East Pool Mine shaft collapse

A large underground rockfall destroyed both of East Pool's winding shafts and flooded the mine; no deaths were reported, but the mine had to sink an entirely new shaft to survive.

Date	1921
Mine	East Pool Mine
Region	Cornwall
Primary type	Collapse / Roof Fall
Associated types	Flooding / Inundation
Fatalities	0 (No deaths are recorded, though the collapse destroyed both winding shafts and caused significant flooding.)
Context	During active mining

Four panels: Michell's and Engine shafts with the electric pumps below, the rockfall, both shafts lost and the workings flooding, and Taylor's Shaft sunk in stable ground. — The East Pool shaft collapse of 1921 in four stages © MineArchive

The pumping engine house and stack on Taylor's Shaft at East Pool Mine, near Redruth. — Taylor's Shaft engine house, East Pool Mine John M, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons / Geograph

Cause

A large-scale underground rockfall struck the mine's old workings around Michell's and Engine shafts.

What happened

In 1921, a major rockfall in old underground workings destroyed both of East Pool's winding shafts and wrecked the electric water pumps serving them, causing significant flooding. With both shafts lost, the mine's owners chose to write them off entirely and sink a new shaft — Taylor's Shaft, named for the mine manager — away from the unstable ground, beginning in 1922. By 1924 it was equipped with a new 90-inch cylinder pumping engine, moved from the nearby Carn Brea mine where it had stood unused since 1914.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

A large rockfall in 1921 destroyed both of East Pool's winding shafts and caused significant flooding. ¹
The replacement, Taylor's Shaft, was equipped with a 90-inch pumping engine relocated from Carn Brea mine by 1924. ^1,2

Related terminology

Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.

Pumping Engine (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s narrative: “…in 1922. By 1924 it was equipped with a new 90-inch cylinder pumping engine, moved from the nearby Carn Brea mine where it had stood unused…”
Shaft (contextual relationship)
A single rockfall destroyed both winding shafts at once, which is what turned a fall of ground into an existential problem: the mine had to sink an entirely new shaft to carry on at all.

Sources

(secondary) History of East Pool Mine — National Trust
(secondary) East Pool Mine — Grace's Guide

Record created: 20 August 2026 · Last researched: 20 August 2026