Blackwater, Cornwall
| Blackwater | |
|---|---|
 A Cornish Mining Walk, Blackwater, Cornwall |
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 Blackwater
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| Blackwater shown within Cornwall | |
| OS grid reference | SW736461 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Shire county | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Truro |
| Postcode district | TR4 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Cornwall |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Blackwater is a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the parish of St Agnes between Truro and Redruth. 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.
Over the course of Blackwater's history, the town has supported four public houses: Clinton House, Cornish Miners Inn, The Red Lion and The Spread Eagle. The Chacewater to Newquay railway line (1903–1963) crossed through Blackwater. A station building was located south of Presingoll Barns near St Agnes. In 1972 the railway bridge was destroyed.
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.
Commonly known as Wheal Concord, Wheal Concord and Wheal Briton mines are located on the road between Blackwater North Hill and Skinners 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 nineteenth century fall of tin prices, Herbert Thomas said of St Agnes mining in his 1896 "Cornish Mining Interviews":
I can remember about 14 or 15 mines at work. But after tin fell seriously in 1874 the number began to diminish. Now the only mines at work are West Kitty, Wheal Kitty, Polberro and Blue Hills. Wheal Friendly cannot battle with hard times any longer and is about to be wound up…
In the 1980s 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. The mine was only open for a couple of years, but they had extracted all that they could with their contributor's 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. The mine closed in November 1982.
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Wikipedia