During low tide an elvan dyke can been seen some 120 yards from the shore at Wherry Town, Penzance. Part of this elvan is impregnated by cassiterite and numerous thin veins of black tin, It was here in 1778 that Mr. Thomas Curtis sank a shaft 2’ x 2’ square in the summer months when the weather allowed. A tower was built out of wooden planks and bound with pitch to keep the water out as high tide can reach 19’ above the collar of the shaft. The ore was then transported by a flat bottom boat called a wherry. Later in 1792 a bridge was built to connect the tower above the shaft to the shore. The mine was reputed to be very rich at depth but came to a sudden halt in 1798 when a boat broke loose from it’s moorings in a storm and destroyed the tower and bridge, later attempts to open the mine were unsuccessful.

We visited the location on the 18th April 2003 which also was the lowest tide for the year and were able to see the pump Columb and shaft which is filled with sand also midway between the shaft and foreshore was found the stump of one of the wood pillars that supported the connecting bridge. Some angular blocks can rarely be found some with thin strings of black cassiterite (see mineral listing) cassiterite also impregnates the elvan on ether side of the veins.

More information on the Wherry Mine can be found in A.K.Hamilton Jenkins book “Mines and Miners Of Cornwall ”Vol 4. pages 17-21 Colour photos taken by R. Selly.