01 St Just
A stone’s throw from Land’s End, this is the most westerly Area of the Site. An exposed landscape scoured by the elements, St Just is characterised by big skies, jagged rocks, stark moorland, and iconic cliff-top engine houses perched in some incredible locations - no wonder this dramatic setting has inspired generations of artists,
writers and
photographers. World-famous for their mineralogy, the mining sites here are extremely well preserved, as is the sense of community amongst the people whose lives they once dominated.
Highlights
• Watching the waves crashing on the rocks below the Crowns engine houses at Botallack, which are perched on a narrow promontory just above the sea.
• Experiencing the solitude of Ding Dong with its remote Cornish engine house sitting high up on the treeless moor surrounded by the remains of mine workers’ cottages. The views towards Mounts Bay from here are truly breathtaking.
• Exploring the town of St Just, with its characteristic rows of granite mine workers’ cottages, public squares, shops, cafés, art galleries, and historic outdoor performance space—the Plen an Gwary or ‘playing place’.
• Taking a tour of Geevor Tin Mine – one of the last Cornish mines to close. It is one of only a few mine sites with an extensive collection of machinery and dedicated musem open to the public. The imposing headframe at Victory Shaft can be seen from miles around.
•
See Levant Mine, which is spectacularly sited on the cliff edge. Its beam winding engine has been restored by the Greasy Gang (volunteers who care for historic machinery), and is driven by steam again.
7 Mining Heritage T
his Area’s unique geography and mineralogy meant it had the largest concentration of undersea tin and copper mines anywhere in the world in the 18th and 19th centuries. At Levant Mine, the undersea workings extended more than a mile out to sea, at a depth of around half a mile beneath the seabed. It is also the site of the oldest surviving Cornish beam engine (1840), now restored and working under it’s own steam. Geevor, one of the last mines to close in Cornwall (1990), was saved from demolition and is now the largest multifarious mine site open to the public in the UK. Three stream valleys in this Area also contain some of the best- preserved water-powered tin stamping mills anywhere in the Site.
St Just is a prime example of an industrial mining town, with its cottage rows, Methodist chapels, hotel, pubs, shops and civic buildings. At Porthledden, Cape Cornwall, the grand former residence of Captain Francis Oats (one-time Chair of De Beers) dominates the hillside, reflecting the wealth he earned while mining diamonds in South Africa.
Sites within the district Click on each site to find out more.
• Botallack Count House
• Geevor Tin Mine •
Levant Mine and Beam Engine For travel information click here.
Did you know? Captain Francis Oats, one-time chair of De Beers Diamond Mines in South Africa, worked down a mine near St Just as a boy..
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