Former Miners Dry, Bickfords And Palmers Shafts, South Crofty Mine

The Former Miners' Dry at Bickford's and Palmer's Shafts, South Crofty Mine, is a disused building dating from 1863. Constructed from killas rubble with granite dressings and a slate roof, it is two storeys high and features a three-window range. The window frames have been removed or blocked, and there are iron steps leading to the left-hand end, with a small porch added to the center. The right-hand end has 6/6 sash windows. Inside, it is reported to have softwood trusses.

Historically, in 1863, the South Wheal Crofty mine was reorganized by Captain William Rutter, who placed the remaining ancillary buildings in a semi-square layout north of the two shafts, Bickford's and Palmer's. Later, new survey rooms were added, and the miner's dry was used as a cooperage, stores, and training school. This building is a rare surviving example of a type that characterized the mine groups of the Cornish orefields, representing the peak of Cornish mining before the introduction of compressors and rock drills and the significant decline of the industry from the 1870s.