The Levant Mine Disaster

The Levant Mine Disaster 29th October 1919

Generally Cornish Mines were, in comparison to other types of mines, reasonably safe to work in. Mining accidents were relatively few or small scale. In all the years of sending men underground there were only a handful of what we would term major accidents. There is the accident at Botallack when a skip broke its hoisting rope and careered down the incline killing its six occupants. In January 1893 the Wheal Owles Disaster took the lives of 19 men and one boy. There is the East Wheal Rose Disaster of July 1846 when the mine flooded and 53 miners were lost. The most well known and best documented of all accidents was the Levant Mine Disaster of 29th October 1919.

To reach their work place prior to 1856, miners at Levant had to climb down ladders the 1600 feet or so or enter via the adit in Levant Zawn. The journey down took anywhere from thirty to ninety minutes depending on level and had to be repeated at the end of the shift. This meant that over two hours could be lost on each shift returning the men 'to grass'. The decision was taken in 1856 to install a 'man engine' on Daubuz's shaft - one of only 15 or 16 installed in Cornish mines. The journey time from surface to work place was radically reduced. The workers arriving fresher and more ready for work into the bargain.

The Man Engine

The man-engine, invented by Michael Loam in the 1840's worked well for over 60 years at Levant. It was a sort of rudimentary lift consisting of large timber beams bolted together in 40 foot lengths stretching from the surface to the bottom of the shaft some 266 fathoms (1600 feet) below. To this vertical pillar were fixed small platforms at 12 foot intervals on which a miner would stand. This implies that a fully loaded man-engine could be carrying as many as 150 men. The vertical engine-rod is fixed at the top by caps and linkages to a rotating wheel that translates its circular motion into a steady up and down motion with 12 foot strokes. A balance bob would counteract the weight of this massive length of rod. The entrance to the man-engine at Levant was reached by a tunnel leading from a staircase in the corner of the Miner's Dry or changing room. Click here for a working model.

On the fateful day of 20th October 1919, just about 2.45pm in the afternoon, the man engine was carrying a full load of miners who were returning to surface at the end of their shift. An iron strap securing the beam to the wooden rod in the shaft broke. The man engine rod fell down the upper parts of the shaft snapping in several places and carrying its human cargo with it. At a depth of almost 150 feet, just below the 24 fathom balance bob, the engine rod broke in two and crashed down through the shaft. Projections on the side of the engine rod known as catch wings stopped the rod from any further descent at the 70 fathom level (420 feet). There was still a great deal of destruction caused to the upper parts of the shaft and 31 miners were lost. A simple plaque next to the shaft list the names of those miners lost. More can be learned about the human side of the disaster at the excellent Levant Mine Disaster. The disaster caused a body blow to Levant, one from which it was never really to recover.

A short film on Levant from the BBC Archives

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