Industrial Heritage

The Wheal Martyn china clay museum is situated in a beautifully landscaped 26-acre site, near St Austell, in the Trenance Valley which at one time contained several china clay works.

Originally, the museum was two clay works, called Wheal Martyn and Gomm. The clay works have been carefully restored in 1975, to give an historical idea of what they originally looked like, and go back to the 1870s.

Wheal Martyn is still active today, and it is possible, following a walk to a viewing point, to see some activity in the pit.

The reception building incorporates exhibition areas, a tea shop, gift shop and multi-media theatre. It is recommended that the tour starts with a viewing of the multi-media film in the theatre, followed by a look through the exhibitions, which show examples of china, porcelain and colourful mineral specimens to give an idea of what china clay is used for, and why it is still such an important industry today, as well as machinery and tools that were used.

In 2005 we successfully completed a HLF funded refurbishment project creating a brand new fully accessible interactive gallery in place of the theatre and the old reception displays.

We have also created a wonderful temporary exhibition area which allows us to run a programme of exhibition of local artist work throughout the year.

There is a new children’s challenge trail and updated the children’s quizzes.

Last year Sustrans completed the cycle path from St Austell allowing visitors to walk to us from the heart of St Austell.

The museum is open seven days a week, in summer from April 1 until October 31, and in winter from November 1 until March 30.
Tel. 01726 850 362.

Children under 6 are free, children 6-16 are £3.50, adults are £7.50, concessions are £6.

The site is in three sections: Next to the A3407 road in Pool is Michell’s winding engine which can be seen working; across the road, is the Discovery Centre, with a splendid audio-visual presentation and an exhibition of Cornwall’s social history; this is next to Taylor’s huge pumping engine which is in a three-storey granite engine house.
Tel. 01209 210 900.

Adults £5, Concession £4.60, Students £3.00, Family £13.00

Geevor Tin Mine is perched on rugged cliffs, high above the Atlantic waves, at the very western tip of Cornwall. The mine is the setting of the dramatic story of tin mining in the county.

Most of us are familiar with the story of the mass migration of Cornish miners in the 19th century. Leaving Cornwall they played a central role in establishing many mines in foreign countries. But one Cornish mine of modern days owes much to miners who did the reverse. They left South Africa at the very end of the last century and returned to their homeland.

The Boer War broke out in 1899 forcing many miners to leave South Africa and return to the St. Just area. They carefully explored the tin bearing area adjacent to Levant and were encouraged enough by 1901 to form a company called Levant North (Wheal Geevor). In 1904 West Australian Gold Field invested in the venture and a new company was formed. By 1911 Geevor Tin Mines was floated as a modern tin mine. For the next 80 years, and especially after the closure of Levant in 1930, Geevor was the lifeblood of the local community.

The Tin Crisis of 1985, when the price fell from £10,000 to £3,400 per ton overnight, virtually wiped out the Cornish tin mining industry and Geevor with it. Wheal Jane and South Crofty were fortunate to benefit from Government rescue packages. Geevor was left to die. In August 1986 the mine closed. The tin price recovered at the end of 1987 and Geevor was able to start mining again on a small scale. But any hopes of a return to full scale production were soon dashed. With the tin price languishing around £3,000 per ton, the mine was finally closed in February 1990.

The story could have ended there with the mine flooding, the plant broken up for scrap, and the machinery left to rust. It could have. But it didn't. A number of individuals and organisations felt strongly that Geevor should not be allowed to suffer an undignified death. Cornwall County Council stepped in and purchased the mine and Penwith District Council gave its support to the project. But it was the dedication of a group of ex- Geevor employees in particular which was the driving force behind saving the mine. They worked tirelessly throughout long hours to prepare Geevor for the next phase of its long life.

In August 1993 the mine was reopened as a Heritage Centre. Pendeen Community Heritage, a registered charity, now manages it for Cornwall County Council, set up by local people committed to conserving their heritage. The centre, open all year, has a museum where displays and artefacts show how Cornish miners lived and worked. The huge site, including many buildings, tells the story of the production of tin concentrate from the mining of the raw ore through the refining processes.

- Open: April to October, Sunday-Friday; Bank Holiday Saturdays, 10am to 5pm; July and August open every day, 10am to 5pm
- Educational tours
- Wheelchair access to museum
- Shop
- Dogs welcome

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Tolgus Tin is the last tin stream works in Cornwall, now rescued by the Trevithick Trust in partnership with Cornish Goldsmiths. It is a scheduled ancient monument that will gradually be restored to explain the role of Cornish miners in seeking gold and other precious metals throughout the world.
Only a century ago Tolgus was one of many hundreds of stream works (fifteen in this valley alone), each one processing waste discarded by the mines or other mills - scavengers of the tin industry.
In 1865 it was one of a group acquired by John, James and Tobias Uren on their return from the Australian gold rush. Most of these mills have now vanished without trace, but Tolgus remains, a unique survivor of a bygone age when fish, tin and copper were the bone, muscle and fat of the county.
Tolgus was the only surviving tin streaming mill which had a record of production unbroken for over 200 years, producing more than 40 tons of tin concentrate a year. If this seems a small amount remember that their raw material was someone else's waste, but from it they could produce an income of around £40,000 per year (1979 prices).
To find Tolgus Tin, turn off the A30 at Redruth, and follow the signs to the Cornish Goldcentre, on the B3300, Redruth to Portreath road at the Cornish Goldcentre.
The site is open every day except Christmas Day, Monday to Saturday, 9.30 to 5pm, or dusk during the winter (Sunday: 10.30 to 4.30).
Tel. (Trevithick Trust) 01736 788662.