Gunnies

[3] It can also be used to describe the deep trenches that were dug by early miners in following the ore-bearing lode downwards from the surface – in this case they are often called open-works; their existence can provide the earliest evidence of mining in an area.

The writer recommended that it be made accessible so that the public could admire "the works of the men [...] whose enterprise, energy, daring and skill are unsurpassed in the history of our country".

"I climbed across'n – a plank, 'alf rotten..." The large extent and great depth of some gunnies often caused problems when they lay in the way of later mine development.

[14] Despite this care, Pryce reported that the water pressure could quickly enlarge the small hole and uncontrollably flood the mine; he also stated that men were paid extra money for working in such dangerous areas and that he was aware of miners being killed when doing this.

[14] The Victorian author R. M. Ballantyne's novel Deep Down; a Tale of the Cornish Mines includes a chapter entitled "Describes 'holing to a house of water' and its terrible consequences.

[b] After the accident, the only pumping engine on the site was not powerful enough to drain the mine and attempts at fund-raising to install a better one were unsuccessful, so the bodies of those who drowned were never recovered.