News Release #4 - May 2013

As I said on Facebook earlier this month, the ground around Tredinnick has been on the move, and lets face it, when a hole in the ground opens up, it must be investigated. Mike and Dan Williams have had the JCB there and have opened up the run of ground to reveal not a shaft, but the top of a stope. For those not in the know, it’s basically a cavern from which the tinstone was removed. It appears the stope has been filled once before, judging by the amount of Victorian pottery coming out of the ground. Naturally I've had a good look and dig around, hoping to get into these uncharted workings, as there are no plans for the Tredinnick end of Ding Dong mine, but unfortunately no luck; the workings are way too deep for my trusty shovel or even the digger. It appears from the books that there is little, or no adit on this lode, which might be Badgers Lode. I shall be displaying this at our next meeting so come and take a look

What else has been going on? Well, Ken's been looking into the air-crash near Trythall school during the war, a tragic story and one which a few locals remember distinctly today. And Pat? Well she still has a full head of hair, which is pretty amazing, as the Veale family story has taken her all over the country and through all the big families of the county. It’s actually become a writing on the wallpaper task, in order to lay out the family tree and who was where, when. We have decided to feed this to you in chapters as there is soooooo much to take in.
A lot of document reading is going on, some are easy but some are proceeding at the rate of a line a week! We’ve had all the Veale wills delivered and I’ve got some leases from the 1600s, concerning Mulfra mine.
We are in the midst of tracking down the mills of the area. I’ve presently got thirty definite locations, and they are everything from bark chipping to paper mills, the latter being down at Castle Horneck. I've had a quick look around Landithy stamps, near Madron, a lovely area and a project worth looking into. Gear stamps is an all-but-completed project, made some interesting discoveries, it shall be presented in full at the next display.
A new project is that of the so-called Mine Captain’s house in Carfury Bottoms, though we have yet to find a ‘Captain’, of any kind, resident in the area. All we have at present is David Edwards and his son, John, both farmers ranging from the late 1700s through to mid 1800s, which is what makes the captain theory a little odd, as Ding Dong was all but closed by the 1870s. There is another question; is this house of two storeys, with a commanding view, with orchards and extensive gardens just not too much for a mine captain. Hopefully we shall let you know in time. It was the late Herbert Lutey who referred to it as the Mine Captain’s house and his family were here for a long, long time. Certainly Mount Whistle does not appear till the late 1800s (approx. 1870) and the captain’s ruin, we now know, is not the same building that was in existence on the tithe map of 1840.

Finally, if you’ve not already heard, Roy Matthews will be doing a talk at Trythall School, on June 11th at 7.30pm, on the Smelting Works of Chyandour Coombe. This is a personal insight into the works from his father’s memories and we are hoping to record the talk so that the information is not lost...it is a talk worth seeing and hearing. There is no charge on the door and if you've still not got a copy of our first journal then it will be on sale that evening. Hopefully it won't be too much longer before we present another evening of information, we will keep you posted.
Oh, by the way, someone recently met Ann Malone and she has confirmed that the fireplace was a bed, and that she can remember it only too well, we are hoping someone may get to talk to the lady before too long in order to glean more information. Strangely, the same person also met a man, walking his dog, whose grandfather was the manor's coachman! Let's just say all our fingers and toes are crossed that these people have information or photos that we can use.
You know its strange how times change, we have spent hours pouring over maps and plans and have come across so much ground devoted to orchards, particularly apples, certainly all the big houses had their own large orchards, as it was far safer to drink alcohol than water, and yet we spoke to a cider brewer today at Trereife who is desperate to find apples for his cider...there’s barely an orchard of size left, in fact many were left to the undergrowth, and are now hidden in an onslaught of bramble and blackthorn. Stuart Emmett