exceptionally good to see this in the public domain somewhere. Librarys and archives are good but not everyone can travel. Also archives can get very restrictive on what you can see, handle and copy.
The worst is just stuck in a club library, deteriating where no one can see it.
J.M.H.O. :angel:

Should you be interested in a serious project I have all of Lynn's Archive on the excavations etc. prior to the building of the tip, scanned and available on 3 CD's. Lynn has, unfortunately lost 90% of his sight, and I am working my way through his archives and scanning the contents. At present I am about half way through 2 crates of stuff relating to the Roman and later mining at Rio Tinto!

It is so important to preserve such information. :smartass:
All too often things are lost or just thrown away as rubbish when someone passes away.
It would we exceptionally good to see this in the public domain somewhere. Librarys and archives are good but not everyone can travel. Also archives can get very restrictive on what you can see, handle and copy.
The worst is just stuck in a club library, deteriating where no one can see it.
J.M.H.O. :angel:

I totally agree, and have often wondered what to do with my stuff when it's time to 'walk into the light'.
perhaps a bequest to the AN archive? ;D

Strange to see a scroll bar on Rufenig's post :blink:

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