Wheal Owles was a tin mine in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of St Just in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, UK and the site of a disaster in 1893 when twenty miners lost their lives. Since 2006 it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site –

Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape The Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape is a World Heritage Site which includes select mining landscapes in Cornwall and West Devon in the south west of England. The site was added to the World Heritage List during the 30th Session of the UN ...

. The mine is within the

Aire Point to Carrick Du Aire Point to Carrick Du SSSI is a Site of Special Scientific Interest on the Penwith Peninsula, Cornwall, England. It is 5.98 square kilometres in extent, stretching from to . The site is designated both for its biological and its geological i ...

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI) and the

South West Coast Path The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Because it rises a ...

passes along the cliff.

History

The mine was commenced by John Boyns, in circa 1830 on earlier workings, with Wheal Boys first opened, and shortly after the Growse. Water was drained from old workings by a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

but little ore was found and it was some years before a profit was made. Driving eastwards, towards the

Botallack Mine The Botallack Mine ( kw, Bostalek) is a former mine in Botallack in the west of Cornwall, UK. Since 2006 it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site – Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape. The mine is within the Aire Point to Car ...

, the Cercendrey and Cargotha lodes were intersected and a large amount of tin was raised. Wheal Boys also eventually produced a large amount of tin. At one time the mine employed around 500 people and is over deep. At a general meeting of the shareholders on 8 March 1884 it was decided to close the older part of the mine and to carry on mining the cliff part of the mine. Over 100 tons of ore was processed each month but due to the low price of tin the mine was making a loss. On 10 January 1893 the miners broke through into the flooded workings of the neighbouring Wheal Drea. As water rushed into Wheal Owles the air blasted through the mine blowing out the lights and leaving the miners in darkness. Those working in the upper levels survived but nineteen men and a boy lost their lives. Their bodies were never recovered. "... a terrible roar was heard, followed by a rush of wind, which blew out all the lights. Knowing that something had gone wrong in the mine, the men made for the ladders, and soon found out it was a case of hurry and strain every nerve for life or death. In the dark they did their best to gain the surface, some at times being completely torn away from the ladders by the tremendous currents of water and wind.... In about an hour and a half that huge space was completely full." Wheal Owles mine had been flooded by waters from Boscean mine which had broken into Wheal Drea. "The result is that the immense pool of water now stretched through, practically, three mines and is a mile-and-a-half in length - almost from the sea to beneath the Wesleyan Chapel at St Just Church-town." The Cornishman, January 12 1893

References

{{Reflist Grade II listed buildings in Cornwall St Just in Penwith Tin mines in Cornwall