Porthtowan Mines - United Hills - John's Shaft

OS Explorer Map 104: Grid reference SW702472

Climb the hillside towards John's Engine house , passing a small quarry on the left. A short distance further on you pass above Thomas' engine house with its unusual separate chimney. Follow the path as it begins to level off looking ahead to see more evidence of mining with the walled in balance-bob pit.

Explore John's engine house with care as it has not been sanitized like the mines of the Camborne-Redruth and the Great Flat Lode areas. Built in 1861 and now a Grade II Listed Building, the copper mine began life as Wheal Rock in the 1750's and was renamed United Hills in 1809. Its 70-inch pumping engine was moved to Wheal Uny in 1864.

Leave the engine house and continue up the rocky path as the route becomes more barren and windswept. Ahead lies a strongly built shed used by students of the Royal School of Mines as a shelter and store whilst they did their surveying and wood preservation coursework in the adjacent James shaft - 150m deep at Grid Ref. SW702473. Incidentally, James' Shaft was pumped by Thomas' Shaft Engine using flat rods to cover the distance of three hundred metres or so.

The rocky path widens and is noticeably stained brown. Heather and the odd gorse bush being the only vegetation on this metal rich soil. Following the walk in Bob Acton's excellent book Around St. Agnes and Perranporth (Landfall Book 2) it is possible to locate the remains of the old mine railway portal. The cutting made for a tramway to the incline. The deep gully is largely overgrown now but it is passable with extreme care before a metal gate bars any further exploration.

A little further down the slope the path passes to the right of Gardiner's Shaft - also known as Railway Shaft - sealed with a locked sturdy metal door.

Now that 'World Heritage' status has been achieved Cornwall in Focus will monitor develpments and learn how the Porthtowan, Tywarnhayle and United Hills Mines fit into the overall Mining Heritage 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