Levant Mine & Beam Engine
Encyclopedia
Levant Mine and Beam Engine is a National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
property at Trewellard
Trewellard
Trewellard is a small village on the north coast road between St Just and St Ives in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated 7 miles from Land's End and 7 miles from Penzance...
, Pendeen
Pendeen
Pendeen is a village on the Penwith peninsula in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is north-northeast of St Just and west of Penzance.The village has a community centre, a shop, a post office, a primary school, and a few small businesses. Community activities include an art club, silver marching band...
, near St Just
St Just in Penwith
St Just is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish encompasses the town of St Just and the nearby settlements of Trewellard, Pendeen and Kelynack: it is bounded by the parishes of Morvah to the north-east, Sancreed and Madron to the east, St Buryan and Sennen to...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, England, UK. Its main attraction is that it has the world's only Cornish beam engine
Cornish engine
A Cornish engine is a type of steam engine developed in Cornwall, England, mainly for pumping water from a mine. It is a form of beam engine that uses steam at a higher pressure than the earlier engines designed by James Watt...
still operated by steam on its original site. There is also a visitor centre, a short underground tour, and a cliff-top footpath that leads to Botallack Mine.
The property is on the site of the former Levant Mine, established in 1820 and closed in 1930, where tin and copper ores were raised. The mine reached a depth of about 600 metres. It got the nickname "mine under the sea", because tunnels were driven up to 2.5 km from the cliffs under the sea.
See also
- Man engineMan engineA man engine is a mechanism of reciprocating ladders and stationary platforms installed in mines to assist the miners’ journeys to and from the working levels...
for an account of the accident in the mine on 20 October 1919. - Geevor Tin MineGeevor Tin MineGeevor Tin Mine is a tin mine in the far west of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, between the villages of Pendeen and Trewellard. It was operational between 1911 and 1990 during which time it produced about 50,000 tons of black tin. It is now a museum and heritage centre left as a living history...
, just to the north-east of the Levant complex.