Pictures of Trewellard

About Trewellard

The village here is part of Cornwall's historic mining industry of the 18th and 19th-centuries when men toiled for tin and copper hundreds of feet beneath rocky cliff faces of the sea. Vast fortunes were made for mine owners in this dangerous under-water world, and many lives were lost. All across the county there are stark reminders of the days when three-quarters of the world's copper was mined in Cornwall, tin had been extracted for centuries but by the middle of the 18th-century copper had taken over and become Cornwall's most important mineral.

Looking at the quiet beauty of wave lashed Botallack Head you can see all that remains of one of the most successful of all Cornwall's mines. The mine stretched over half a mile under the sea, the ingenuity and forward thinking of the engineers who built Botallack, made it famous and caused many prestigious visitors, including Royalty to view it for themselves. Today, the mines picturesque location and beautifully preserved remains attract thousands of visitors and make it one of the moist photographed mine's in Cornwall.

Nearby, visitors can learn about tin mining at the museum set up on the site of Geevor Mine. It is a fascinating museum that illustrates perfectly the history of an industry that played a major role in the lives of the county and its people. The coast of Cornwall is peppered with disused mines, many of which are in spectacular coastal positions. A lot of inland mining was carried on between Redruth and Camborne area, but now all of this is gone. At restored Poldark Mine near Helston visitors are taken on an atmospheric tour of the mine, here you can see and feel for your self what under-ground life was like for 18th-century tin miners. Often romanticised, the reality though was a life where danger was courted at every turn and where the only light the men saw for many a long hour, was from a candle stuck to the miner's hat with clay!

No visit to Cornwall would be complete without a trip to a Cornish mine.

Tin and Copper Mines can be found in or near the following places - St.Just, Penzance, St.Ives, St.Agnes, Newquay, Fowey, Marazion, Wendron and St.Austell.

Mines of particular interest - Geevor and Poldark, Redruth and Camborne.