Poldark Mine
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Formerly called
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Wendron Forge, Ha'penny Park |
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| Industry | tourism |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Founder | Peter Young |
| Website | http://www.poldarkmine.org.uk |
Coordinates: 50°08′17″N 5°14′38″W / 50.138°N 5.244°W
Poldark Mine is a tourist attraction near the town of Helston in Cornwall, UK. It lies within the Wendron Mining District of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site. Its features include a guided tour through ancient tin mine workings, a museum of mining equipment and craft workshops.
It opened in 1972 as Wendron Forge and was later known as Ha'penny Park. After an ancient tin mine was discovered on the site it was renamed to take advantage of Winston Graham's Poldark novels and the BBC television series that was first broadcast in 1975.
The mine was researched by A. K. Hamilton Jenkin, an authority on Cornish mining history, who attributed it to Wheal Roots which had been active in the 18th century.
The original owner, Peter Young, sold Poldark Mine in 1988 following which it passed through several owners and declined in popularity. It went into administration for the second time in 2014, and in that year was bought by David Edwards who had been involved with the Ffestiniog Railway and the Llechwedd Slate Caverns in Wales. He said he hoped to keep Poldark Mine as an open-air museum and heritage centre.
The attraction now known as Poldark Mine started life in summer 1966 when Peter Young, a Royal Marine, purchased the local smithy, Wendron Forge, in an auction in the hamlet of Trenear, while on weekend leave. Young quickly acquired about three acres of adjoining land which were separated by a large furniture store which was formerly a dairy and originally part of the Wendron Consols mine. He spent the next few years purchasing and repairing agricultural and industrial machinery, though his intention was to run a business selling etchings that he designed and produced on site. The site was opened to the public in June 1971 after the level of the flood-prone ground was raised, facilities were constructed and about six working machines and engines were installed to attract visitors.
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