Engine House At Sw628298, Ivey'S Shaft, Wheal Metal

This is a disused beam engine house, likely dating to circa 1859. It is constructed of granite rubble with dressed granite quoins, jambstones and lintels, with areas of near-ashlar masonry, particularly on the gable end and bob wall. Round brick arches feature in the principal openings, with some timber lintels. The two-stage chimney is of rubble for the lower section and brick for the upper. The building has a rectangular, single-cell plan, with a round chimney clasping the west corner and a thicker bob wall on the north-east side. It originally had three storeys over a basement, but the floors and cylinder have since been removed.

The north-east bob wall formerly had a large round-headed brick arch at ground floor level, with a blind arch above and a former weather-boarded upper floor and gable removed. The opposite, south-west gable end wall has a similar ground floor opening, along with smaller square-headed openings on the first and second floors. Square-headed openings are also present on the side walls, with the second floor remaining unpierced. The rubble chimney tapers to a brick collar at ridge level, surmounted by a tall, tapered brick shaft with a cornice resembling a Doric capital.

The building was fitted with an 1846 Harvey 85-inch beam engine in 1859, relocated from Wheal Vor Trelawney's Shaft. Accounts suggest the engine house itself was moved stone by stone, reportedly giving rise to the name ‘Pulldown.’ Work ceased in the early 1870s, and by 1877 the 85-inch engine had been removed and transported to Gateshead Waterworks, where it remained until the 1940s. The masonry is remarkably complete, although fallen timber lintels are causing some deterioration. It is an unusually large engine house.