Pascoes Shaft Pumping Engine House

by Richard Brookes

Title

Pascoes Shaft Pumping Engine House

Artist

Richard Brookes

Medium

Photograph

Description

The iconic Victorian pumping engine house at Pascoe's shaft, South Wheal Frances copper and tin mine sett on The Great Flat Lode was built in 1887/8. It housed an 80-inch cylinder beam engine powered by four (subsequently six) Cornish boilers.to pump water out of the mine. The building unusually has slit (lancet) windows which were believed to give more strength to the walls.

In 1864 Pascoe’s shaft was being sunk to the 134-fathom level, and was below the 144 level by 1866. The shaft was eventually worked to a depth of at least 340-fathoms (621m). Three lodes were worked from this shaft, namely the Great Flat Lode, North (encountered here in 1875) and Hamley's Lodes. The engine house was built to replace the worn out pumping system that used flat-rod connections from nearby Marriott's shaft pumping engine house using a 75-inch cylinder originally built in 1847. Fire damaged the head frame at Pascoe’s shaft in 1894.

The pumping engine, built in 1881 by St Austell Foundry, originally worked at Old Shepherd’s mine, Newlyn East. It is documented that in 1916 the main cap broke on top of the piston which destroyed virtually all of the engine. Apparently the engine driver narrowly escaped scalding steam by hiding on one of the bob plats (wooden balcony) over the shaft until rescued. The engine was replaced by Worsley Mesnes and used the original beam. The mine closed in 1918 after the First World War when prices slumped.

Due to the importance of this site and others in the area in the development of pioneering mining skills and technology which were exported around the whole world, the site is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Mining Landscape of Cornwall and West Devon no 1215.

In 1896 this operation became was part of the Basset group of mines (merging with other neighbouring mining setts) on the edge of the imposing granite outcrop of Carn Brae between Treskillard and Carnkie, near Redruth and Camborne in Cornwall, SW England, UK. Mining began in the area in the early 1720s primarily extracting copper ore then tin ore. The South Wheal Frances Mine was named after mineral lord and peeress, Lady Frances Basset. Also previously known as South Frances United in 1892.

Uploaded

January 15th, 2018

Colors

Embed

Share

Tags