The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-12-30

PREACHING PITS OF CORNWALL
Old Mining Shafts Where Wesley and
Whitefield Held Forth,

Scattered throughout the length and
breadth of Cornwall are innumerable dis
used mine shafts. as might be expected
in a country whose mining industry has
existed for considerably more than &C.
centuries. When the lodes of tin and
copper gave out or became too poor to
pay for the working the mines were
abandoned, leaving either innumerable
yawning chasms or shafts hundreds of
fathoms deep to scar the face Of the
country. In time the woodwork which
had been placed as lining to the shafts
to support the sides caved in and fell into
the shaft and 50 formed a pit.
In many cases the "run-in,' as this
caving is termed. formed perfectly cir
cular pit in the shape of an inverted
truncated cone sometimes measuring
more than 100 feet in diameter at the sur
face and from 30 to 40 feet in its greatest
depth. When the ground was more rub
bly, the pit would be wider and deeper.
When the great religious revival under
the preaching of Wesley and Whitefield
took place Cornwall was one of the coun-
ties in which the movement took deep
root. Chapels sprang up very quickly.
but until these We're built the revivalistS
looked about for places in which they
might worship without molestation Some
genius saw great possibilities in these
''run-in" mine shafts and so the preach
The bottoms of the pits were leveled and
on the sloping side rude seats were form
ed by cutting the earth into tiers of steps
and covering them with turf. high
bank was raised at one side for the
preacher and an opening was cut so as to
give easy access to the pit. In some cases
a railing was erected around the outer
edge, having an entrance gate.
In these rude, improvised amphithea-
ters, eminently suited to the rough, emo
tional nature of the Cornish miner, revv-
al services were held and hundreds of
converts We're brought in" as the Cor
nishman terms it. With nothing but the
blue sky above and the green grass be-
low the pit crowded tier above tier with
solemn-faced religionists. listening with
bated breath to the denunciation of the
sinner and the exhortation to flee from
wrath eternal; the young, dark-haired,
blue-eyed lads and maidens sitting hand
in-hand, as is the custom with Cornish
lovers, and their elders nodding and
shaking their heads as they agree or dis
agree with the remarks of the preacher,
occasionally emitting groan or an
Amen" while over all the gathering
gloom completes the solemnity of the
scene and makes it a fit subject for the
brush of Rembrandt.
Then. when the hymn rolling from a
thousand threats and echoed from the pit
SlueS, nau deem sung, followed ny the
prayer, in which the entire spirit of the
supplicant was poured forth with violent
gesticulations and contortions of body.
to the accompaniment of 'Amens."
groans and "Hallelujahs' of the believ-
ers, mingled with cries and shrieks fir IN
the ''unsaved," it would seem as if the
spirit of the ancient Druids had survived
through the centuries in this remnant Of
BritainS ancient people.
The nDraarhiDP nitS' are all Situated in
West Cornwall. That at Gwennap, near
Redruth, is the largest and best known.
1t is AZ yards in diameter and will ac-
commodate 10000 people. In Wesley s
time it was very much larger. Others are
situated at Newlyn East, near Newquay,
and at Indian Queens, near Truro. The
pits are not now regularly used as places
of worship, but on bank holidays special
| services are held in them, and they are
also used on the occasion of a Sunday
school treat At such times they are well
worth visiting.