The Mines of Gwennap - Cathedral

OS Explorer Map 104: Grid reference SW717415  Map

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Location
The sett of Cathedral Mine lies just south of Gwennap Pit at Busveal near St. Day. Its nearest neighbours are United Mines 600 metres to the southwest and West Wheal Damsel just about a kilometre away to the southeast. Also known as Cathedral Consols, the mine lay on the northern edge of the Carn Marth Granite, and was mainly a copper mine.

History
Cathedral Mine is known to have been at work in 1827 and continued producing copper ore up until 1842. The mine then closed and remained shut until it was reopened in 1866. Records of the mine are scarce, but it was in the ownership of the The New Cathedral Mining Company Limited in 1878. The best years production took place in 1875 when 312 tons of copper ore were sold at a value of £1618. The manager at this time was Captain Jos. Michell (1870-1878).

There were two main shafts at Cathedral Mine. They were Colonel's Shaft - over which stood an engine house containing a 60-inch pumping engine and also Lawry's Shaft. The mine was abandoned in 1885.

For more information on production dates and so on please see Roger Burt's excellent book Cornish Mines: Metalliferous and Associated Minerals, 1845-1913 (Mineral Statistics of the United Kingdom, 1845-1913).

For those of you with possibly a little more time to explore, once you've done 'the tourist bit', why not explore Cornwall's industrial heritage through its Tin and Copper Mines or learn more from my Cornish Bookstore