Poldark Mine

Useful Information

Location:	Cornwall. On the B3297 between Redruth and Helston. 2 miles from Helston on the B3297 to Redruth, signposted. (50.138595, -5.243746)
Open:	Easter to APR daily 10-17:30, last mine tour 16. MAY to JUN Mon-Fri, Sun 10-17:30, last mine tour 16. JUL to AUG daily 10-17:30, last mine tour 16. SEP to OCT Mon-Fri, Sun 10-17:30, last mine tour 16. Currently closed due to Covid-19. [2022]
Fee:	Currently closed due to Covid-19. [2022]
Classification:	Tin Mine
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	T=11 °C.
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	G Watching, S E Young (ND 1978?): Poldark Mining Ltd, A Guide to the Mine, Machinery & Bygones Museum. 72 pp illus. Richard Fells, photographs by Tim Grevatt (1989): A Visitor's Guide To Underground Britain, Caves, Caverns, Mines, Tunnels, Grottoes. 144 pp, 49 colour photos, B&W frontis, 8 location maps, bibliography, glossary etc. HB DW. Poldark Mine p 47-48
Address:	Poldark Mine & Heritage Centre Wendron, Helston, Cornwall, TR13 0ER, Tel: 24 hour hotline +44-1326-563166, Enquiries +44-1326-573173, Fax: +44-1326-563166. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1725	mining started.
1810	mining ended.
1972	first opened as Wendron Forge, later known as Ha'penny Park.
1976	show mine opened to the public.
2006	inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Geology

There are lodes of tin ore in the granite body of Cornwall. Tin was found in rich alluvial deposits, and as outcrops of rich tin lodes.

Description

Poldark Mine dates from 1725 until is was closed in 1810. It was lack machinery and relied on just man and animal power. The mine provided a major source of employment for the valley in which it sits, and, at it's peak in the 1830's, proved employment over 900 people.

Poldark Mine contains what is believed to be the oldest complete mine workings in Europe that are open to the public. Many of the machines, which are now exhibited throughout the gardens, are still in full working order.

As well as the mine tours, there are many more activities on offer making this a great day out for the family, these include a cinema, pets corner, the cobra slide, bumper boats, radio controlled boats, prize bingo, an aviary, childrens play area, amusement arcade and much more.

Text by Tony Oldham (2002). With kind permission.

The site was actually a tourist site before it became a show mine. It opened in 1972 as Wendron Forge and was soon renamed Ha'penny Park. When an ancient tin mine was discovered on the site it was restored. When the mine was opened to the public the site was again renamed after Winston Graham's Poldark novels. They were widely known at the time, because of a BBC television series which was first broadcast in 1975. The mine was opened to the public the following year.

The original development of the site was made by Peter Young who successfully managed it as a tourist site. After he sold it in 1988 a continuous decline started, the site passed through two owners, and went into administration two times. Finally, in 2014 it was bought by David Edwards who successfully managed the Ffestiniog Railway and the Llechwedd Slate Caverns in Wales. He hoped to keep Poldark Mine as an open-air museum and heritage centre. Actually Poldark is the only complete tin mine in the UK open to the public. It is also the only mine in Cornwall that pumps water to allow public access. This is the reason why it is still closed due to Covid-19, the pumping causes considerable costs for reopening.