Towanroath Pumping Engine House Wheal Coates Cornwall
by Richard Brookes
Title
Towanroath Pumping Engine House Wheal Coates Cornwall
Artist
Richard Brookes
Medium
Photograph
Description
Towanroath Shaft pumping engine house is one of the most iconic disused Cornish mine buildings being perched high on cliffs on the North Cornwall coast. It sits between St Agnes and Porthtowan near Chapel Porth, SW England, UK. The ruins are part of Wheal Coates, a tin and copper mine. The Victorian engine house was built in 1872 to house a steam engine to pump water from the 600 ft deep mine shaft workings below sea level. The shaft can still be seen today covered by a metal grille and the sea can be heard below. Extracted ore was hauled up to the clifftops to be further processed, initially by steam driven stamps, at the crushing house and then at the adjacent ore dressing floors.
Processed ore was then hauled to local ports by tramway. During its heyday between 1870-1880 the mine employed 140 miners. The main mine operations closed in 1889 with some sporadic and unsuccessful re-workings in the early 20th century.
Uploaded
March 9th, 2019
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Comments (8)
Jan Mulherin
Congratulations!! This stunning image has been selected to be featured for the week in the “Art Forever with You” Group Home Page. You are welcome to add a preview of this featured image to the group’s discussion post titled “2020 October: Stunning Group Featured Images and Thank-you’s” for a permanent display within the group, to share this achievement with others. Also feel free to post your feature on our group Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/296998814248643/ Thank you for your participation in the group! ~Jan (October 5, 2020)
Don Columbus
Congratulations, your work is Featured in "Photographic Camera Art" I invite you to place it in the group's "2020 Featured Image Archive" Discussion!! L/Tweet!
Luther Fine Art
Congratulations! Your fantastic photographic art has been chosen as a Camera Art Group feature! You are invited to archive your work in the Features Archive discussion as well as any other discussion in which it would fit.
Tatiana Travelways
Congratulations - Your beautiful picture has been featured in the "Travel Art" group! For further promotion, you can post it to the specific Travel Destinations galleries, our Facebook group and our Pinterest board - all the links are provided on our group's homepage: https://fineartamerica.com/groups/1-travel-art.html * You are also invited to post it to our group's blog: travelartpix.com for worldwide exposure!
John M Bailey
Congratulations on your feature in the Fine Art America Group "Images That Excite You!"
Laurel Adams
Richard, I love not only the beauty of your captures but your consistent dedication to telling the stories of forgotten moments, of Historical Importance, of Beauty. Thank you for the glimpse!
Richard Brookes replied:
Many thanks Laurel that's really appreciated. I think a few years back I realised that I didn't really understand what I was looking at. I've since found that if you research these historical sites before you visit you don't miss so many things and have some idea what to look for. It also brings them to life a little I think. Also, hopefully pays tribute to all those, including young children, who worked and sometimes died, in what we now would consider difficult, if not appalling conditions. Hopefully some of the images of less well visited and less accessible locations will provide a contemporary photographic record of such monuments especially of those in imminent danger of collapse.
Jane M Dahl
Fascinating story behind this interesting looking structure. In addition to that, I must mention the stunning and endless vistas -- it looks as if you can see forever! I love everything about this from the beautiful rocks in the foreground to the color of the sky. Well done, Richard! L/F
Richard Brookes replied:
Thank you for your kind comments Jane. I'm so pleased you like it. I love these places. They are always fascinating and poignant. Often they are in quite remote and geologically interesting (& steep!) locations. Sadly, many have been neglected and lost to the rigours of vegetation and the elements since their heyday.
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