Boscaswell

Boscaswell (Cornish: Boscaswal[1]) is a village in the extreme west of Cornwall, England, UK. It lies towards the cliffs looking west from Pendeen, within the St Just in Penwith division of Cornwall Council. It is a village consisting mostly of granite terraced cottages with a council house estate. Some of the cottages used to house tin mining families who would be working down the Geevor Tin Mine. The Atlantic Ocean is just beyond the cliffs. Higher Boscaswell is a hamlet south-east of Pendeen.[2]

Engine houses at Wheal Hearle, East Boscaswell Mine
Three Stone Oar

Toponymy

"Boscaswell" should not be confused with the present-day village of Boscastle, further east on the north Cornwall coast, and F. J. Horsefield posited that what is now Boscaswell was once the site of another Danish castle. This is not now thought to be true.

Recent archaeological excavations at the lower end of Boscaswell have indicated that the land has been occupied for more than 10,000 years. There is an ancient pagan well in Boscaswell which is where the name is thought to have its origins. The name can be broken down to the place (bos) of Cas' (a person or entity or abbreviation thereof) and well (as in the English word). Another explanation is given by Craig Weatherhill in 'A Concise Dictionary of Cornish Place-Names', where he gives a 1310 version of the name, 'Boscaswal', and points out that 'bos' in Cornish means dwelling, esp. in place names, thus giving 'Cadwal's dwelling'.[1]

Mining

The mining sett of East Boscaswell Mine was sold by tender, either as a going or dead concern, in October 1882. Included was a 30 inch cylinder pumping engine and a 24 inch cylinder winding and stamping engine.[3]

References
  1. Weatherhill, Craig (2009). A Concise Dictionary of Cornish Place-Names. Westport, Éire: Evertype. ISBN 978-1-904808-22-0.
  2. OS Explorer Map. Land's End (Map). Southampton: Ordnance Survey. 2015. ISBN 978 0 319 24304 6.
  3. "Mining Sett, Machinery and Materials For Sale". The Cornishman (223). 19 October 1882. p. 1.

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