Ding Dong Mine & Greenburrow engine house
The Ding Dong mines extracted tin ore (cassiterite) from deep underground lodes and are reported to be the oldest in the Westcountry, dating back to prehistoric times. At its peak, the consolidated mine covered 500 acres and employed over 200 workers. Miners would descend hundreds of feet underground each day to blast and extract the tin-bearing rock, which was then hauled to the surface for processing.
Between 1814 and 1877, the mine produced 3,472 tons of black tin valued at £222,000 – an enormous sum when miners earned less than £3 per month. The mine ceased production on July 11, 1877, victim of cheaper tin discoveries in Australia and other parts of the British Empire. Between 1912 and 1915, 51 tons of tin were recovered from reworking the old mine dumps.
Since 2006 the site has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape. This designation recognizes the global importance of Cornish mining technology and its influence on mining practices worldwide.
Greenburrow engine house, part of Ding Dong Mine, is one of its most striking survivors. Built in 1865, it contained a massive steam-powered beam engine that pumped water from flooded mine workings 480 feet below, keeping operations viable in one of Cornwall’s oldest and most storied tin mines.
Click Start to be guided around the engine house's main features
Bob Wall
This thick wall is the most crucial structural element of the engine house. Built with massive granite blocks, it supported the pivoting beam (or 'bob'). The beam rocked on this wall, with the indoor end connected to the steam piston and the outdoor end operating the pump rods in the shaft. Engineers said that a good engine could work at ten strokes per minute.
Chimney
Only the lower half remains of what was once a tall chimney stack. In the 1870s the mine was employing over 200 people. The chimney created draft for boiler fires that heated water to create steam. The smoke from this chimney signaled that the mine was operational and the pumps were keeping the workings dry.
Shaft
This shaft descends 80 fathoms (146 meters/480 feet) into the mine workings. Now securely covered with an iron grille, it is blocked a short distance down. The engine pumped water from both this shaft and Ding Dong shaft via flat rods. The pump rods would have descended down this shaft, lifting water from the flooded workings below to keep the mine dry enough for miners to work.
The Engine House
This granite engine house was built in 1865 to house a 40-inch cylinder Cornish beam pumping engine. The engine was manufactured by Harvey & Co. of Hayle and was originally installed at North Killiow shaft in 1857 before being moved here in 1865. Inside, the steam cylinder operated at pressures up to 50 pounds per square inch. The engine's primary purpose was to pump water from the mine - without this constant pumping, the underground workings would flood within days, making it impossible to extract the valuable tin ore.