Tregonning & Gwinear Mining Districts with Trewavas
Ranndiryow Balweyth Tregonan ha Gwynnyer
Diverse landscapes and great houses
The largest of the ten Areas, Tregonning and Gwinear contains diverse landscapes ranging from the idyllic pastoral charms of the rural farmland in the west of the Area to the atmospheric cliffscapes at Rinsey, with silent woods, exposed hills and subtropical gardens in between.
With the largest section of the Area containing Godolphin House, smallholdings and mining settlements, the separate smaller section of the Area holds Wheal Trewavas and Wheal Prosper, cliff-top engine houses, perched high above the south coast.
Godolphin House provides a valuable insight into the wealth of some of Cornwall’s most successful industrialists and mine owners. The woods on the estate provide a great walking spot and the on-site mine workings are a fascinating find.
To the south of the Area, two of the best-known undersea mines – Wheal Trewavas and Wheal Prosper – offer a unique glimpse into how treacherous mining could be. Trewavas, which seems to burst out of the cliff edge, is particularly inspiring and, together with its neighbour Wheal Prosper, which sits a little further along the cliff. Wheal Prosper has now been conserved as part of a CMWHS supported project.
Many other reminders of the Area’s mining history can be found here, from the terraces of minerworkers’ cottages in villages such as Praze-an-Beeble and Leedstown, to the vast number of mine shafts dotted through the countryside. The Area is also thought to have seen the installation of one of the world’s earliest practical steam pumping engines at Wheal Vor, in around 1710.
Godolphin House provides a valuable insight into the wealth of some of Cornwall’s most successful industrialists and mine owners.
Taking in the breathtaking sights and sounds of Wheal Trewavas and Wheal Prosper – some of the best-known undersea mines, they are perched dramatically on the edge of rugged cliffs
Visiting Godolphin House, once home to some of Cornwall’s most successful mine owners, and exploring its gardens that are thought to date from the late Middle Ages
The panoramic views from Tregonning and Godolphin Hills that can stretch as far as St Agnes and Hayle on a clear day
Exploring the beautiful Rinsey headland and beach (at low tide), and nearby Porthleven (not in the Site), with its spectacular harbour that sweeps right into the centre of the village
Godolphin Estate
Great Work Mine
Trewavas and Wheal Prosper
Rural mining districts include tin and copper mines (some of which were sites of important eighteenth century technological developments).
Extensive mineworkers’ smallholdings and mining settlements.
The great mining estates of Godolphin and Clowance.
A detached enclave in the south contains the sites of two undersea copper mines.
A 70 acre diverse archaeological landscape with monuments dating back to the Bronze Age, known as the birthplace of China Clay. Tregonning Hill was acquired by the Cornwall Heritage Trust in October 2023 to safeguard its future and ensure it remains accessible for everyone to enjoy.
Sorry - there are no Audio Trail guides available for this Area of the World Heritage Site at this time.
