PhotoTour: The Crowns, Botallack

Poole Navigation Minehead
Map Ref: SW362033 (locate via StreetMap)
Distances: Poole: 382m 611km, Minehead: 248m 396km

The Crowns	West Penwith

The Crowns are just a small part of the much larger Botallack Mine. At its busiest it had no fewer than 11 engines and employed 500 people. Most of the workings of the mine lie higher up Botallack Cliff, but today the Crowns are the largest surviving buildings. They were part-restored in 1985 by the Carn Brea Mining Society.

The lower engine was used for pumping and the upper one for winding. It powered the Diagonal Shaft which went down a total of 1,360ft (414m) under the sea. In 1865 the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall (later to become King Edward VII) visited the mine and descended down the famous shaft.

A CDROM version of the PhotoTour with over 540 high-quality photos of larger size is available from the Association's shop.

The South West Coast Path is part of the National Trail Network		Copyright ©2008 South West Coast Path Association
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