Cornish Tin Mines: Towanroath Pumping Engine House

After parking our car at Chapel Porth we headed along the cliff top coastal path to see the Towanroath Shaft Pumping Engine House - as shown above.

The sea was quite lively. At this time of year (March) there are no lifeguards in attendance - but there is an emergency phone to the Coastguard Service.

The coastal path climbs the cliffs and there are lovely views over the sea.

Markers show the path to follow along the cliffs.

The path climbs gradually ...

... until the Engine House is in view. Of course it's possible to walk for miles along the path which can be seen in the photo.

Once upon a time Cornwall exported tin and copper worldwide, but the industry is no more.

 The engine house was once part of the Wheal Coates Copper and Tin Mine. 

It was built in 1872 and was used to pump water from the 600 feet deep Towanroath Shaft.

It's hard to imagine that this would have once been a hive of activity with tin and other minerals being exported all around the world. Nowadays mother nature has taken over ... but it's a lovely walk along the cliffs on the coastal path.

The building is Grade II listed so, hopefully  will remain in good condition for many years to come. It is now looked after by the National Trust.

Buildings, listed as Grade II (two), indicates that the buildings are “of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve them.”

Cornwall's Very Own Cornish Money!

"What's this?" you may ask, "Surely Cornwall doesn't have it's own money." Well here are the front and reverse of a Cornish ten shilling note. But, of course, all isn't as it seems ...

... in the 1970s there were attempts to distribute Cornwall's own money by the Cornish Stannary Parliament who, at the time, campaigned for the restitution of Cornwall's rights to govern itself. More details can be seen on their website.

On the 15th of December 1974, Frederick Trull, self styled as the 'clerk to the Stannary', announced that he was to issue banknotes in four denominations under the name of the Cornish National Fund.

However, in 1975 Mr. Trull had a bit of bother! He attempted to 'arrest' court officials at St.Austell's Magistrate's Court where he was being tried for a motoring offence. 

He produced twenty-five pages of documents to 'prove' that the court had no jurisdiction over him in Cornwall. He lost the case and was found guilty of using threatening words and behaviour with intent to breach the peace.

He was subsequently dismissed from his post as clerk to the Stannary and was expelled from the organisation.

As Trull's signature (see photo) was on the Cornish banknotes, issued in 1974, they were all destroyed by burning - but I still have one of the original banknotes - number 2450!

There is more on Cornish currency on Wikipedia and photos of Frederick Trull, with the Cornish currency, can be seen on the Alamy website.

Other Money Posts:
Cornwall's Streets Are Filled With Money Waiting To Be Picked Up!

The Tallest Church Tower In Cornwall

Probus Parish Church, dedicated to St. Probus and St Grace, is noted for having the tallest church tower in Cornwall at 126 feet (38.35m). It is believed that there has been a Christian community on this site since the 5th Century.

The building of the actual church tower began circa 1523.

In the photo above you can see a Royal Coat of Arms above the door to the left of the picture. I have another photo below showing this in more detail.

The Royal Coat of Arms is that of King James II and is dated 1685, which was the year he came to the throne.

The old coaching inn, the Hawkins Inn, is nearby the church as can be seen from the photo below.

The church though is always looking on - whatever is happening!

A Glimpse of Lanhydrock House, Cornwall In 14 Photos

A few days ago my post mentioned  Lanhydrock House and the estate's links going way back to King Charles and the English Civil Way. 

Unfortunately the house had a serious fire in the 1880s and had to be completely refurbished. The occupants tragically died in the fire.

The house now illustrates a late Victorian country house and estate.

The photo above is the dining room ready for a sumptuous meal. The kitchen was where the magic was created, so we start with photos of the kitchen. Lots of pots and pans ...

... and utensils.

The scullery though wasn't quite so plush. Scullery maids  weren't on a par with the cooks.

Tea would have been served to the lady of the house.

As for the gentleman, I don't think I'd have got on with him too well, because of that 'trophy' on the floor. Times have fortunately moved on in that respect.

There is somewhere to have a glass of port ...

... while in the meantime work carried on in the ironing room

... and the Victorian dolls waited attention.

Looks like someone was thinking of heading off on a journey.

And so to bed ...

... and in the morning the bath would ready - at the right temperature.

That's about it, a quick tour of Lanhydrock House.

Lots of space outside - about 890 acres I believe. The house is now run by the National Trust. Entrance is free to members. but for non members it is 15.35 for adults and 7.70 for children.

Mevagissey The Two Saint Village and Harbour - 10 Photos

It had been a rough night with high winds and drifting rain but by morning everything seemed more settled. We drove down to  Mevagissey to have a wander around the harbour - always an interesting place to visit.

Because of the bad weather during the night all of the boats were sheltered in the inner part of the harbour. The sea still got a little moody as we walked.

The attractive old cottages along the edge of the harbour have lovely views. It is said that the village dates back to the beginning of the 1300s.

There's always fishing paraphernalia on the harbour side. 

The photo below shows the entrance to the inner harbour, where the boats are protected from adverse weather conditions. The shed-like building to the left is where - once through the harbour - the fishing boats unload their catch. Fresh fish is usually for sale.

Various pots and floats are piled high on the harbour side - can just see the lighthouse in the background.

Looking across from one outer harbour side wall to the other.

And Mevagissey is looking good! The name, by the way, is derived from two Irish saints: St Meva and St Issey.

A final photo of harbour side shops, one of them being She Sells. Remember the old tongue twister?

She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore.
The shells she sells are surely sea-shells!
So if she sells sea-shells on the sea-shore,
Then I'm sure she sells sea-shore shells!

Cornwall's Streets Are Filled With Money Waiting To Be Picked Up!

A different sort of post today - so no photos of Cornwall's wonderful beaches, cliffs, harbours and so on. Just a pile of money instead.

The coins in the photo are just a few that my wife has found. She finds them on a regular basis when we are out walking (in Cornwall). I never see them but she'll bend down suddenly and it'll be another coin found.

I put this down to the fact that she expects to find coins - so she does! My wife's father died when she was only four but he had a saying that the streets are full of money just waiting to be picked up. So perhaps he's sending her a reminder that he's still about - who knows!

Oh, and another thing, the coins usually arrive in batches of three. Many people say 'things' come in threes. If she finds two, she says that she'll find a third - and does. It's that word expect again working the magic!

I think on a much bigger level that we often tend to get from life what we expect to get from life.

South West Coast Path Walking From Trenarren, Cornwall

The photos are from last year. We parked the car near Trenarren with the aim of walking for a while along the South West Coast Path - photo as above.

But first we had to walk along a lane and through the mixture of cottages of the small hamlet of Trenarren. There was a Post Box  - some people still use them! When you look back how exciting it was to receive handwritten letters - much more intimate than the emails of today.

The cottages were alive with pretty flowers

And some people hope to receive post.

The lane turned into the path, as below - and at the end of the path there was a steep slope leading to the Coastal Path - as per the first photo.

I never get tired of the Coast Path and find it strange that so few people seem to actually walk the path.