Blackwater, Cornwall

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Blackwater
A Cornish Mining Walk - geograph.org.uk - 588567.jpg
A Cornish Mining Walk, Blackwater, Cornwall
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Blackwater
Location within Cornwall
OS grid reference SW736461
Unitary authority
Shire county
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Truro
Postcode district TR4
Police Devon and Cornwall
Fire Cornwall
Ambulance South Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Cornwall
50°16′12″N5°10′48″W / 50.2699°N 5.1799°W / 50.2699; -5.1799 Coordinates: 50°16′12″N5°10′48″W / 50.2699°N 5.1799°W / 50.2699; -5.1799

Blackwater is a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the parish of St Agnes between Truro and Redruth. The village lies on the old course of the A30 north of the current course which bypasses it. [1] The village has a primary school (built in 1877) which serves the village and surrounding settlements.

Contents

History

Over the course of Blackwater's history, the town has supported four public houses: Clinton House, Cornish Miners Inn, The Red Lion and The Spread Eagle. [2] The Chacewater to Newquay railway line (1903–1963) crossed through Blackwater. A station building was located south of Presingoll Barns near St Agnes. In 1972 the railway bridge was destroyed. [3]

Geology

In an 1824 published geological study, 19th century Blackwell was described as follows: "Descending into a little valley at Blackwater, slate and compact rock present themselves in a section afforded by a ravine. In this valley cultivated fields and a few trees gladden the eye; but this oasis is of little extent; for a steep ascent leads again to the common, which extends as far as Chasewater, over rocks of the same character of..." bright red remains of mining operations. [4]

Wheal Concord

Wheal Concord headgear for the mine that was reopened in 1980, visited by the Duke of Cornwall in 1981, and closed in 1986 after the tin market crash of 1985 Winding Gear at Skinner's Bottom - geograph.org.uk - 182293.jpg
Wheal Concord headgear for the mine that was reopened in 1980, visited by the Duke of Cornwall in 1981, and closed in 1986 after the tin market crash of 1985

Commonly known as Wheal Concord, Wheal Concord and Wheal Briton mines are located on the road between Blackwater North Hill and Skinner's Bottom. The founding dates of the mines are unknown, but they both closed [nb 1] and joined forces when they reopened in 1810. The Wheal Concord Silver, Lead and Copper Mining Company Limited was formed in 1860, but due to a drop in the tin market, the mining company closed a few years later. [5] Regarding the late nineteenth century fall of tin prices, Herbert Thomas said of St Agnes mining in his 1896 "Cornish Mining Interviews":

I can remember about 14 or 15 mines at work. But after tin fell seriously in 1874 the number began

to diminish. Now the only mines at work are West Kitty, Wheal Kitty, Polberro and Blue Hills. Wheal Friendly cannot battle with hard times any longer and is about to be wound up… [6]

— Herbert Thomas, journalist

In 1980 Nicholas Warrell, having secured £500,000 in investment monies, and Jack Trounson reopened the mines and produced 21,000 tonnes of tin. The year after opening they received a visit from Prince Charles. The mine was only open for a few years, but they had extracted all that they could with their contributors' investments. Wheal Concord was unable to secure the investment of £4,000,000 for machinery and resources to access resources deeper underground and had to close their business in 1986. [5] [6] [7] The mine closed in November 1982. [8] [9]

Religion

The 18th century Methodist chapel in Blackwater was a simple, earth floored building where women and men sat on different sides of the chapel. This chapel succumbed to a fire in 1821. The Blackwater Methodist Church was completed in 1825, added a gallery in 1832 and received a pipe organ in 1923. Since the church closed in 1985 it has been used as a home and for business purposes. [5]

The Sunday School building, built with the funding and support of John Passmore Edwards was completed in 1893 and dedicated to Edward's late uncle, a St Day Sunday school superintendent and teacher. It was a stone building with granite dressings. Gothic cathedral glass and leadlight windows adorned the building. [10]

Education

George Frederic Watts, John Passmore Edwards, 1955, National Portrait Gallery, London John Passmore Edwards by George Frederic Watts.jpg
George Frederic Watts, John Passmore Edwards , 1955, National Portrait Gallery, London

The local Blackwater Community Primary School provides services for infants, children 3–5 and juniors. The school facilities include a sports field, wild area and greenhouse. [11] [12]

Commonly known as the Blackwater Lecture and Reading Room, the Blackwater Institute was founded in 1890 by John Passmore Edwards who was born in Blackwater. This was the first of many donated public buildings by Edwards. He also financed the construction of the Mithian Village Hall, St Agnes village Miners' and Mechanics' Institute and 69 other public buildings. Edwards was a successful newspaper owner but his beginnings were humble. The idea for the institute sprouted from a request for books for Blackwater's citizens by the Reverend of the Mithian church, Fursdon Rogers. Based upon the Reverend's request and his own memories of having joined the Chacewater Reading Society to access reading material, Edwards decided to build a building for educational study. [2]

Lord Falmouth donated the land and the Tywarnhale estate donated the stone for the building. James Prowse & Son created the masonry work and the exterior was decorated by Mr Craze and Solomon & Company. John Symons and his son, Frank, designed and decorated the building; the elder Symons was a school mate of Edwards. Two rooms were separated by a wooden divider that could be moved for large gatherings like concerts. [13] The building has also been used for local meetings, County Technical Instruction Committee classes, men's snooker club and the 1920 Coroner's inquest into the unsolved double murder of Joseph Hoare and Laura Sara. [2] [13]

Amenities

The Red Lion Public House is the town's pub. [2]

Notable people

The Victorian philanthropist and journalist John Passmore Edwards was born here. [14] He had the Blackwater Institute built within a few hundred yards of the site of the cottage of his birth and youth. [13]

Notes

  1. ↑ Wheal Briton closed in 1791. [5]

Related Research Articles

Chacewater Human settlement in England

Chacewater is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, UK. It is situated approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Redruth. The hamlets of Carnhot, Cox Hill, Creegbrawse, Hale Mills, Jolly's Bottom, Salem, Saveock, Scorrier, Todpool, Twelveheads and Wheal Busy are in the parish. The electoral ward is called Chacewater & Kenwyn. At the 2011 census a population of 3,870 was quoted.

Porthtowan Human settlement in England

Porthtowan is a small village in Cornwall, England which is a popular summer tourist destination. Porthtowan is on Cornwall's north Atlantic coast about 2 km (1.2 mi) west of St Agnes, 4 km (2.5 mi) north of Redruth, 10 km (6.2 mi) west of Truro and 15 km (9.3 mi) southwest of Newquay in the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape, a World Heritage Site.

Mount Wellington Tin Mine mine in the United Kingdom

Mount Wellington Tin mine, two miles east of the village of St Day in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom, opened in 1976 and was the first new mine in the region in many years.

Hayle Human settlement in England

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Geevor Tin Mine mine in the United Kingdom

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St Day Human settlement in England

St Day is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated between the village of Chacewater and the town of Redruth. The electoral ward St Day and Lanner had a population at the 2011 census of 4,473.

St Agnes, Cornwall Human settlement in England

St Agnes is a civil parish and a large village on the north coast of Cornwall, England, UK. The village is about five miles (8 km) north of Redruth and ten miles (16 km) southwest of Newquay. An electoral ward exists stretching as far south as Blackwater. The population at the 2011 census was 7,565.

Wheal Jane

Wheal Jane is a disused tin mine near Baldhu and Chacewater in West Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The area itself consisted of a large number of mines.

Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape cultural landscape

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The Truro and Newquay Railway was a Great Western Railway line in Cornwall, United Kingdom designed to keep the rival London and South Western Railway (LSWR) out of the west of the county. The line was completed in 1905 and closed in 1963.

Banns, Cornwall Human settlement in England

Banns is a hamlet in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom situated between Mount Hawke and Porthtowan at grid reference SW 710 480 in the civil parish of St Agnes. The South West Coast Path is 2 km (1.2 mi) to the west of the hamlet.

Mithian Human settlement in England

Mithian is a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is about six miles (9.6 km) northeast of Redruth and a mile east of St Agnes.

Wheal Peevor human settlement in United Kingdom

Wheal Peevor was a metalliferous mine located on North Downs about 1.5 miles north-east of Redruth, Cornwall, England. The first mining sett was granted here in around 1701 on land owned by the St Aubyn family. It was originally mined at shallow depths for copper, but when the price for that metal slumped after 1788, the mine was able to change to mining tin ore, which was found deeper down. In the late 18th century Wheal Peevor had the advantage of being drained by the Great County Adit which was around 100 metres deep here. The mine covered only 12 acres but had rich tin lodes. In addition to tin and copper, pyrite was also mined here between 1872 and 1887.

Wheal Vor

Wheal Vor was a metalliferous mine about 2 miles (3.2 km) north west of Helston and 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the village of Breage in the west of Cornwall, England, UK. It is considered to be part of the Mount's Bay mining district. Until the mid 19th-century the mine was notable for its willingness to try out new innovations. Although very rich in copper and tin ores, the mine never lived up to its expectations: during the later part of the 19th-century it had several periods of closure, and an attempt to reopen it in the 1960s was not successful mainly because of bureaucracy. Today the site is part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape.

Wheal Busy Mine

Wheal Busy, sometimes called Great Wheal Busy and in its early years known as Chacewater Mine, was a metalliferous mine halfway between Redruth and Truro in the Gwennap mining area of Cornwall, England. During the 18th century the mine produced enormous amounts of copper ore and was very wealthy, but from the later 19th century onwards was not profitable. Today the site of the mine is part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site.

Wheal Coates

Wheal Coates is a former tin mine situated on the north coast of Cornwall, England, UK, on the cliff tops between Porthtowan and St Agnes. It is preserved and maintained by the National Trust.

Stencoose Human settlement in England

Stencoose is a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, in the parish of St Agnes. It is located north of Redruth, near the village of Mawla.

Wheal Kitty Human settlement in England

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St Agnes Mining District part of a World Heritage site in the United Kingdom

The St Agnes Mining District is that part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape UNESCO World Heritage Site surrounding the village of St Agnes, Cornwall, England, UK. It contains Wheal Coates tin mine, and Blue Hills, which is the only surviving tin production centre in the United Kingdom

Basset Mines Mining company in Cornwall, England

Basset Mines was a mining company formed in Cornwall, England, by the amalgamation of six copper and tin mining setts. It operated from 1896 until 1918, when it was closed due to a fall in the price of tin.

References

  1. ↑ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 204 Truro & Falmouth ISBN   978-0-319-23149-4
  2. 1 2 3 4 Blackwater. St Agnes Heritage Trail, St Agnes Forum. p. 1. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  3. ↑ Blackwater. St Agnes Heritage Trail, St Agnes Forum. p. 2. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  4. ↑ Royal Geological Society of Cornwall. Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall . 1828 [cited 25 September 2012]. p. 304.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Blackwater. St Agnes Heritage Trail, St Agnes Forum. p. 3. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  6. 1 2 Decline of St Agnes Mines. Cornish Mining World Heritage. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  7. ↑ Reed Business Information. New Scientist . Reed Business Information; 21 April 1983 [cited 24 September 2012]. pp. 160–161.
  8. ↑ "Shot in the Arm for Tin Mines." New Scientist. Reed Business Information. 3 March 1983 [cited 24 September 2012]. p. 586.
  9. ↑ Roy Starkey. “Twenty Years in the Field”. British Micromount Society. Newsletter No. 48. October 1997. pp. 2–3.
  10. ↑ School and Meeting House, St Day. Blackwater History. The Autobiography of John Passmore Edwards. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  11. ↑ Main page. Blackwater Community Primary School. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  12. ↑ Blackwater Community Primary School. iCornwall. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  13. 1 2 3 Blackwater Literary Institute. Blackwater History. The Autobiography of John Passmore Edwards. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  14. ↑ A. J. A. Morris, Edwards, John Passmore (1823–1911). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edition, May 2006. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
  15. ↑ Blackwater. St Agnes Heritage Trail, St Agnes Forum. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 24 September 2012.

Further reading

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