Wheal Prosper

Wheal Prosper was a tin mine in Cornwall, England, a short distance from the hamlet of Rinsey and about 2.5 miles (4 km) west of Porthleven. The ruined engine house remains, overlooking Mount's Bay near Rinsey Head. The site is a Scheduled Monument,^[1] and the engine house is a Grade II listed building.^[2]

Wheal Prosper
Location	Breage, Cornwall, England
Coordinates	50°5′39.8″N 5°21′56.6″W
OS grid reference	SW 594 270
Built	1860
Scheduled monument
Official name	Wheal Prosper pumping engine house 210m south of Eastcliff Farm
Designated	18 July 1979
Reference no.	1021165
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	Wheal Prosper Engine House
Designated	26 August 1987
Reference no.	1142234
Location of Wheal Prosper in Cornwall

History and description

The mine opened circa 1860 to exploit the Porthclew lode; it closed in 1866. It was acquired by the National Trust in 1969 and preserved.^[2][3]

The building housed an engine of cylinder diameter 30 inches, to pump water from the mine. It has three storeys; it is built of killas rubble, with dressed granite quoins, and the chimney has an upper section of brick.^[1][2]

Mineral Statistics

From Robert Hunt's Mineral Statistics of the United Kingdom^[4].

Tin Production (from stannary records; 1861-3)

Year(s)	Black (Tons)	Value (£)	Comment
1861	10.25	716.65	..
1862	..	19.30	Tinstuff, from Midsummer 1859 to Ladyday 1863 inclusive
1862	9.29	592.40	..
1862	28.47	1,778.90	From Midsummer 1859 to Ladyday 1863 inclusive
1863	4.93	326.38	..

Copper Production (1862-72)

Year(s)	Ore (Tons)	Metal (Tons)	Value (£)
1862	6.00	0.50	41.70
1863	4.00	0.20	13.10
1871	90.00	4.10	212.30
1872	194.00	2.80	26.40

Gallery

• 
  The mine seen from the sea
• 
  The nearby mine captains house

See also

• Cornwall portal

• Wheal Trewavas
• Wheal Vor
• Botallack Mine
• Levant Mine and Beam Engine
• Mining in Cornwall and Devon
• Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape