A FORMER quarry and refurbished mine engine house will be going under the hammer towards the end of this month — with an unusual condition.

The Prince of Wales engine house and Trewarmett Quarry near Tintagel has an auction guide price of £40,000 to £50,000.

But whoever buys the historic site will also have to pay the Duchy of Cornwall an annual ground rent of . . . one daffodil.

The site at Trewarmett in the Trebarwith Valley is the location of the only preserved mine engine house in North Cornwall and also includes a feature waterfall.

The engine house was built in the 1870s and worked for about 20 years, hauling slate and pumping water from the nearby quarries. Local people restored the engine house in the 1970s.

The Post previously reported that Tintagel Parish Council had set aside time at one of its meetings to discuss options for the future of the land and the engine house, as it was due to be auctioned last September, but it was postponed.

Speaking last September, North Cornwall Liberal Democrat MP Dan Rogerson said: "Members of the Prince of Wales Engine House Society who worked to restore the engine house were understandably shocked to find out at the land and engine house had been put up for sale by the Duchy."

He added at the time that the postponement of the sale of the land and engine house meant the community and society could discuss how they could be involved in the future of the site.

For the full report, and a round-up of the area news and sport, see this week's edition of the Post.