Blackwater () is a village in
Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
of
St Agnes between
Truro
Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...
and
Redruth
Redruth ( , ) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. According to the 2011 census, the population of Redruth was 14,018 In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, ...
. The village lies on the old course of the
A30 north of the current course which bypasses it. The village has a primary school (built in 1877) which serves the village and surrounding settlements.
History
Over the course of Blackwater's history, the village has supported four public houses: Clinton House, Cornish Miners Inn, The Red Lion and The Spread Eagle.
[ The ]Truro and Newquay Railway
The Truro and Newquay Railway was a Great Western Railway line in Cornwall, England, 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.
History
T ...
(1903–1963) crossed through Blackwater. A station building was located south of Presingoll Barns near St Agnes. In 1972 the railway bridge was destroyed.
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.
Wheal Concord
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 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.[ Regarding the late 19th-century fall of tin prices, Herbert Thomas said of St Agnes mining in his 1896 "Cornish Mining Interviews":
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
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.
Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
. 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.[''Blackwater.'']
St Agnes Heritage Trail, St Agnes Forum. p. 3. Retrieved 24 September 2012.[ The mine closed in November 1982.
]
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.[
The Sunday School building, built with the funding and support of ]John Passmore Edwards
John Passmore Edwards (24 March 1823 – 22 April 1911)ODNB article by A. J. A. Morris, 'Edwards, John Passmore (1823–1911)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 200 accessed 15 Nove ...
was completed in 1893 and dedicated to Edward's late uncle, a St Day
St Day () is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is positioned between the village of Chacewater and the town of Redruth. The electoral ward St Day and Lanner had a population of 4,473 according to the 2011 cens ...
Sunday school
]
A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes.
Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...
superintendent and teacher. It was a stone building with granite dressings. Gothic architecture, Gothic cathedral glass
Cathedral glass is the name given commercially to monochromatic sheet glass. It is thin by comparison with 'slab glass', may be coloured, and is textured on one side. The name draws from the fact that windows of stained glass were a feature of me ...
and leadlight
Leadlights, leaded lights or leaded windows are decorative windows made of small sections of glass supported in lead cames. The technique of creating windows using glass and lead came to be known as came glasswork. The term 'leadlight' could b ...
windows adorned the building.
Education
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.
Commonly known as the Blackwater Lecture and Reading Room, the Blackwater Institute was founded in 1890 by John Passmore Edwards
John Passmore Edwards (24 March 1823 – 22 April 1911)ODNB article by A. J. A. Morris, 'Edwards, John Passmore (1823–1911)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 200 accessed 15 Nove ...
who was born in Blackwater. This was the first of many donated public buildings by Edwards. He also financed the construction of the Mithian
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.
Mithian is in the administrative civil parish of St Agnes (which was in the former Carrick Dist ...
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.[''Blackwater.'']
St Agnes Heritage Trail, St Agnes Forum. p. 1. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
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.[''Blackwater Literary Institute.'']
Blackwater History. The Autobiography of John Passmore Edwards. Retrieved 24 September 2012. The building has also been used for local meetings, County Technical Instruction Committee classes, men's snooker
Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...
club and the 1920 Coroner's inquest
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
into the unsolved double murder of Joseph Hoare and Laura Sara.[
]
Amenities
The Red Lion Public House is the village pub.[
]
Notable people
The Victorian philanthropist and journalist John Passmore Edwards
John Passmore Edwards (24 March 1823 – 22 April 1911)ODNB article by A. J. A. Morris, 'Edwards, John Passmore (1823–1911)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 200 accessed 15 Nove ...
was born here. He had the Blackwater Institute built within a few hundred yards of the site of the cottage of his birth and youth.[
]
In popular culture
* Carlton Television
Carlton Television (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. The company is now managed with London Weekend Tele ...
's ''Murder Most Foul'' television series featured a story of the unsolved 1920 murder of Laura Sara and her common law husband Joseph Charles Hoare at their "Seaview Cottage".''Blackwater.''
St Agnes Heritage Trail, St Agnes Forum. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
Notes
References
Further reading
* Clive Benney; Tony Mansell.
A History of Blackwater and Its Neighbours
'. Trelease Publications; 1 January 2004. .
* S. A. Cox.
Reviving Cornwall's Wheal Concord Tin Mine.
' Land and Mineral Surveying. 3:(9). 1985.
* Peter Marsh.
New Blow for Britain's Tin Mines
. ''New Scientist'' Reed Business Information; 2 December 1982. ISSN
An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is an eight-digit to uniquely identify a periodical publication (periodical), such as a magazine. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title. ISSNs a ...
&nbs
02624079
p. 565.
External links
Concord
{{authority control
Villages in Cornwall