Marke Valley Mine Boundary Post Bodmin Moor Cornwall
by Richard Brookes
Title
Marke Valley Mine Boundary Post Bodmin Moor Cornwall
Artist
Richard Brookes
Medium
Photograph
Description
Almost lost in bracken, a poignant and forgotten granite boundary marker post of the former, long disused Marke Valley mine still stands on the remote and wild slopes of Caradon Hill, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, SW England, UK. Taken one October.
The carved initials, MV of the Marke Valley mine sett can be seen inscribed on the post which probably dates back to Victorian times.
Nearby are the ruins of engine houses, chimney stacks and ruins associated with the pumping and other ore processing operations of the mine.
According to various online sources:
The earliest evidence of mining found in this immediate area are streamworks dated by contemporary documents to 1515. The nearby river was controlled to wash away surface 'overburden' to reach the heavier tin ore. Once these deposits were exhausted prospecting and the use of surface dug 'lode back' pits for extraction followed the rich ore seams up hill. This method of extraction continued from the late C16th until the C18th when mining techniques improved allowing deeper extraction.
In 1828 a 52 ft waterwheel was installed on the mine sett to pump from Old Engine shaft. A new company the Marke Valley Tin and Copper Mine was established in 1837.
Engine Shaft became the more productive shaft after the initial mining operations to the east. Salisbury shaft began producing ore in 1850. A winding engine house was added in 1864. About 5,000 tons of copper ore was being produced annually in the 1860s.
In the 1870s the Marke Valley Mine company acquired the neighbouring West Rosedown sett. West Rosedown was discontinued in 1873. In 1881 the centre of operations was moved to the third mine of the sett, Wheal Jenkin to the west. Salisbury Shaft was abandoned in 1883. The mine produced around 130,000 tons of copper ore until closure of the shaft in 1883 and the remaining mine operations eventually stopped in 1890. It was significant enough operation to have a mineral railway branch line serve it as part of the Liskeard & Caradon Railway.
The area is a scheduled monument and due to its importance is part of the UNESCO Cornwall and West Devon World Heritage Mining Landscape no 1215.
Uploaded
September 19th, 2022
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