A blog of sketches of historic buildings

Wheal coates Tin Mine, Porthowan, Cornwall

14/11/2023

Possibly the most dramatically sited of the many tin mines scattered across Cornwall, the Wheal Coates mine operated from 1802 to 1889. This building is the Towanroath Pumping Engine House of 1872 that was used to pump water out of the adjacent mine shaft that extended under the sea. A great steam powered beam engine was once enclosed by the building. Though at third floor the back wall was open to allow the beam to project. Beautiful and full of character today, it would have been an extreme environment to work in, with sheer cliffs below and bog land above. Now part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site

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St Michaels' Mount, Harazon, Cornwall

8/11/2023

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St Michael's Mount is a dramatic island monastery/fortress connected to the land by a tidal causeway. The island is crowned by a church and is very similar in appearance to Mont Saint Michel across the English Channel in Normandy. it was, in fact, a priory owned by that monastery from the tenth century up to the 1414 when Henry V dissolved the link during the 100 Years War with France. it became a parish church thereafter. The current church is thought to have been built in the late 14th century following an earthquake. The defensible position of the island meant that it was involved in a number of incidents, including being held by Royalists during the English Civil War. In 1659 it was sold to a Colonel John St Aubyn a former soldier in the New Model Army and his decedents adapted and expanded the former monastic buildings into the fine castellated house that now encloses the church. The most recent works were carried out in the 1870's. The site is managed by the National Trust

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A tour around Cornwall

5/11/2023

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The Minack Theatre near Porthcurrno Cornwall is a remarkable place. From a natural amphitheatre overlooking the sea, it was developed from 1932 onwards by Rowena Cade and her gardener. A delight to the eye, the reinforced concrete interventions are decorated with Celtic motifs and swirls and the names and dates of plays performed. Everywhere are dates recording when a particular piece was added. Rowena kept adapting the place until she was in her 80's and died in 1983. All built by hand, it shows the quirkiness of a project that was never on a drawing board and just developed organically over time as needs were understood and refined. Visiting is a real experience, driving up the steep narrow road from Porthcurno you arrive at a flat car parking field with expansive views and then walk down to the theatre though boundary walls and kiosks to a sudden vertiginous view down to the stage. When I was there the sun was very strong, the sea calm and the actors easily heard. A unique experience in a wonderful place.

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Wheal coates Tin Mine, Porthowan, Cornwall

St Michaels' Mount, Harazon, Cornwall

A tour around Cornwall

Marks of Time

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