Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 6: The images on this page were all taken in and around the Miners Dry. I was fortunate enough to be given the keys and left to explore on my own with was both a surprise and an honour.
It was after I had been to the mine several times taking my photographs and I was obviously on the “trusted” list.
So, wandering around alone in the dark was very spooky and atmospheric. Every time I turned around I expected the lights to turn on, followed by a shift of miners after their work underground. It was an experience I will never forget. Once again Bob Orchard has supplied much of the information.
Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 6.1 – The first view of the quiet and abandoned Miners Dry. Many of the windows had been blocked up the make it secure against those who take pleasure in smashing things up.Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 6.2 – A sad reminder of the last shift at the mine. Painted on the lockers the last underground shift at the mine. On the benches on the left there was still an old coffee machine.Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 6.3 – Rows and rows of empty lockers, it felt like the room was sleeping. Just waiting for the life to return.
Today the dry is open to the public as part of Geevor Mine Museum, the visitor can get a sense of the atmosphere this place once had. Pictures of miners are spread around along with underground clothing and everyday equipment arranged on the benches.
It is well worth going in on your own and shutting your eyes in a quiet corner, you will almost hear the miners coming off shift.
Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 6.4 – Jackets on hooks, also clothing still in the lockers, nothing had changed since miners last walked in here. There were even half full water bottles on some of the benches, also boot prints on the floor.Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 6.5 – Many of the windows had been boarded up making the Dry dark and spooky. Also most the lockers were empty but occasionally personal belongings still remained.Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 6.6 – Drying racks for wet clothes disappearing into the gloom. These would have been heated so the miner would have dry clothes on his next shift.Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 6.7 – Taken from an elevated angle shows the large amount of lockers in the Dry.Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 6.8 – Another looking the other way, I was surprised how many lockers there were in here.Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 6.9 – A final image of the lockers in the Dry.
The next set of images are in the shower and washing areas.
Geevor Tin Mine Gallery 6.10 – The miner’s showers. Some of the pipes were still dripping water along with old towels slung over the woodwork.Cornish Mine Images 6.11 – Individual and communal showers, totally dark in here with no natural light. All the pictures were taken by pure guesswork.Cornish Mine Images 6.12 – Damp and dark but it was quite an experience in here. Also in places some of the ceiling had collapsed.Cornish Mine Images 6.13 – The miners washing are in the Dry. Again this had all been boarded up, there was little or no natural light in here. Also some of the sinks had been pulled out but many were still in their place. Just as they were when they were last used.Cornish Mine Images 6.14 – A second image of the long line of sinks. After a shift this would have been full of miners getting ready to go home. Telling stories and joking around before heading off.
There were seperate rooms in the Dry, for the different workers. The Mine Captains and the Mine Management each had there own dry’s.
Cornish Mine Images 6.15 – Looking into the Senior Management Dry.Cornish Mine Images 6.16 – The shower area in the Senior Management Dry. Water was still dripping, boot prints on the floor it was a very strange experience.Cornish Mine Images 6.17 – Very sad that vandals had smashed the sink, once the site was abandoned it became a playground. If it had not been preserved when it was who knows how much would have been lost.Cornish Mine Images 6.18 – The broken window had been blocked up with old locker doors to keep out the vandals. Even a simple smashed sink, if it could talk think of all the stories and memories it could tell.Cornish Mine Images 6.19 – Names from the past mounted on the lockers in the Senior Management Dry. This was very moving to see, I would have loved to have met them.Cornish Mine Images 6.20 – Finally, another image of the lockers in the Dry. So many memories of the men who worked there.
It is with great regret that I never had the chance to drop the shaft and see the mine and the miners at work. I was only a short time too late.
