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Botallack Mine
Crown Mines engine houses, Botallack
Location
Cornwall with a spot near the western tip highlighted
Cornwall with a spot near the western tip highlighted
Botallack Mine
Location of Botallack Mine within Cornwall
LocationBotallack
CountyCornwall
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates50°08′24″N 5°41′28″W / 50.140°N 5.691°W / 50.140; -5.691
Production
ProductsTin, copper, arsenic
TypeUnderground/undersea
Greatest depth250 fathoms (1500 ft, 457 m)
History
Opened1721 (beginning of deep-level mining; shallow mining since c. 1000 BC)
Closed1914 (1914)

The Botallack Mine (Cornish: Bostalek) is a disused mine in Botallack, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

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Background

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The small village of Botallack is at the western end of Cornwall, 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Penzance and 7 miles (11 km) north of Land's End.[1] The area has been inhabited since antiquity; William Copeland Borlase recorded that at one time there were a number of interlocking "Druidical circles" in the vicinity, but by 1861 all traces of them had vanished.[2] Cornwall is one of the few places in Europe in which tin deposits are found near the surface. Consequently, despite its isolation the area was of great economic significance to the classical civilisations of Greece and Rome, who relied on a steady supply of tin for the manufacture of bronze tools and weapons.[3] Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest tin mining operations at Botallack date from around the year 1000 BC, with local miners selling minerals to Phoenician traders at St Michael's Mount.[4]

The area remained dominated by mining throughout the Middle Ages, and in 1377 it was recorded that the 448 inhabitants of St Just, which at the time included Botallack, were primarily miners.[1] In 1584 Botallack was described as "a little hamlet mostly visited with tinners where they lodge and feed, being near their mines".[1] Extremely isolated at the western extremity of the country, Botallack remained an obscure area, best known for an incident on 23 July 1746 in which Charles Wesley, attempted to preach a sermon from the walls surrounding Botallack House. The insane Stephen Usticke, Squire of Botallack, encouraged local villagers to pelt Wesley with vegetables before setting a pack of hounds upon him which chased him back to Trewellard.[1][A]

Early deep level operations

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In 1721 Nicholas Boyns purchased the mining rights at Botallack, and a team of Adventurers (investors) set about creating a deep-level mine.[5] (In the terminology then in use in Cornwall, a wheal or huel was a surface operation in which ore was extracted from a rockface using picks; a bal was a pit dug with a spade; and a mine was a shaft driven underground to extract deep deposits. As surface-level deposits became exhausted and operations which had begun as wheals or bals became deep-level workings, the terms later became interchangeable.)[6]

A shaft approximately 60 feet (18 m) was sunk, with galleries at the base extending 50 feet (15 m) in opposite directions; at each end of these galleries a ventilation shaft was dug to the surface, and a further 60 ft shaft was driven. In addition, an adit was driven at sea level, to allow the newly-dug mine to be drained.[5] These shafts and tunnels were dug by hand, by labourers paid on the basis of the distance dug, rather than the then-usual arrangement of allowing the miners to keep a portion of the ore extracted.[5][B] Few records have survived of the 18th-century operations, and the timing of the various mining works is uncertain.[8]

As each new shaft and gallery was completed, it was opened up to independent miners. These miners, generally operating in teams of two adults and a child, would bid for the right to work a particular stretch of the mine for a month at a time. The miners would cut ore from the rockface, and teams of young boys with wheelbarrows would ferry the ore to the base of the shaft, where it would be winched to the surface and piled in heaps of around 100 tons. Once on the surface, teams of bal maidens (female mine workers) sifted the ore from the surrounding rock, and used hammers to break the chunks of ore.[9]

Miners at Botallack in this period generally lived on common land near the mine.[10] Until the Inclosure Act 1773, anyone moving to an area had the right to build on common land, provided they only build for a single night.[11] Consequently, the mine was surrounded by squalid and poorly built shacks, with no supply of clean water or sanitation facilities.[10] Living in these conditions and working in hazardous conditions underground took its toll: the average age of a miner was only 31, and high infant mortality meant that the average age of death was 25 years 8 months.[10]

Growth

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The mine of Huel-Cock, in the parish of St. Just, is wrought eighty fathoms in length, under the sea, beyond low water mark, and the sea, in some places, is but three fathoms over the back of the workings; insomuch, that the tinners underneath hear the break, flux, ebb and reflux of every wave, which, upon the beach over head, may be said to have had the run of the Atlantic Ocean for many hundred leagues; and consequently, are amazingly powerful and boisterous. They also hear the rumbling noise of every nodule and fragment of rock, which are continually rolling upon the submarine stratum; which, altogether, make a kind of thundering roar, that will surprise and fearfully engage the attention of the curious stranger. Add to this, that several parts of the lode, which were richer than others, have been very indiscreetly hulked and worked within four feet of the sea; whereby, in violent stormy weather, the noise overhead has been so tremendous, that the work men have many times deserted their labour under the greatest fear, lest the sea might break in upon them.

— William Pryce, Mineralogia Cornubiensis, 1778[12]

In 1778 the Wheal Cock shaft within the Botallack complex was extended westwards stretching under the seabed for 400 feet (120 m) at a depth of 600 feet (180 m). At points the roof of the mine was 4 feet (1.2 m) below the seabed; the sounds of waves were clearly audible to workers within the shaft.[13] During this period Botallack did not use steam engines for pumping or raising ore to the surface, with the mine's first steam engine introduced between 1795 and 1807.[14][C] Working in such close proximity to the sea proved hazardous. At one point, a seam of ore had been followed upwards too close to the surface, and a hole opened between the beach and the mine.[D] A wooden platform was built over the hole, which in turn was covered with turf and stones to stop the hole.[15] The sea-level adit at Wheal Cock remained in place, and being only just above the high water mark meant that at unusually high tides seawater would flood into the workings.[15] As a result of these leakages of seawater from the surface and of the buildup of groundwater, the mine workings were constantly flooded with brackish water which needed to be pumped constantly to the adit or the surface for the mine to remain operational;[15] in 1822 around 40 imperial gallons (180 L) per minute were pumped from the workings.[15]


As the mine expanded it continued to strike new deposits of tin, and by 1816 Botallack had become Cornwall's richest mine.[9] A release of 200 shares at £91.5s (about £11,100 each in 2024 terms[16]) in 1834 provided capital to greatly extend the complex, with the workings reaching a depth of 900 feet (270 m) by 1838.[9] Also in 1834, a large count house was built to house the administration of the complex.[17] This count house included a long banqueting hall, used to accommodate the monthly gathering of Adventurers at which the profits were disbursed among these investors.[18]

The tin lode did not extend as far as the mine owners had hoped, and the expansion proved a serious miscalculation. With the tin deposits near the surface becoming exhausted, by 1840 serious consideration was being given to abandoning the mine altogether.[10] The mine was saved when, in 1841, a vein of copper was struck, which proved profitable enough for the proprietors and Adventurers to keep the mine operational.[10]

Boscawen Shaft

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In 1858 a new, and very rich, vein of copper was struck at a great depth, and it was decided that the cheapest way to extract it would be by driving a diagonal main shaft.[19] The new Boscawen Shaft was duly built, at the then-phenomenal cost of £4000.[20][E] Over 2,600 feet (790 m) long at a 331⁄2° slope, the shaft stretched deep beneath the Atlantic. Rails ran the length of the entire shaft, carrying a rope-hauled iron skip, capable of carrying eight miners or one ton of ore.[20] With the new shaft open, Botallack once more became extremely profitable and one of Cornwall's best known mines.[20] On 24 July 1865 the Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra visited Botallack and spend two hours below ground, descending the shaft to its full depth and chipping off some pieces of copper ore as souvenirs.[21]

Decline and closure

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The mine continued to grow and by 1871 had 700 employees, but faced with competition from overseas mines the Cornish mining industry was beginning to struggle to remain profitable.[22] In 1875 undersea copper mining was abandoned,[23] and the Factory and Workshop Act 1878 hugely restricted the employment of relatively cheap female and child labourers, greatly adding to the costs of Cornwall's already-struggling mines.[24] Over the subsequent decade, more than half the mines of Cornwall and Devon closed.[24]

Although Botallack remained open as a tin mine, the company struggled to remain viable. Between 1890–95 Botallack made a loss of £6 per ton of tin, and in August 1895 the Adventurers disbanded themselves. Deep-level working was abandoned, although mining continued in the naturally-draining sections above the adit, 50 feet (15 m) deep.[25]

In 1906 a new company, Botallack Mines Ltd, was formed to take over what remained of Botallack and neighbouring Wheal Owles. Work began on draining the flooded mines, digging a new shaft, and installing modern electric and gas powered engines.[26] The new 1,461-foot (445 m) Allen Shaft was completed in 1912, but by this time the new company was in desperate financial difficulties.[26] With little apparent prospect of the mine becoming profitable again, the entire complex was abandoned on 14 March 1914.[26]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Stephen Usticke suffered serious mental illness in later life. At least as late as the 1960s the phrase "mad as Squire Usticke" remained in use in the area.[4]
  2. ^ The initial shafts and galleries at Botallack were mostly dug by hand, making it a slow process. A team of 20 labourers working six days a week could expect to dig about 8 feet (2.4 m) per month.[7]
  3. ^ Records are contradictory regarding the date Botallack was first equipped with a steam engine. Henry Boyns, speaking in 1882, gave 1795 as the year of the installation of the first engine; the Rev. John Buller, writing in 1842, stated that "[the engine] commenced working early in the month of April 1802, on the day in which the news of the Peace of Amiens reached the parish"; the Royal Cornwall Gazette published an account of a new engine at Botallack, possibly the first, on 11 April 1807.[14]
  4. ^ It is not certain whether the miners accidentally dug through to the surface, or if pressure from seawater forced a hole through the roof.[15]
  5. ^ Owing to the nature of the Cornish economy, which was still largely dependent on barter and truck systems, and in which many workers in mining were at least partly paid in ore, it is not possible to calculate modern-day equivalents for industrial construction costs. In terms of retail pricing, £4000 in 1858 is equivalent to about £510,000 in 2024 terms.[16]

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d Todd 1965, p. 1.
  2. ^ Blight 1861, p. 188.
  3. ^ Gerrard 2000, p. 21.
  4. ^ a b Todd 1965, p. 2.
  5. ^ a b c Todd 1965, p. 3.
  6. ^ Todd 1965, pp. 2–3.
  7. ^ Todd 1965, p. 4.
  8. ^ Noall 1999, p. 12.
  9. ^ a b c Todd 1965, p. 5.
  10. ^ a b c d e Todd 1965, p. 6.
  11. ^ Mayers 2008b, p. 54.
  12. ^ Noall 1999, pp. 12–13.
  13. ^ Noall 1999, p. 7.
  14. ^ a b Noall 1999, p. 13.
  15. ^ a b c d e Noall 1999, p. 14.
  16. ^ a b UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  17. ^ Todd 1965, p. 7.
  18. ^ Todd 1965, p. 8.
  19. ^ Todd 1965, p. 9.
  20. ^ a b c Todd 1965, p. 10.
  21. ^ Todd 1965, p. 12.
  22. ^ Mayers 2008b, p. 89.
  23. ^ Todd 1965, p. 13.
  24. ^ a b Mayers 2008a, p. 12.
  25. ^ Todd 1965, p. 14.
  26. ^ a b c Todd 1965, p. 15.

Bibliography

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  • Blight, John Thomas (1861). A Week at the Land's End. London: Longman, Green, Longman and Roberts. OCLC 7417490.
  • Gamble, Barry (2011). Cornish Mines: St Just to Redruth. Penzance: Alison Hodge. ISBN 978-0-906720-81-3. OCLC 710018381.
  • Gerrard, Sandy (2000). The Early British Tin Industry. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-1452-6. OCLC 59455166.
  • Joseph, Peter (2010). Hard Graft: Botallack Mine in the Twentieth Century. Camborne: The Trevithick Society. ISBN 978-0-904040-82-1.
  • Mayers, Lynne (2008a). A Dangerous Place to Work! Women & Children of the Devon & Cornwall Mining Industries 1300 to 1970. Cinderford: Blaize Bailey Books. ISBN 978-0-9556896-0-4.
  • Mayers, Lynne (2008b). Bal Maidens: Women and Girls of the Cornwall and Devon Mines (2nd ed.). Cinderford: Blaize Bailey Books. ISBN 978-0-9556896-1-1. (1st edition published 2004 by The Hypatia Trust, Penzance as Balmaidens)
  • Noall, Cyril (1999). Botallack. Truro: Dyllansow Truran. ISBN 1-85022-121-9. (First published 1972, D. Bradford Barton, Truro)
  • Todd, J. Ian (1965). The Knackt Bals of Botallack. Botallack: J. Ian Todd. ASIN B006XDRPLK.
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Category:Mines in Cornwall Category:National Trust properties in Cornwall

IMAGES

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The original entrances to the mineshafts were at The Crowns, around 300 feet (91 m) above sea level, where the remains of the buildings which housed the engines still stand. In the early years of operation, the only means of access to the shaft mouth was via ladders set into the cliff face.
 
The pumps and engine houses of Botallack in 1836, in the midst of its expansion.
 
Botallack Mine, c. 1840
 
Prince Edward and Princess Alexandra in the skip, at the surface end of the Boscawen Shaft
 
The discovery of lodes of Botallackite, a rich source of copper, saved the mine when it was on the verge of closure.
 
Edward and Alexandra in 1863, two years before their visit to Botallack
 
Botallack in the mid 19th century
 
The Botallack Count House has survived intact, other than some bomb damage during the Second World War.
 
Botallack Mine, photographed in the mid 19th century
 
Mining in Cornwall was traditionally a job conducted by both sexes, with male workers extracting the ore underground and female workers known as bal maidens processing ore at surface level. Restrictions on the employment of women from the 1870s onwards devastated the economy of Cornwall.
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