West Wheal Owles from Wheal Edward
by Terri Waters
Title
West Wheal Owles from Wheal Edward
Artist
Terri Waters
Medium
Photograph
Description
Wheal Owles Mine, pronounced 'Oals' sits dramatically on the cliffs of the north coast of Cornwall in the St. Just mining area of north Penwith. The mine is thought to have been an amalgamation of several smaller and more ancient mines. To the southwest lies the area worked by Boswedden Mine whilst to the northeast lies the sett of Botallack Mines including the Crowns Mine. There is known to have been a mine in this general area from the 1700's but Wheal Owles' best years were during the decade 1860-70.
Any prosperity for Wheal Owles was relatively short lived and as metal prices fell in the 1870's, due largely to tin discoveries in Australia and also the Great Flat Lode south of Carn Brea Hill in the Camborne-Redruth Area.
West Wheal Owles as this section became known continued working until one fateful day in January 1893. About 40 miners were working as a 'pare' or team in the undersea levels of Wheal Owles and some 400 feet below adit level accidentally holed into the flooded old workings of Wheal Drea Mine. It appears that the miners thought that they were about 40 yards away and quite safe from breaking into the workings of the old mine but were tragically mistaken. They holed into the workings of Wheal Drea at a depth of some 900 feet (148 fathoms) below the surface. The head pressure on this volume of water must have been enormous and the sea thundered into Wheal Owles trapping over 30 men. There were some heroic deeds on that day and some miners were saved by quick thinking of their colleagues but there were still 19 miners and one mine boy lost on that fateful morning.
Uploaded
August 18th, 2015
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