Detailed Upper Window Structural View of Whim Engine House; Looking up at the Exterior Wall of the of the Whim Engine House, Wheal Coates Tin Mine.

---

Surface digging for tin has taken place at this site above Chapel Porth since the Middle Ages. The earliest records of this site as a mine are from 1692. The remains shown here date from 1872 and were in use until the mine was abandoned in 1914, the beginning of the First World War. The last shaft to be excavated was to a depth of 185metres, well below sea level. A powerful steam engine was housed in the Towanroath shaft engine house to pump out the sea water. A second Beam engine was used to lift the ore to the surface. It was also used to stamp the ore into a fine sand which was then processed on the dressing floor. Tin was then transported by tramway as far as Portreath, Hayle or Truro to be shipped out. The site of this establishment is in a dramatic location high on North Cornwall’s rugged cliffs overlooking Chapel Porth Beach with extensive coastal views.

---

Size: 6000px × 4000px
Location: Wheal Coates tin mine, Saint Agnes, Cornwall, England.
Photo credit: © John Insull / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: abandoned, agnes, arch, archaeology, architecture, autumn, brickwork, building, chapel, chimney, cliff, climate, coast, coastline, coates, cornwall, detail, engine, environment, footpath, geology, historic, history, house, industrial, lintle, mineral, mining, north, path, pattern, porth, pump, resources, rugged, saint, scenic, seasons, shaft, south, stack, stamps, structure, tin, top, tradition, ventilation, victorian, west, westcountry, wheal, whim, window