Levant Whim
1840 · Beam Winding Engine · Work 330 of 1,871
The Levant winding engine at Pendeen in Cornwall, a beam whim by Harvey and Company with its flywheel and drum wound with rope, housed in granite above the mine shaft.
- What it was used for
- The winding engine of Levant Mine near Trewellard in Cornwall, designed by Francis Michell - the National Trust spells it Mitchell - built by Harvey and Co. of Hayle and installed in 1840 to serve the Skip Shaft. According to Grace's Guide it worked continuously from 1840 to 1930 when the mine closed, and was rebuilt by Hocking and Loam in 1862. On the cylinder both figures are right, at different times: the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site gives 24 inches, "later enlarged to 27-inch"; the piston stroke is 48 inches. In 1935 the engine was secured with its house, from 1984 the "Greasy Gang" took it on, and in 1992 it ran on steam for the first time in six decades.
- What was new
- No technical priority is documented for this engine. The Cornish Mining World Heritage Site calls it "the oldest surviving Cornish engine" - a statement about survival, not invention - and the National Trust adds that it is the only engine in the world still worked by steam at its original site; that judgement belongs to the National Trust. The barb lies in keeping the engines apart. The one that was saved raised ore. The one that raised men was a different machine: in the Man-engine Shaft on 20 October 1919 the linkage between engine and rod broke, 31 miners died, more than 50 were badly injured, and the man engine was never restored.