Wheal Vor facts for kids
| Location | |
|---|---|
 Wheal Vor
Location in Cornwall
|
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| Location | Breage |
| County | Cornwall |
| Country | UK |
| Coordinates | 50°07′04″N 5°19′36″W / 50.1179°N 5.3266°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Copper and Tin |
| History | |
| Opened | 15th-century |
| Closed | c.1910 |
Wheal Vor was a mine that dug for metals like copper and tin. It was located about 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of Helston in Cornwall, England. The mine was known for trying out new ideas and inventions, especially in the mid-19th century.
Even though Wheal Vor had a lot of valuable copper and tin, it faced many challenges. It closed down several times in the late 1800s. An attempt to reopen it in the 1960s didn't work out, mainly because of complicated rules and paperwork. Today, the area where Wheal Vor once stood is part of the important Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape.
Contents
What is the Ground Like at Wheal Vor?
The main rock found at Wheal Vor mine is called killas. This is a hard, blue-grey rock. The mine mostly produced copper and tin. These metals came from a nearby granite area called Tregonning-Godolphin.
The mine had four main areas where the valuable metal ores were found. These areas were crossed by two wide rock formations called elvan dykes. When the metal-rich areas met these dykes, the metal spread out. Miners then dug out these wider, irregular areas.
When Did Mining Start at Wheal Vor?
Wheal Vor is a very old mine. You can still see signs of old digging on the surface where miners followed the metal veins. Some people think mining might have happened here as far back as Roman times.
The underground mine likely started in the 1400s and continued until 1715. During this time, it mainly produced copper. The mine was connected to the Godolphin family, who liked to try new things. Because of them, Wheal Vor might have been the first mine in Cornwall to use gunpowder for blasting, around the late 1600s.
Around 1700, the mine might have tested Thomas Savery's new pump. This pump used steam to remove water from mines. It's not totally clear if Savery's tests were at Wheal Vor or another nearby mine. However, by about 1710, a Newcomen engine was definitely installed here. This was probably the first one in Cornwall!
The mine closed around 1715. It stayed closed for almost 100 years before Captain John Gundry reopened it.
What New Inventions Were Used at Wheal Vor?
After reopening, Wheal Vor continued to be a place for new inventions. It had the second Woolf steam engine in Cornwall in 1815. It also used one of the first Brunton machines for heating ore in 1830. Around 1856, it even had an early man engine, which was a machine that helped miners go up and down the shafts.
Wheal Vor was one of the few mines that had its own metal-melting factory, called a smelter. It took over a smelter in 1823 and later moved it to the mine site. In 1812, Wheal Vor also had the first steam-powered machine for crushing ore.
The years between 1812 and 1848 were the most successful for the mine. For a while, it was the richest mine in Cornwall! The ore dug from deep underground had about 5% tin. This was much higher than the usual 1–1.5% found in other Cornish mines. For some time, the mine regularly produced 200 tons of pure tin each month.
Despite all this success, the mine's profits weren't enough to keep Captain Gundry's company going. In 1828, the company went bankrupt, and legal problems lasted for twenty years. In 1840, the mine employed 1,174 people. But it closed between 1848 and 1853. Some work continued on the surface until 1852, when the mine got new owners.
Before the mine closed in 1848, it was described as unsafe. Accidents happened because of the poor conditions. The mine had legal issues for years before it closed, and during that time, no repairs were made. Safety got worse and worse. However, under the new owners, safety problems were fixed, and the mine reopened. It then employed about 1,200 men.
What Happened at Wheal Vor After 1850?
In 1854, a very large steam engine was installed at Wheal Vor. It was 100 inches (2.5 meters) wide and was the biggest in Cornwall at the time. This engine was used to pump water out of the mine. It was built by Harvey & Co. and its start was a big celebration.
However, by 1860, this large engine and another one were using 600 tons of coal every month. This was too expensive, so both engines were stopped and later sold.
From a high point of producing over 840 tons of tin in 1865 and 1866, the mine's output dropped. By 1877, only 13 tons were produced. The mine seemed to be inactive between 1877 and 1881. In 1881, only five people were working there. On October 23, 1879, the mine was put up for sale.
When the mine was at its busiest, it made £2,000,000 worth of tin. The owners, Gundry and his successors, made a profit of £272,000. The Godolphin family and Williams and Co. also earned nearly £100,000 from copper ore.
In 1885, an engine was set up near the valley to get tin from many years of waste material that had built up. Until 1885, up to 22 people worked there, but very little ore was sold. The mine was quiet again until 1906, when 65 people were working there, with 16 underground. The mine produced some tin between 1907 and 1910. It then closed again, probably because it was too hard to keep the water out.
Wheal Vor was the main part of a group of mines called "Great Wheal Vor United." This group included mines like Polladras Mine and Wheal Metal. Wheal Vor also took over the mining areas of two other mines: Carleen Mine and Wheal Vreah.
What About Wheal Vor in the 1900s and Today?
By the 1960s, people thought that Wheal Vor still had a lot of valuable metal that could be dug out. A company called Camborne Tin Limited wanted to reopen the mine. They thought it could create jobs for about 400 people in an area that needed them.
However, permission to reopen the mine was denied. This was because the local water company got some of its water from an old tunnel that flowed out of the mine. The water company was asked to find another water source. They looked at Loe Pool, but people worried it was polluted. The cost of cleaning this water caused more delays.
At the same time, who owned the rights to the minerals under the land was also a problem. Most of the land was owned by the Treworlis Estate, who were helpful. But the 11th Duke of Leeds owned land where the deeper parts of the mine would go. Talks with the Duke's estate took a long time. They became even more complicated when the Duke died, and then his successor also died without an heir in 1964. This meant the Duke's land had to be sold, causing even more delays.
While waiting for these problems to be solved, Camborne Tin Limited asked for permission to drill test holes. They got permission, but they couldn't drill on the former Duke of Leeds's land. It became clear that this was where the undiscovered metal was likely to be. In 1967, the company decided they couldn't wait any longer, and the mine was never reopened.
Today, there isn't much left to see above ground from the once huge mine. An old engine house and chimney are the most noticeable remains. The small houses at Wheal Vor have been protected as important buildings since 1972. The Trevithick Society published a book about the mine called Great Wheal Vor in 2015. Since 2006, the site has been part of the Tregonning and Trewavas Mining District, which is part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape.
