Cornwall Mine History- Levant Mine and the Beam Winding Engine

Cornwall Mine History Levant Mine and the Beam Winding Engine

Levant Beam Engine | Geevor | Mining in Cornwall | World Heritage |

Take a surface tour, maybe led by one of the original greasy gang. See the old dressing floors; climb down the granite spiral staircase To explore the miners dry, look down the shaft. On a clear day there are fine views north along the Cornish Coast towards Pendeen lighthouse .

Keen walkers might like to follow the Coastal Path to nearby Botallack with its two engine houses perched on the cliffs. Whilst steam buffs will might enjoy a visit to East Pool to see the massive 90" Taylors shaft pumping engine.

The life of a miner was a hard tough one barely able to make a subsistence living. Food would have been dried fish, bread and cheese. Often they would have to walk several miles to work each day. Many were tutworkers, (paid on piecework). Miners were even expected to pay for their own candles, and explosive (note dynamite was not invented until 1867), tool sharpening and doctor. At its peak over 500 men worked at Levant.

Fatalities were common in the Cornish Mining Industry. Particularly terrible tragedy struck the mine on Monday 20th 1919 when the main connecting rod of the man engine broke and 31 men and boys lost their lives, most falling hundreds of fathoms to their death down the shaft. The man engine was a continuous rod with a series of 150 platforms, spaced at 12 feet intervals, To ascend and descend the mine a miner would jump on and off each moving platform as the rod reached the end of each stroke. The engine had a stroke rate of 5 per minute. A poignant contemporary account of the horrific events of 1919 can be read in the nearby Geevor Mine Heritage Centre.

The mine winding engine that can be seen at Levant today is the oldest surviving mine engine in Cornwall. Built in 1840 to wind two skips up and down Skip Shaft. It worked continuously from 1840 to 1930 when the mine was closed. Rescued from the grasp of the scrapman the engine eventually passed into the care of the National Trust. Restored to running order by members of the Trevithick Society (the Greasy Gang) during the years 1984 to 1992.

Please check before travelling to see if "in steam".