Wheal Kitty

Overview

Wheal Kitty, perched on the cliffs above Trevaunance Cove at St Agnes, was first documented in 1758 and worked almost continuously until 1930 — long enough to end its life housing the last beam engine ever to work anywhere in the St Agnes mining district.

History

Wheal Kitty's sett was first documented in 1758, though consistent working is recorded from 1834. By 1838 the mine had reached a depth of 50 fathoms and employed 258 people, producing tin, copper and iron pyrite. Over its working life the mine raised 13,121 tons of tin and 2,024 tons of copper. In 1904 Wheal Kitty merged with the neighbouring Penhalls Mine to form Penhalls United. At Sara's Shaft, a 65-inch Cornish engine — originally built by the Perran Foundry as a 60-inch engine in 1852 and previously used at a mine near St Hilary — was installed second-hand in 1910 when the shaft was deepened; it went on to become the last beam engine ever to work in the St Agnes mining district. Between 1926 and 1929 a new tin processing works was built at the site to extract cassiterite from ore raised at the mine, before Wheal Kitty finally closed in 1930.

Geology

The mine worked tin-, copper- and iron pyrite-bearing lodes within the St Agnes mining district, part of the same hydrothermal, granite-related Cornubian orefield worked across west Cornwall.

Geological setting: Hydrothermal Deposits (well documented example), Veins and Lodes (well documented example)

Workings

The mine reached a depth of 50 fathoms by 1838; Sara's Shaft was equipped from 1910 with a 65-inch Cornish engine, the last beam engine to work anywhere in the St Agnes district, and a purpose-built tin processing works was added in 1926-29.

Closure

The mine closed in 1930 after nearly a century of consistent working.

What remains

The restored Sara's Shaft engine house now forms the centrepiece of an industrial estate on the site.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Recorded claims

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

• By 1838 the mine employed 258 people at a depth of 50 fathoms; over its working life it raised 13,121 tons of tin and 2,024 tons of copper. ^1,2
• The 65-inch Cornish engine installed at Sara's Shaft in 1910 — built in 1852 and previously used at another mine — became the last beam engine to work anywhere in the St Agnes district. ^1,2

Images

Sources

1. (secondary) Wheal Kitty — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Wheal Kitty (St. Agnes) — Grace's Guide
3. (primary) Wheal Kitty 20th century tin processing works, St. Agnes — Historic England (Scheduled Monument record)
4. (primary) Wheal Kitty mine plans (BGS Mine Plans Catalogue) — British Geological Survey / The Coal Authority

Record created: 23 August 2026 · Last researched: 23 August 2026