East Pool Mine

Useful Information

Location:	Agar Rd, Pool, Redruth TR15 3ED. Parking at the Morrisons car park off Agar Road, black National Trust sign at the far end. (50.2310378, -5.2620677)
Open:	APR to OCT Mon-Thu, Sun. Actual open hours only with online booking 2 weeks in advance. Online booking mandatory. [2024]
Fee:	East Pool Mine: Adults GBP 10, children (5-17) GBP 5, Children (0-4) free, Family (2+3) GBP 25. Michell's Engine House: Adults GBP 5, children (5-17) GBP 2.50, Children (0-4) free, Family (2+3) GBP 12.50. Green Beams and Steam: Adults GBP 10, children (5-17) GBP 5, Children (0-4) free, Family (2+3) GBP 25. Members of the national Trust free. [2024]
Classification:	Copper Mine Tin Mine Tungsten Mine
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	VR=550 m.
Guided tours:	East Pool Mine: D=1 h. Michell's Engine House: self guided, D=30 min. Green Beams and Steam: D=1 h.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	East Pool Mine, Pool, TR15 3ED Redruth, Tel: +44-1209-315027. Booking, Tel: +44-344-249-1895.
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

18th century	Pool Old Bal copper mine opened.
1784	Pool Old Bal closed.
1834	reopened under the name East Pool Mine.
1887	Michell’s Engine House built.
1892	Taylor's engine built in the local foundry at Harvey & Co of Hayle.
1897	East Pool purchases Wheal Agar and is renamed East Pool and Agar.
1921	shaft collapses and access to the mine is blocked.
1922-1925	Taylor's Shaft dug.
1924	Taylor’s Engine House completed and beam engine relocated from Carn Brea Mines to this place.
1945	East Pool Mine closed.
1967	owned by the National Trust.
2006	inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Geology

Like all other tin mines of Cornwall the mining followed mineralized gangues in the granite diapir. The veins are called lode in Cornwall. As there is no underground tour there is no geologic aspect at this mine.

Description

East Pool Mine is named after its location in the east of Pool, a suburb of Redruth. The mine is an open air museum type, there is no underground tour. It is nevertheless spectacular as it has quite impressive and well-preserved engines, including one of the largest Cornish pumping engines.

The main sight is probably Michell's Engine House, which contains the last whim engine built in Cornwall. The boiler room contains an exhibition about the daily life of miners in the early 20th century. Through the flue tunnel the huge chimney is reached, which is called stack in miner's terms. Standing at the bottom of the stack its possible to see the sky through the chimney. A whim is a winding engine which was used to hoist ore and miners from the mine. It was named after the local engineer E. W. Michell who designed it, and was built in 1887.

The second engine at this site is named Taylor's Engine House and contains a beam engine, which was used for pumping water. Taylor's engine was built in 1892 in the local foundry at Harvey & Co of Hayle. It first stood at the Carn Brea Mines, about a kilometer to the south, but was moved here in 1924. The massive beam is made of cast iron and weights 52 tons. The huge amount of metal in those engines was the reason why most of them were scrapped for metal, when the mines closed and they were not sold to another mine. But when East Pool Mine closed it was purchased for preservation by an American engineer-historian. He donated it to the Cornish Engines Preservation Society. In 1967 the site was given to the National Trust, who manages it until today.

In Cornwall there are two kinds of mines, those which were successful during the 19th century ending with the tin crisis in the 1870, and those which operated during the 20th century until the 1980s. There were numerous tin crises, and the mines wer closed now and the due to lack in profitability, some were reopened later. others not. East Pool Mine is exceptional as it was successfully operated in the 19th century and again in the 20th century. Actually the mine started under the name Pool Old Bal in the early 18th century. Bal is the Cornish word for mine and commonly used. At this time mainly copper was mined, and it was closed in 1784. Reopened under the name East Pool Mine in 1834 it became a tin mine.

The neighbouring mine Wheal Agar was connected underground and so water from this other mine was flowing into East Pool Mine. While the other mine was still in operation, there were few problems, but when the mine became unprofitable it was closed in 1895 and the pumps switched off. As a result the lower levels of East Pool Mine flooded. They had been quite productive, so East Pool Mine purchased Wheal Agar and all its equipment for £4,000 in 1897, with the help of Lord Robartes, who owned the Wheal Agar land. The new mine was called East Pool and Agar, from 1913 East Pool & Agar Limited (EPAL), and was very productive. In total 92,000 tons of copper ore and 47,000 tons of tin ore were mined between 1897 and 1921.

The mining at East Pool actually ended with the collapse of the shaft in 1921, after which access to the mine was completely blocked. A new shaft was dug between 1922 and 1925 some 250 m from the old one and named Taylor's Shaft. The mine retained the name East Pool and Agar Mine, but its main product was now tungsten, which was in high demand during World War II for the production of weapons. At the end of the war this demand ended as well as subsidies and the mine was closed. But as nearby South Crofty was still mining, they operated Taylor’s Engine House for the next nine years to keep South Crofty clear. In 1954 electric pumps were installed.

The site is a museum and open air site, nevertheless it's only possible to visit on pre-booked tours. Michell's Engine House is visited self-guided, but again it is necessary to pre-book. This site is 400 m to the south, open only Monday to Thursday, and only at two times daily. During summer season, between late July and early September the family friendly interactive tour Green Beams and Steam is offered. The online booking is mandatory, what makes it a little difficult is that you may book only two weeks in advance. The National Trust requires online booking for most sites now, obviously a Explain Post-pandemic Aftermath, but here it is quite difficult with the two-week restriction.