Cape Cornwall Mine was a

tin mine Tin mining began early in the Bronze Age, as bronze is a copper-tin alloy. Tin is a relatively rare element in the Earth's crust, with approximately 2 ppm (parts per million), compared to iron with 50,000 ppm. History Tin extraction and use ca ...

Cape Cornwall Cape Cornwall (, meaning "goose back") is a small headland in West Cornwall, England. It is north of Land's End near the town of St Just.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' Until the first Ordnance Survey in the early 19t ...

, a

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

at the western tip of

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It operated intermittently between 1838 and 1883, after which time it closed permanently and the

engine house __NOTOC__ An engine house is a building or other structure that holds one or more engines. It is often practical to bring engines together for common maintenance, as when train locomotives are brought together. Types of engine houses include: * ...

was demolished. The mine's 1864 chimney near the peak of the cape was retained as an aid to navigation, and in the early 20th century the former

ore dressing Mineral processing is the process of separating commercially valuable minerals from their ores in the field of extractive metallurgy. Depending on the processes used in each instance, it is often referred to as ore dressing or ore milling. ...

floors were for a time converted into greenhouses and wineries. In 1987 the site was donated to the nation by the

H. J. Heinz Company The Kraft Heinz Foods Company, formerly the H. J. Heinz Company and commonly known as Heinz (), is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 186 ...

. The remains of Cape Cornwall Mine now form part of the

Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape The Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape is a World Heritage Site which includes select mining landscapes in Cornwall and West Devon in the south west of England. The site was added to the World Heritage List during the 30th Session of the ...

, a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

History

Cape Cornwall Mine opened in 1838 during the Cornish mining boom. The mine was sited on

itself at the western extremity of Great Britain, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) west of the town of St Just. The small and relatively unremarkable mine closed in 1849. In 1864 the mine was reopened under the ownership of St Just Consolidated Mines, and an

with an elaborate chimney was built near the peak of the cape to serve the boiler of the mine's

whim Whim may refer to: * Whim, U.S. Virgin Islands, a settlement * Whim (mining), a capstan or drum with a vertical axle used in mining * Whim (carriage), a type of carriage * ''Whim'', a reissue of ''Adventures of Wim'', a book by George Cockroft as ...

(a machine for raising ore to the surface). The engine house and its associated boiler house were built near the foot of the hill and connected to the chimney stack by a long stone

flue A flue is a duct, pipe, or opening in a chimney for conveying exhaust gases from a fireplace, furnace, water heater, boiler, or generator to the outdoors. Historically the term flue meant the chimney itself. In the United States, they a ...

. With surrounding steep cliffs limiting the space for

, "spalling braces" (platforms attached to the shaft) were fitted to house spalling (breaking the ore into chunks for sorting) operations. In 1869 St Just Consolidated Mines abandoned the Cape Cornwall Mine, although it continued to operate independently until 1875. In 1879 the mine was once more reopened, this time under the ownership of St Just United. The

chimney draught A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typical ...

of the 1864 chimney was causing problems, and in 1880 the chimney was abandoned and replaced with a new chimney stack further downhill. The 1864 chimney stack was considered a valuable navigational aid, and was not demolished. By this time the Cornish mining industry was in sharp decline, as the Metalliferous Mines Regulation Act 1872 ( 35 & 36 Vict. c. 77) and the Factory and Workshop Act 1878 drastically limited the use of the cheap female and child labour on which the industry depended. In 1883 the mine was permanently abandoned, and shortly afterwards the engine house was demolished. Porthledden House - geograph

In 1907

De Beers The De Beers Group is a South African–British corporation that specializes in the diamond industry, including mining, exploitation, retail, inscription, grading, trading and industrial diamond manufacturing. The company is active in open-pi ...

chairman

Francis Oats Francis Oats (29 October 1848 – 1 September 1918) was a Cornish miner who became chairman of De Beers diamond company. He made extensive investments in the Cornish tin mining industry, which collapsed after he had died. He is known for Porthl ...

built Porthledden House, a

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

modelled on

Groote Schuur Groote Schuur (; ) is an estate in Cape Town, South Africa. In 1657, the estate was owned by the Dutch East India Company which used it partly as a granary. Later, the farm and farmhouse was sold into private hands. Groote Schuur was later acqu ...

, at Cape Cornwall. The

ore sorting Mineral processing is the process of separating commercially valuable minerals from their ores in the field of extractive metallurgy. Depending on the processes used in each instance, it is often referred to as ore dressing or ore milling. Be ...

floors were converted into greenhouses and wineries, while the surrounding cliffs were planted with

mesembryanthemum ''Mesembryanthemum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Aizoaceae, indigenous to southern Africa. As with many members of that family, it is characterized by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of ''Mesembryanthemum'' protect their game ...

beds.

Public ownership and World Heritage status

In 1987 Cape Cornwall was purchased for the nation by the

, to commemorate a century of the company's operations in the United Kingdom. Other than Porthledden House, which remains in private ownership, the mine site is now owned and maintained by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

. Heinz's donation is commemorated by a Heinz Baked Beanz label-shaped plaque set into the base of the 1864 chimney. The remains of the mine are included within the

, a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

since 2006.

Notes, references and external links

Notes

References

Bibliography