WP Activity Sheets - Cornwall Council · 2014-01-06 · During the 19th century the Camborne and...

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During the 19th century the Camborne and Redruth mining district produced half of Cornwall’s enormous metal output. It was ground-breaking in every sense of the word! Now those once noisy, industrious mine sites lie still and quiet but they also form an extremely important part of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site.

Thanks to the Mineral Tramways Heritage Project, from 2008 there will be seven linked largely traffi c-free trails for walkers, cyclists and horse riders in the area. Many of them follow as closely as

possible the tramway and railway routes used to transport ore and vital supplies to and from the area’s many tin and copper mines to ports of Devoran on the south coast and Portreath on the north.

A few sections are steep but others can be used by people using wheelchairs and buggies. All can be used to discover something new and exciting at nearly every turn - unique and amazing mining landscapes, spectacular views, peaceful countryside, exceptional wildlife and carefully conserved, internationally important mine sites.

Mining trails activity sheetsAn introduction

About the mining trails

Wheal Peevor Introduction Sheet 1 ……………………………………........................................................

About the activities These trail activity sheets are designed to give you fun things to do as you journey along the trail. Keep your eyes open and score yourself one point for every task done. GOOD LUCK! If you spot something interesting, you can also use the sheets to record, draw it or mark where you found it.

Before you start Make sure you fill in the following details before you start, just in case you accidentally lose your activity pack somewhere on the trail. Name ………………………………………………………………………………………..... Age ………………………………………………………………………………………..... Address / School / Group ……………………………………………………………………………………….....

Use with question 2 on activity sheet 1

Wheal Peevor Introduction Sheet 2 ……………………………………........................................................

This 1935 photo of Wheal Peevor by H G Ordish shows the remains of roofs on all three houses long after their engines had been scrapped: A stamps engine house for powering machinery that crushed the ore B pumping engine house for pumping water out of the mine C winding engine house for raising ore

Trail fact file What’s so special about Wheal Peevor?

1 It still has all three engine houses. 2 So it is an unusual example of what used to be usual at most Cornish mine sites in the 19th century. 3 Because it contains the remains of structures used in lots of different mining operations, it is an important part of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site. What was mined here? Peevor was worked for copper and tin but tin was its major claim to fame.

What is made from tin? Not just tin cans! Tin is also used to make solders found in electrical goods such as TVs, computers and telephones.

Why is the site’s heathland habitat important? Special mosses and lichens thrive on the spoil (waste) material dumped by the mine. Flowers, grasses and insects thrive here too and provide food for animals like rabbits and badgers and lot of different birds. The birds also enjoy roosting and nesting in the mine buildings.

Wheal Peevor Introduction Sheet ……………………………………........................................................

Mining at Wheal Peevor 19th century success At only 12 acres (4.8 ha), Wheal Peevor was a small mine by Cornish standards, but by 1880 it was “wonderfully successful” in working its very rich “lodes” (mineralised veins) of tin. By then 300 people were working at the mine. It was even doing well when the price of tin was falling, forcing other mines to close. But around 1888, like other Cornish mines, Peevor had to stop working due competition form abroad.

20th century working and alterations Many of the structures you see on the site today were altered when the mine was re-opened in 1911. Walls had to be knocked down to fit larger engines into engine houses, new equipment installed on top of old and wooden sheds (which have now disappeared) built to cover sections of the tin processing floors. But the 20th century working only produced small amounts of tungsten and tin and the site finally closed in 1918. Working conditions in the 19th century At its peak in 1880, around 186 miners would have worked in dark, wet and dangerous conditions underground. Above ground, the area would have been a hive of activity too. Children as young as ten would have worked with girls and women (bal maidens) crushing the ore and wheeling it to trams that carried ore and supplies to and from mines.It’s difficult to imagine, but where you are now would once have been a busy, noisy and dirty place to work.

Wheal Peevor Activity Sheet 1 ……………………………………........................................................


Eye Spy at Wheal Peevor WHAT ARE THESE? These photos are of three different covers for shafts you can find at Peevor. See if you can find where and what they are and write down your answers below each photo:

………………… …..………………… ………………… ………………… …..………………… ………………… ………………… …..………………… ………………… ………………… …..………………… …………………

WHAT ARE THESE?

……………………………. …………………………… ……………………………. ……………………………

……………………………. …………………………… ……………………………. ……………………………

Wheal Peevor Activity Sheet 3 ……………………………………........................................................ Use this sheet to trace and record the main features and most interesting finds on your journey round Peevor. Start at the top and work down (the count house is marked at the top and the elvan quarry at the bottom – mark the shafts and other features you come across in between)

Count House | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

Quarry


Quick questions Follow the recommended route to each of the Stop Points.

STOP POINT A OUTSIDE THE PUMPING ENGINE HOUSE 1. What did the pumping engine pump out of the mine? ………………………………………………………………………………………… 2. Two different engines were used here, one from 1872 and the other from 1911. a) How many years were there between the start of the two workings at Peevor? ………………………………………………………………………………………… b) How much bigger was the second engine? ………………………………………………………………………………………… 3. The remains of the arched doorway here are all that is left of a building originally attached to the engine house (all engine houses would have had this building attached to it). What was it? …………………………………………………………………………………………

STOP POINT B ABOVE THE MAIN SHAFT 1. Why were shafts made? ………………………………………………………………………………………… 2. How deep is this shaft? ………………………………………………………………………………………… 3. Why has this shaft been capped with a grid? …………………………………………………………………………………………

STOP POINT C AT THE WINDING ENGINE HOUSE 1. What did the engine here wind? ………………………………………………………………………………………… 1. How big was the mine’s first engine? ………………………………………………………………………………………… 2. How big was this using today’s metric system? (put a ring round the right answer) 0.2 metres 0.5 metres 1 metre



STOP POINT D AT THE STAMPS ENGINE HOUSE 1. Who broke up the copper ore here and how could you easily recognise them? ……………………………………………………………………………… 2. The stamps powered from here were not the kind you stick on to envelopes! What did they do? ……………………………………………………………………………… 3. How far away could you hear the stamps at work? (put a ring round the right answer) 0.25 – 0.5miles 1-2 miles 3-4 miles

STOP POINT E IN THE PROCESSING AREA 1. A liquid beginning with W and a force beginning with G were both vital in processing tin. What were they? W………. G………. 2. What did buddles do? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….... 3. Name the inventor of a machine used in the tin separating process. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....



STOP POINT F Many of the settling tanks and other features that were here have now been worn down or covered by undergrowth. 1 Name at least two different forms of plant life which have had to be cut back to enable the conservation project to go ahead. (To help you out, one begins with I and another with G!) I………. G………. 2 What is the name of the monument you can see on the hill? ………………………………………………………………………………

3 How many buddles were there at Peevor in 1878 ………………………………………………………………………………

STOP POINT G 1. How many calciners were at Peevor and what did they do? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2. What was the name of the man who developed the calciner? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3. What happened to the black tin after it had been calcined? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Wheal Peevor Talking Heads ……………………………………........................................................

Cornish miners were recycling their engines and engine houses long before we got the idea of recycling our glass, paper and plastic. In 1872 Peevor’s pumping and winding engines – and their houses – were moved to where they are now from where they had stood 350 metres away. This picture of a boiler being moved to Dolcoath mine in the early 20th century shows what the relocation exercise must have been like. Why not try giving one of the people something funny to say using a bubble.

Produced by Cornwall County Council’s Mineral Tramways Heritage Project and County Records Office working in partnership with:

Bike Chain Bissoe Bike Hire and Café, Bissoe On the Coast to Coast Trail

• Cycle hire and sales; hot and cold refreshments and take away; parking and toilets

• Qualified instruction available• Cytech trained staff, British Cycling

Centre, Members of Association of Cycle Traders

• Call 01209 870341

The Cornwall Centre and Tourist Information Centre

• Information on all aspects of Cornish history, geography, industry, art and more• Call 01209 216760

Elm Farm Cycle Centre, Cambrose, Portreath On the Coast to Coast Trail

• Cycle hire and on-site accommodation• Group tours, guided rides and bike skills training• Refreshments, farm shop, parking and picnic area with stunning views• Call 01209 891498 or 01872 890140

King Edward Mine Museum, Troon On the Great Flat Lode Trail

• Guided tours through Cornwall’s oldest complete mine site with rare and unique working tin processing equipment• Fascinating museum and gift shop• Ongoing restoration projects• Call 01209 614681

Tolgus Tin, Treasure Park, Portreath On the Tolgus Trail

• Guided tours through tin streaming mill• 3D haunted mine experience set within Tolgus Mill• Restaurant and toilet facilities • Call 01209 218198

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WP Activity Sheets - Cornwall Council · 2014-01-06 · During the 19th century the Camborne and...

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Transcript of WP Activity Sheets - Cornwall Council · 2014-01-06 · During the 19th century the Camborne and...