Ding Dong Mine
| Ding Dong mines | |
|---|---|
Greenburrow pumping engine house
|
|
| Type | industrial heritage, mine |
| Coordinates | 50°9′15″N 5°35′34″W / 50.15417°N 5.59278°WCoordinates: 50°9′15″N 5°35′34″W / 50.15417°N 5.59278°W |
| Area | 500 acres |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii, iii, iv |
| Designated | 2006 (30th session) |
| Part of | Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape |
| Reference no. | 1215 |
| United Kingdom | Europe and North America |
|
Listed Building – Grade II
|
|
| Designated | 1988 |
 Location of Ding Dong mines in Cornwall
|
|
The Ding Dong mines lie in an old and extensive mining area situated in the parish of Madron, in Penwith, Cornwall, England. They are about two miles south of the St Just to Penzance road. They look out over Mount's Bay and St Michael's Mount to the south west. Since 2006 the site has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, part of Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape.
According to a 1936 book by Henry R. Jenkins, the name may refer to the 'head of the lode' or the outcrop of tin on the hill. He also notes that in Madron church there is a 'Ding Dong Bell' that was rung to mark the end of the last shift of the miners.
Near the mine ruins can be found the Bronze Age Nine Maidens Stone Circle, the Men-an-Tol and Lanyon Quoit and the Ding Dong mines themselves. These are reported to be the oldest in the West of England, dating back to prehistoric times. Ding Dong mine is likely one of the oldest mines in the United Kingdom. It was described as having 22 tin lodes connected with it and as extending over 500 acres.
It is not known when the mine actually began to be worked. The earliest record of Ding Dong is given by John Norden at the beginning of the 17th century. In 1714 three separate mines were operating: Good Fortune, Wheal Malkin and Hard Shafts Bounds. By 1782 sixteen working mines were to be found in the area. and the present sett include Ding Dong in the middle, Providence, Tredinneck and Ishmael’s to the east and Wheal Malkin and Wheal Boys to the West.
Ding Dong obtained notoriety during the 18th century because of an infringement lawsuit. A 28-inch cylinder inverted engine designed by Edward Bull, chief designer for Boulton and Watt, was put into Ding Dong in 1796; James Watt saw this as an infringement of his 'condenser patent'. One of these engines was erected at Ding Dong in 1797, when a conventional Boulton and Watt engine was inverted by Richard Trevithick and William West. Trevithick worked with his father at Wheal Treasury mine and, after making improvements which increased the operating pressure of the Bull Steam Engine, Trevithick was promoted to engineer of the Ding Dong mine in 1796. Today the ruined Count (Account) House is the only remaining structure from Richard Trevithick's time at Ding Dong.
...
Wikipedia