Mine Collection

Trevaunance Coombe with steamworks in foreground below Wheal Friendly, St Agnes, Cornwall. Early 1900s
Viewed from above Peterville. A buddle, an apparatus by which the stamped tin is washed from its impurities, is pictured in the foreground

Picture No. 11981521
Wheal Coates - Engine House - St Agnes - Cornwall - UK Date:

Disused Tin mine, Cornwall
The ruins of a disused Cornish tin mine

Coal Mining Operations
Mining operations, drilling and boring, showing equipment and cross-section of mine. Date: 19th century

Dinnington Main Colliery early 1900s

USA, Colorado, Leadville, sign for the Golden Burro cafe

Ruins of Wheal Coates Tin Mine engine house, near St Agnes, Cornwall, England

Miners working at the coalface, South Wales
Two miners, stripped to the waist, working at the coalface in a coal seam in South Wales

Coal miners in shaft lift, South Wales
Several coal miners with blackened faces stand in the shaft lift at the end of their shift in a coal mine in South Wales

Wheal Coates, abandoned disused Cornish tin mine at sunset, near St. Agnes, North Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Miner at Geevor Tin Mine, Pendeen, Cornwall
Miner at work with a drill underground (below the sea) in Geevor Tin Mine, Pendeen, Cornwall, which was just about to cease operation. Date: circa 1986

Coal mine in England, 1850s
Removing coal in the Bradley mine, Staffordshire, England, 1850s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th century illustration

East Pool Mine, Illogan, Cornwall. 1892
Croust time ; croust is a Cornish term for lunch. The image includes the photographers son, front row, second from left, with nine miners. Photographer: John Charles Burrow

Coalmine pithead silhouetted at dusk, South Wales, United Kingdom, Europe

A Miner Success by Bruce Bairnsfather, WW1 cartoon
" They must ave ad some good news or somethin, Alf; you can ear em cheerin quite plain." Two British Tommies, Bill and Alf

East Pool Mine Illogan, Cornwall. 1893
Clearing out ore from landing brace at surface. Photographer: John Charles Burrow

Ruins of Wheal Coates Tin Mine engine house, near St Agnes, Cornwall, England

Lea Hall Colliery and Rugeley A Power Station, Staffordshire, 1963. Lea Hall was the first colliery planned and sunk by the National Coal Board (NCB) and work began in 1954

Gelli coalmine, Rhondda, South Wales
View of the Gelli coalmine, Rhondda, South Wales. Date: 1935

Gold, Carnon Stream Works, Perranarworthal, Cornwall, England
Gold is a native element and precious metal which has been prized by mankind for thousands of years for its beauty, malleability and resistance to corrosion

Miner and canary
Staffordshire coal miner gently holds the last canary to work down a British coal mine. Canaries were used to detect poisonous and dangerous gas in mines Date: 1986

Captain Tom Gundry, champion Cornish wrestler. Probably early 1880s
A studio portrait photograph of the champion Cornish wrestler, Thomas Gundry, wearing a wrestling jacket and two championship sashes

Cornish wrestling group, Randfontein, Transvaal, South Africa. Around 1900
Cornish wrestlers, officials, trophies and prizes pictured outside what appears to be the Transvaal miners sports clubhouse

Two miners in a narrow coal seam, South Wales
Two miners, one of them quite young, working in a narrow coal seam in a mine in South Wales

Haulier and assistant, Baldwins Level, South Wales
A haulier and his assistant, with a pit pony pulling a truck, at Baldwins Clog and Legging Level, near Pontypool, South Wales

Miner riding drams, Tirpentwys Colliery, South Wales
A miner riding a journey of drams (coal trucks) at Tirpentwys Colliery near Pontypool in South Wales. Date: 1910

Humphrey Jennings The Silent Village (1943)

View at Wheal Coates tin mine, St Agnes, Cornwall
View at Wheal Coates former tin mine, on the cliff top between Porthtowan and St Agnes, north coast of Cornwall, showing the Towanroath Shaft Pumping Engine House. Date: circa 1980s

Carn Brea Mine, Illogan, Cornwall. Around 1900
Stoping the lode in the 285 level, pare of 10 miners. Photographer: John Charles Burrow

Tourist route, Wieliczka Salt Mine, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Krakow, Malopolska, Poland, Europe

Cornish tin mines, 19th century
Cornish tin mines, 19th-century artwork. These mines are in the parish of St Just in Penwith, Cornwall, UK. 19th-century tin mines in this area date back to 1721

England, Tyne and Wear, Angel of the North. The Angel of the North statue near the cities of Gateshead and Newcastle Upon Tyne

Mormons cutting stone for their temple, Utah
Quarrying stone for the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah, 1870s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Cwmpennar Colliery, Glamorgan, South Wales
View of Cwmpennar Colliery (also known as the Powell Duffryn Colliery), Mountain Ash, Glamorgan, South Wales

Bedwas Navigation Colliery, Monmouthshire, South Wales
View of Lewis Merthyr Pit, Bedwas Navigation Colliery, Monmouthshire, South Wales. The colliery opened in 1913 and closed in the mid-1980s, after the Miners Strike

Sketch map of Hook, Pembrokeshire, South Wales
A sketch map of the village of Hook, including the various mining shafts of the colliery, on the Western Cleddau near Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, South Wales

Welsh women road builders, South Wales
A group of twenty Welsh women road builders in Pembrokeshire, Dyfed, South Wales, holding their spades. They built the road to Hook in 1903-4 to facilitate transport to the colliery

Coal miner filling truck, South Wales mine
A coal miner (Billy Hurland) filling a dram (coal truck) at Baldwins Level (nicknamed Clog and Legging) in a coalmine near Pontypool in South Wales

Its Mine, Poster, Canada, the right land for the right man, with Canadian National Railways

PIT PONIES / 1853
Working with horses in the Bradley Mine, near Bilston, Staffordshire [England]

Amalbrea tin stream works, Towednack, Cornwall. 1920s
Surface view of the Amalbrea tin stream works at Towednack which were worked by John James Curnow. Photographer: A.K. Hamilton Jenkin

Dolly Sisters and chorus in Diamond tableaux
The Dolly Sisters wearing creations by Jean Patou and chorus in the tableaux La Mine Diamants (Diamond Mine), Paris En Fleurs, Casino de Paris, Paris, 1925 1925

Marine Colliery, Cwm, Ebbw Vale, Gwent, South Wales
View of the Marine Colliery, Cwm, Ebbw Vale, Gwent, South Wales. Date: early 20th century

Bestwood Colliery, near Bestwood Village, Nottinghamshire
View of Bestwood Colliery, near Bestwood Village, Nottinghamshire. The colliery closed in 1967, but the surviving headstock and winding house, and vertical steam engine of 1873

Wyndham Colliery, Nantymoel, Ogmore Vale, South Wales
A pre-1914 image of the Wyndham Colliery, Nantymoel, Ogmore Vale, South Wales which opened in 1868. Date: circa 1900s

New Tredegar Colliery, Rhymney Valley, South Wales
An engine house damaged by subsidence at New Tredegar Colliery, Rhymney Valley, South Wales. This colliery suffered from many landslips and other geological problems, and eventually closed in 1930

Picking coal from waste tip during 1921 strike, South Wales
Three men picking coal from a local colliery waste tip during the 1921 strike, South Wales

Man at work, Dinorwig Slate Quarry, North Wales
A man at work, 150 feet up on the main face of Dinorwig (or Dinorwic) Slate Quarry, near Llanberis, North Wales

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"Unearthing the Depths: Tales of Resilience and Riches" Descending into the depths, coal miners in South Wales navigate the shaft lift with unwavering determination. At Geevor Tin Mine in Cornwall, a miner stands proudly amidst the remnants of an industry that once thrived. Sweat-soaked brows and calloused hands tell stories of grit as miners work tirelessly at the coalface in South Wales. The golden allure of Carnon Stream Works in Cornwall draws prospectors seeking treasures buried beneath its flowing waters. A miner's faithful companion, a canary perched on his shoulder serves as a warning system against unseen dangers below ground. Captain Tom Gundry, an emblematic figure from Cornish history, showcases strength and prowess as a champion wrestler during the 1880s. In Rhondda's Gelli coalmine, echoes of hard labor resonate through time as generations toil for their livelihoods deep within its tunnels. Transported back to England's 1850s, we witness the arduous efforts undertaken by coal miners striving for progress and survival. Wheal Coates stands silently at sunset—a testament to Cornwall's abandoned tin mining legacy—its ruins whispering tales of past prosperity. Filling truck after truck with black gold, South Wales' coal miners contribute their sweat and sacrifice to fuel industries far beyond their reach. Bruce Bairnsfather's WW1 cartoon "A Miner Success" encapsulates both humor and camaraderie amidst challenging times underground. In these glimpses into mines across different eras and regions, we uncover stories etched within walls soaked with perspiration—the triumphs won through perseverance or fortunes lost amid shifting landscapes beneath our feet.