St Agnes Mines - Wheal Kitty

Wheal Kitty lies about half a mile north east of St. Agnes - Grid Ref. SW726510 on the plateau known as Goonlaze Downs and effectively separates Trevaunance Cove and Trevellas Coombe. As you head seaward along the road look to your left to see the Old Count House followed shortly by the site of Holgates Shaft on your right. Just to the east of the grass triangle lies the site of Old Sump Shaft whilst to the west lies the nineteenth century dressing floors. Continue north nearing the recently restored engine house of Sara's Shaft - now the centrepiece of a small industrial estate.

Just to seaward lay the twentieth century dressing floors while further north near the cliff edge lies the site of Penhalls Mine with paths leading east down into Trevellas Coombe and the site of Blue Hills Mine. In reality Wheal Kitty is the survivor of several smaller concerns around this area. In the early nineteenth century, there were operations at Goonlaze, Wheal Pink and Wheal Vottle as well as about a dozen others. These amalgamated into the larger Penhalls Mine which operated on its own until 1884. Wheal Kitty meanwhile had been operating from at least 1830 as a very successful tin mine. Copper and iron pyrites were also mined on a smaller scale. In 1904 Wheal Kitty and Penhalls joined forces to become Penhalls United. For a map of this area please click here

'World Heritage' status has been gained for this area. Cornwall in Focus are waiting to see just how Wheal Kitty mine fits into the overall mine restoration framework.

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