GeoKids Wheal Florence 1: Engine House Traditional Cache
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GeoKids Wheal Florence 1: Engine House
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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GeoKids Wheal Florence is a circular series of 5 caches around the remains of East Wheal Florence. From start to finish this walk is nearly 2 miles and should take 90 mins to walk with GeoKids in tow. Some of the route is popular with walkers and dog owners, but all dogs must be kept on a lead as some of the route is on a public footpath through farmland.
This series is placed by GeoKids for GeoKids and is designed so each cache is easy to find; being placed close to the next and at kids height, either on the ground or at GeoKids head height. Each cache is a small plastic square container with a bright coloured lid. There are FTF bonuses and GeoKids swap rocks in each cache; please take the rocks and move them on! Please use the suggested parking provided with kind permission of Compton Park Engine House Tea Rooms. Alternative parking is marked with a waypoint near cache 2.
Several small mines are spaced out south-west of Kit Hill towards Callington New Bridge. On either side of Florence Road, at the top of Skitta Hill, now known as Florence Hill, are the remains of East Wheal Florence. The triangle of land, now Compton Park, originally housed the mine engine and stack. The mine changed its name during the 19th Century from May Florence and Tonkin; in 1875 Florence Consols, and finally in 1881 Callington Consols. At that time the company had taken over Princess of Wales Mine and the small mine of Lady Ashburton or Cuckoo Mine, situated below the South West Water Reservoir further along Florence Road. The term “cuckoo” is said to infer that the mine was only workable in the summer when it wasn’t waterlogged.
In 1858, the May Florence Mine produced a little lead and silver ore. By 1864 there were two shafts “Verran” and “Sam Saw”. William Verran of Callington was the mine captain. The first was on the higher side of the road with engine house and stack. The second was at the top of Florence Hill, and power was brought across under the road by means of flat rods. There is an adit driven into the hill, which drains the workings at the 90-foot level. Here the workings appear to have been chiefly for copper ore. The only mine building left is the copper crush house, now converted to the tea room. The Mining Journal records the construction of the crusher in 1872 by which time there were three shafts; the third “Tonkin” being situated at the end of the old cowshed on Claremont Farm. It is probable that there was a tunnel joining this shaft with the Verran shaft, as there was a collapse of earth in the 1980s, making a large hole in the field between the two.
(Text reproduced from Compton Park Engine House Tea Room; Ann Eade)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Unir N Erfg
Treasures
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