China Stone in the Tregargus Valley near St. Stephen-in-Brannel
Tregargus Valley near St. Stephen-in-Brannel
I knew nothing of China Stone until an article appeared in the Western Morning News. Fascinated, I headed for St. Stephen-in-Brannel in early October 2014. China Stone is a form of degraded granite used in ceramic production in a similar manner to ground flint. Britain’s only source of china stone is Cornwall and the major producing area was just north of St. Stephen-in-Brannel, in the valley of the River Barn, known as Tregargus Valley. The valley’s only competitor was Staffordshire where Cheddleton Mill produced finely ground flint. There were once 7 working mills in this valley and another, Chapel Mill, further down-river. Now there are identifiable remains of 5. Locations of these, starting from the south are: an unnamed one by Trevargus Farm at 94790/53724; Trevear (or Treveor) Mill, under conservation in 2014, at 94980/53858; Big Wheel Mill (or Tregargus Mill), also due for conservation, with an in-situ overshot waterwheel at 94565/58957; remains of unidentified (by me) clay dries at 95030/54177; and Wheal Arthur Mill, at the top of the valley, also with an in situ waterwheel, at 95030/54177. All are passed as you follow a clear track up the valley. The first is off to the left soon after the gate to the valley, the others are obvious. Trevear Mill is being partly restored by Cornwall Council. Wheal Arthur, with its in situ overshot waterwheel, still has its dries and a pit behind.
Located due north of St. Stephen-in-Brannel
Wheal Arthur China Stone Mill
Chapel Mill is incongruously located below Hawkins Motors car park at 94841/53101, on the St. Austell road.
Wheal Arthur Mill can be approached from the St. Dennis road, a little NE of the Stepaside fork, from a lay-by at 94779/54682. If you search behind the mill building, you wiil find its flooded pit and another in-situ water wheel.
More in Museums & Galleries
Classic Air Force - I am unsure whether this still exists at Newquay Airport
This museum was previously situated near Coventry but moved down to Cornwall in 2013. It is now on the Aerohub site on the old St. Mawgan Airfield, on the opposite side from Newquay Airport. Classic Air Force opened in Cornwall at Easter 2013 and we were lucky enough to be able to attend one of its free Easter opening days. Considering how recently the aircraft had moved down from the Midlands - there were still more to come later - everything ran surprisingly smoothly thanks to the great enthusiasm of the staff running the operation. Housed in and around a massive former RAF hangar, the collection of airplanes is impressive, ranging from simple single-engined craft such as the Auster Aristocrat and Chrislea Super Ace, through the De Havilland Dragon Rapide bi-plane, to the classic jets such as the English Electric Canberra, the Hawker Hunter and Sea Hawk, the Gloster Meteor and the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod. Many are in flying condition and some are used to give visitors air trips. While we have to claim supreme ignorance when it comes to aviation, we were impressed by the scope of the collection, the presentation and the sheer enthusiasm of the staff. Pasties and relatively simple snacks were available when we were there.
East Pool Mine at Pool - formerly Cornish Mines and Engines
Camborne was Britain's major centre of copper and tin mining during the 19th century. Around 1870, as the copper became exhausted, the 'Great Flat Lode' of tin was discovered at a lower level. New shafts were sunk, more engine houses built. Sadly only South Crofty Mine (now to be re-opened) remains capable of production but substantial relics stand in their hundreds. The National Trust and the Trevithick Trust (Richard Trevithick was the Cornish engineer who invented the high pressure engine that enabled deep mining) have restored two at Pool, not far from Trevithick's birthplace. In 2002 we toured the Discovery Centre at Taylor's Shaft and were immensely impressed by the massive Harvey's Cornish Beam Engine, one of the largest ever built. Nearby, across the road, we saw the smaller working engine in steam at Michell's Shaft. We have also enjoyed seeing Levant Engine in steam at the National Trust's site, beautifully located on a cliff-top near Cape Cornwall. We walked too - up Carn Brea Hill and past other mining relics. We report elsewhere on the 'Great Flat Lode Trail', the Coast-to-Coast Trail and the many other Mining Trails in the area.
Falmouth Art Gallery
That Falmouth's art gallery has surprisingly good collections is largely thanks to South African businessman Alfred de Pass who honeymooned in Falmouth in 1888 and built a holiday home there in 1895. An avid collector, he not only gave substantial numbers of paintings to Falmouth, he also paid for the Library to be adapted and extended to house his gifts. Other donors include the local Fox family, creators of so many of Cornwall's finest gardens, including Trebah and Glendurgan.