Old
News from 2005
Geevor leads recycling drive
14th November 2005
Geevor Tin Mine & Heritage Centre has made excellent use of
recycled materials in a major exhibition, housed in a huge
former fitting shop, which displays a large collection of
artefacts from Nicholas Holman & Son. The engineers and machinists
of Tregeseal, St Just Foundry, Penzance Dock and Foundry,
made everything from bicycles and kitchen ranges to ships
and steam engines.
Bill Lakin, Trustee of Pendeen Community Heritage, managers
of the site, said "Almost everything in the exhibition is
a recycled item or has been created from recycled materials.
For example" continued Bill "Penwith District Council gave
us huge sheets of corrugated cardboard that new road signs
are delivered in, and we used those to create a granite effect
on the walls of the building. They also gave us half empty
tins of paint that we were happy to finish off! We've made
extensive use of recycled timber and a whole range of other
materials."
Geevor is one of 23 CoaST (Cornwall Sustainable Tourism Project)
Ambassadors of Good Practice, and is committed to implementing
a wide range of sustainable practices.
CoaST was set up 2 years ago to support and promote the development
of the tourism industry in a more economically, environmentally
friendly and socially sustainable way. With 5½ million visitors
a year, tourism is Cornwall's biggest industry and it is therefore
crucial that the industry aspires to maximum sustainability.
Membership of CoaST has grown rapidly and the organisation
now has 500 members.
The staff of Pendeen Community Heritage, managers of Geevor
Tin Mine & Heritage Centre, works hard to ensure that the
site is conserved and used in a way that serves the local
community, such as working to promote other local businesses
by joint working and providing discounted entry to visitors
arriving by bus, helping to ease traffic volumes during the
busy summer season. PCH also provides free parking, encouraging
visitors to leave their cars at the site and explore the dramatic
coastline of the far west of Cornwall on foot.
"Draw a walk on the wild side"
10th October 2005
Geevor Tin Mine, on the wild Atlantic coast, is the scene for a special
event on Sunday 16th of October. Part of the ongoing Big Draw, the event
is called "Collecting and Connecting Between, Above and Below" and has
been arranged by Diane Spiers at Geevor and Lindsey Bremell at Levant
Mine.
The event has been planned to encourage visitors to walk the trails
around and between the two sites, enjoying the fabulous coastal views,
collecting items en route, and making quick sketches and observations of
the industrial landscape along the way, aided by simple trail maps and a
child friendly mini-quiz, which can be collected from a Drawing Station
at either site.
"It will be a great day's activity for all ages" says Diane
Spiers of Geevor.
The mines at Geevor and Levant have long established historical
connections and visitors can explore these connections as they walk and
draw, visualising the tunnels that still connect the mines far below
their feet.
"Both sites have unique points of interest and are separated by a 20
minutes walk. If the weather is good we hope people will take advantage
of it and spend a few hours exploring the different aspects on offer"
continued Diane. "Both walking and drawing are great for the body and
the mind and in recognition of this West Cornwall Healthy Living Centre,
an organisation that offers support to health and well-being projects
throughout West Cornwall, is helping to promote the event."
Visitors are asked to bring their own basic sketching materials for note
taking on their walk but plenty of materials are on offer to use at the
Drawing Stations where participants can spend time working together, with
the help of an artist, creating their own or collective collaged
drawings inspired by the mining heritage. The stations will be open from
10-4pm, regardless of weather conditions and people are welcome to join
in through out the day.
Geevor walk well attended
31st August 2005
Ramblers throughout the south west celebrated their new right to roam
over hundreds of thousands of acres of open countryside over the Bank
Holiday weekend. The Open Access initiative of the Countryside and Rights
of Way Act came into effect on August 28th and gave walkers access to
moorland, heath and countryside formerly closed to the public.
Over 70 walkers, and a dog named Harvey, joined staff from Geevor Tin
Mine Museum on a guided walk from the Mine up Pendeen Carn to Open Access
moorland on the hills above Carnyorth and Trewellard. Walkers saw views
of the whole mining area from south of St. Just almost as far as St. Ives
and returned to Geevor in time for tea and ice cream.
Sheila Russell, Trustee of Pendeen Community Heritage, managers of the
site, said "The weather was perfect and we could see the coast round from
Chapel Carn Brea to Gurnard's Head. Lots of local people joined the walk."
400 year old mining relic on display at Geevor
19th August 2005
On Sunday 28th August, one of the oldest surviving artefacts from
Cornwall's mining heritage will be unveiled by Geoff Treseder, a member of
St Just Mines Research Group, at Geevor Tin Mine Museum. Jon Brookes,
National Trust Property Manager for West Penwith and Bill Lakin, Chair of
Pendeen Community Heritage, will also speak at the opening ceremony, which
is expected to be attended by a number of Town, District and County
Councillors.
The timber pipe, which is thought to have formed part of a sectional pump
column, (see editors notes) has been radiocarbon dated between 1510 and
1600 AD and is the largest and most intact surviving organic relic of
Cornwall's industrial past.
The pipe was returned to the far west of Cornwall after nearly two years
of conservation work by York Archaeological Trust.
The timber pipe was exposed by violent storm seas in March 2002 and
discovered by Geoff Treseder outside an adit (mine drainage tunnel) on the
National Trust's Porth Nanven Beach, near St Just. After a lengthy and
delicate excavation the pipe was rescued from the rapidly approaching tide
by members of Cornwall Archaeological Unit, St Just Mines Research Group,
staff from Geevor and the National Trust. Once hoisted to the top of Hermon
Cliff, the pipe was taken to Geevor Tin Mine where it was immersed in water
to prevent further deterioration. Later that year, a small piece of the
pipe was sent to Waikato University, Hamilton, New Zealand for radiocarbon
dating and thence to York, for a conservation process part funded by the
Penwith National Trust Association. Conservation complete, the pipe has now
returned to Geevor Tin Mine.
Local mining expert Geoff Treseder said: "At first it looked like a lump
of old wood but as more of it was exposed, its significance became obvious.
It gives us tangible evidence of Cornish miners trying new radical
techniques to reach tin lodes below water levels at a remarkably early age."
Bill Lakin, chair of the Museum Trustees, said: "It is really good to see
organisations co-operating to ensure that our unique mining heritage is
preserved and presented to our visitors. We thank the archaeologists from
the County Council Historic Environment Service for all their work and the
National Trust for both arranging the conservation of the piece and for
placing it for display at Geevor."
Paul Bonnington, Objective One Project Officer for the National Trust said
"We are thrilled to have the timber pipe back in Cornwall and on display at
Geevor. The process has taken a couple of years and I would like to extend
the Trust's gratitude to all of our partners and the Penwith National Trust
Association for their dedication and enthusiasm."
Geevor celebrates new freedoms
19th August 2005
New rights opening up areas of the countryside under the Open Access
initiative of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act come into effect on
August 28th and in celebration of this new freedom the staff of Geevor
Tin Mine are leading a guided walk.
The walk - taking a maximum of two hours - will enable people to see the
full size of the Geevor site and to take in the huge extent of the St.
Just coastal mining area. Called 'Another View of Mining Country', it
starts from Geevor Mine and heads up Pendeen Carn to Open Access moorland
on the hills above Carnyorth and Trewellard. This gives a magnificent
panorama of the huge Geevor site and crosses an area where considerable
mining activity took place, some of it as late as the 1980s.
Walkers will be able to see views of the whole mining area from south of
St. Just almost as far as St. Ives and return to Geevor in time for tea
and ice cream.
The walk will start at 1.30pm on Sunday 28th August from the Reception
Area at Geevor Mine and will last about 2 hours. There is no charge to
take part and no need to book but the organisers would appreciate a phone
call from people who plan to join in, so they can anticipate numbers.
Geevor's telephone number is 01736 788662.
The walk will be led by staff and volunteers from Geevor Tin Mine, and it
is hoped that local people will join the walk and add their memories to
the information given by guides.
Exhibition of work from Drawn from Memory project
11th August 2005
An exhibition of the work of local keen-to be artists opens at Geevor Tin
Mine on 23rd August. The artists, a mix of people , both, born and bred
in the environs of Geevor and those from further afield, all over 50 years
of age, have been visiting the site over a ten week period, developing their
drawing skills and experimenting with different media, under the tutelage of
local freelance artist Diane Spiers. The exhibition of drawings and prints
recognises and values their efforts and gives visitors the opportunity to
see the artists' use of drawing as a tool for memory and interpreting heritage.
Geevor was among five Heritage sites selected from a national field of applicants
to run the Drawn from Memory project. The scheme targets the over fifties and one
of its aims is to help participants to overcome the 'I can't draw' barrier.
Diane Spiers, who has worked with Geevor through Creative Partnerships and The
Big Draw, has helped the groups develop their drawing skills and interact with
Cornwall's mining Heritage by encouraging them to look at the environment while
using it as inspiration for drawing.
Kay Berryman, one of the amateur artists who took part, said "I enjoyed
trying things in the group that I wouldn't have tried on my own. The
project has opened up a plethora of feelings, seeing the old rusting
machinery and listening to the winding room tape - but probably most of
all the Miners' Dry - from activity and noise to desolation".
Diane Spiers said "I hope the course has been a stimulus to get people
started or keep them going in drawing .The 'getting started' can be the
most difficult bit and sometimes it's not knowing how or what to draw'
that can get in the way. Working in a heritage site like Geevor, though
offers so many creative themes that we felt we were only just scratching
the surface".
Photos from the past on show at the Count House at Botallack
29th July 2005
A photographic exhibition illustrating the development of Geevor Tin Mine opens at
the Count House at Botallack, by courtesy of the National Trust, on August 6th.
The exhibition entitled "Geevor 1966-1991 through the lens of David Wills" has been
organised by the St. Just Mines Research Group and charts the growth of Geevor from 1966
to its peak of productivity in the 1980s and the subsequent decline and closure of the
mine.
David Wills was the official photographer to Geevor Tin Mines Plc and recorded many
significant events in the development of the mine, such as the deepening of the main
shaft in the mid 1970s and the opening of a new incline, the repair of the seabed at
Levant in 1966 and the visit of the Queen in 1980. Many of his superb photographs have
been specially reprinted for the exhibition.
Peter Savage, a member of the Mines Group who now works at the Museum & Heritage Centre
that Geevor has become, says "The photography is superb and will be appreciated for its
quality as well as for the stories that it tells - and visitors can always find out more
by visiting Geevor."
The exhibition is being staged at the Count House at Botallack by kind permission of the
National Trust from August 6th to 20th. Entry is free and the exhibition is open daily
from 10am to 4pm
The photo below shows Geevor miners Johnny Szlitkus (left) and Jack Dydyk (right)
drilling with a Jumbo Rig, being visited by an unknown Shift Boss (centre) - 1960s.
Johnny and Jack were amongst a number of Polish and Italian workers, displaced from
their homeland by WW2, who found work in the tight knit mining community of Geevor and
lived in villages nearby.
New exhibition opens at Geevor
25th July 2005
A new exhibition opened at Geevor Tin Mine Museum & Heritage Centre on 25th July.
Visitors will be able to see work in progress on a major exhibition, housed in a huge
former fitting shop, displays a large collection of artefacts from Nicholas Holman &
Son, the engineers and machinists of Tregeseal, St Just Foundry, Penzance Dock and
Foundry, who made everything from bicycles and kitchen ranges to ships and steam engines.
David Wright, Development Officer at Geevor, has assembled a vast array of exhibits that
trace the history of Nicholas Holman & Son. David explains "The exhibition illustrates
how cast iron is made, explores the history of iron founding and looks at the close
association of Nicholas Holman & Son with the mining industry."
The exhibition features a two storey reconstruction of a street with the Holman company
offices and stores and a distant view of the sea - "Rather like something from St. Just
in the 1870s" says David. A domestic interior, complete with a Cornish Range and a
laundry mangle, both made by Holman & Son, will show how people lived in the mid to late
19th century.
David, working with Clive Carter from Penzance and other Museum staff has created a
reproduction of a small engineering workshop of the sort that existed locally,
supporting the mining industry, equipped with lathes and tools with a projecting loading
bay and gantry for hoisting objects or cargo to the warehouse above. David says "We've
got an interesting collection of old advertising signs that will give the exhibit a real
period atmosphere and low voltage spotlights that give a dramatic effect."
Also displayed in the exhibition is a model of part of the hull of the cargo ship
Alacrity, regularly maintained at Penzance Dock, another development by Nicholas Holman
& Son, until wrecked at Portheras Cove in 1963.
Geevor Tin Mine to make TV appearance
13th July 2005
BBC television hopes to rekindle the nation's love affair with the sea and its shores
in an ambitious documentary series exploring the UK coastline, as part of the
Trafalgar 200 commemorations and The Year of the Sea.
The second part of the 13 programme series, titled Coast, features Geevor Tin Mine,
set in some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in Europe and explores fascinating
human stories through a mixture of comment, contemporary storytelling, documentary
filming and computer generated images.
The BBC spent 7 hours filming at Geevor, at the far west of
Cornwall's dramatic Atlantic coast, to explore the mine's links
with the coast. Dave Harvey, a former stoper who spent 10 years
working at the mine and is now a Geevor Guide, explained to
journalist and historian Neil Oliver, on camera, that although
Geevor was primarily a land based mine its labyrinthine network
of shafts and tunnels extended up to 2,000´ underground and
a mile out to sea. Dave describes the difficult and demanding
working conditions the miners endured deep underground, including
his own job as a stoper, a miner driving tunnels parallel to
the strike of a vertical vein of tin, so that the ore can be
excavated from the vein.
The TV series 'Coast' is to be shown on BBC2 from July 22nd. The programme in
which Geevor is featured is to be broadcast at 9.00 pm on Sunday July 24th.
Geevor rewards eco-friendly visitors
11th July 2005
Visitors to Geevor Tin Mine Museum & Heritage Centre can leave the car behind this
summer, enjoy a bus ride through some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in Europe
and save up to £2.00 per person on admission to Geevor.
Geevor and First have agreed to offer a combined ticket on bus
services to Europe's largest preserved tin mining site giving
family visitors (2 adults and 2 children) a discount of £7.00
off a standard family bus travel and admission.
First operate a regular open top bus service (route 300) from St. Ives to Penzance
right through the summer, using the B3066 coast road from St Ives to Penzance, via
Geevor and Lands End, traveling along the far west of Cornwall's dramatic
Atlantic coast. The open top bus route is augmented by regular services between
Pendeen and Penzance operated by the No. 17 service.
The buses turn off the main road and come 500m down the hill directly to the Reception
area of Geevor Tin Mine. Passengers will have a wonderful view of the rugged Atlantic
coast on the way down, can alight and visit Geevor, or just stop and shop and have a
drink or snack in the café, before continuing their journey round the coast.
It is a perfect opportunity for people to use the bus and then walk part of the coast
path, or for car drivers to relax and experience the winding roads of West Cornwall,
free to enjoy the scenery.
Geevor Tin Mine is involved in the CoaST (Cornwall Sustainable Tourism) Project and
is not only promoting more environmentally transport links but is also reducing
transport miles by buying locally produced goods, produce and services, minimising
waste and recycling and reducing water and electricity usage.
Tourist sites offer half price admission
9th May 2005
A number of the best-known heritage and educational tourist attractions in
Cornwall and West Devon have launched a scheme that will give visitors to the
region even better value for money.
The industrial heritage sites, all run by charities, have formed the Cornwall
and West Devon Industrial Link Sites Scheme and will give visitors who produce
a ticket purchased this year at five of the six member sites a 50% discount on
admission to other participating sites. The group hopes to encourage visitors
to explore the industrial heritage of Cornwall and West Devon.
The five participating sites are Geevor Tin Mine Museum and Heritage Centre
and Levant Mine at Pendeen, Cornish Mines and Engines at Pool, King Edward Mine
near Camborne and Morwellham Quay, between Gunnislake and Tavistock.
The sites give visitors an insight into the regions' industrial heritage, once
a powerhouse of tin, copper and china clay mining, and takes in the largest
preserved tin mining site in Europe at Geevor, King Edward Mine, formerly used
by Camborne Mining School as a training mine, the great beam engines at Cornish
Mines and Engines, the famous Levant beam engine, now steaming again after sixty
idle years and Morwellham Quay, a centre for shipping silver, tin, copper and
other minerals for more than 1,000 years. China Clay Country Park Mining and
Heritage Centre near St Austell, Cornwall's museum of the china clay country,
is a member of the Cornwall and West Devon Industrial Link Sites Scheme but is
not participating in the discount scheme.
With family admission prices at the attractions ranging from £12.50 at Cornish
Mines and Engines to £26.00 at Morwellham Quay, the 50% discount on offer to
visitors represents a significant saving.
Pendeen Rally at Geevor Tin Mine
20th April 2005
The Pendeen Rally is to be held at Geevor Tin Mine on Sunday
May 1st.
The Rally, now in its 7th year, attracts enthusiasts and exhibitors
from all over Cornwall who bring their cherished classic cars,
motorcycles, vintage machinery, stationary engines and tractors
to the event to display to the public.
Visitors to the Rally can admire rows of highly polished vehicles
and machinery, shop for bargains at the car boot sales, visit
the stalls or enjoy the barbecue and refreshments. There are
lots of things for children to do, including having fun on the
bouncy castle.
Mike Simpson, Mine Manager at Geevor said "I'm really pleased
that we've been able to host the Pendeen Rally again. This is
the occasion when local people get together for a typical village
event with visitors coming from all over the county. Last year's
Rally was a great success and Pendeen Community Heritage, managers
at Geevor Tin Mine, look forward to an even better occasion
this year."
Admission is £2.00, children under 12 enter free, and £5 for
car boot traders. All the proceeds go to local charities.
Major improvements made at Geevor
21st March 2005
Managers and staff at Geevor Tin Mine have worked hard all winter
making improvements to the site in readiness for the spring
and summer season.
The Miners' Dry, where the miners changed at the beginning and
end of their shifts underground, has been the subject of a number
of improvements and new areas are open to the public, such as
the detonator store-complete with non-spark carpet slippers!
The walls approaching the Dry are lined with a 'Rogues Gallery'
of photographs of former miners, as they are today, taken when
they return to the site as visitors.
New electricity supplies to the Union House, Miners' Dry, Winder
House, Sample House and Compressor House will permit longer
winter opening hours.
A major new exhibit is scheduled to open by the end of April.
The exhibition traces the history of Nicholas Holman & Son and
explores their close association with the Cornish mining industry.
The Penwith Holmans worked in the Tregeseal and Penzance areas
making everything from bicycles to ships and steam engines.
A highlight of the exhibition is a re-creation of a harbour
side street including the interior of a home and kitchen that
will illustrate how people lived in the 19th century. The exhibition
will also include a model of part of the hull of the Alacrity,
a cargo vessel wrecked off Portheras Cove in 1963 and a working
engineering shop.
Drawn from Memory Again!
18th March 2005
 |
The
first ten week drawing course in the Campaign for Drawing's
'Drawn from Memory' scheme is now coming to a close and
has been a success for both its participants and Geevor.
The Drawn from Memory project is an invitation to historic
or natural heritage sites to involve older people in drawing
as a tool for memory and interpreting heritage. |
Geevor was among five Heritage sites selected from a national
field of applicants to run the Drawn from Memory project. The
scheme targets the over fifties and one of its aims is to help
participants to overcome the 'I can't draw' barrier. Local artist
Diane Spiers, who has worked with Geevor through Creative Partnerships
and The Big Draw, has helped the first group of nine participants
who are now developing their drawing skills and experimenting
with different media. The project has also enabled them to interact
with Cornwall's mining Heritage by encouraging them to look
at the environment while using it as inspiration for drawing.
Diane says. "Everyone has been so enthusiastic and it really
has been a lot of fun. One of the special things about the group
has been the sharing of all sorts of stories and memories, not
only of local life in the past but also those from individuals'
life experiences. We have very much valued everyone's contribution
and are looking forward to working with the next group."
Fiona Young, Oral History Officer at Geevor, said "We would
like to hear from more people over 50 years old who would be
interested in participating in this exciting project. This is
definitely the project for people who feel they cannot draw
or have lost the ability to express themselves by drawing."
The next ten-week course begins at the end of April. Fiona Young
at Geevor, telephone 01736 788662, would like to hear from anyone
seeking further information about the project.
Local personality loans artifacts to Geevor
22nd February 2005
One of Cornwall's best loved personalities saw part of his lifetime's
collection of memorabilia go on display in a special exhibition
at Geevor Tin Mine Museum & Heritage Centre on Sunday 20th February.
The Exhibition will be open all through the summer.
89 year old Egbert Rowe is a well known figure in the local
community and his collection is a valuable record of the historic
link between the miners of Geevor and farming. Generations of
miners and their families found it necessary to work the land
to supplement their income and many miners, on finishing their
shift underground, became farmers until nightfall. The items
on display include long disused agricultural tools, made by
local carpenters and blacksmiths, and also smaller tools that
children used while working in the fields with their parents.
There's also a collection of implements used in animal husbandry
and many domestic items such as flat irons, cast iron pots and
wooden wash-tubs graphically illustrating the labour intensive
lifestyle of a bygone age.
At the opening on Sunday there were many of Egbert's friends
from St Just and Pendeen Old Cornwall Society and also from
the St Buryan Agricultural Preservation Society. Egbert's son,
Brian Rowe and his wife Mary came down from Bristol to see the
show and meet old friends.
Egbert Rowe is a popular figure at Rallies throughout Cornwall,
showing horses and displaying and talking about items from his
collection. The importance of his work has been recognised by
the award in 1976 of the title Cornish Bard, life membership
of St Just and Pendeen Old Cornwall Society and St Buryan Agricultural
Preservation Society.
