Liskeard Mining District Sett Map

Navsbooks>Liskeard Mining in 1863> Liskeard Mining District Sett Map

My transformation of the CD-ROM of the Liskeard mining district into a paperback did require some omissions. One of which was the mine sett map of the area, which in its coloured form did not reproduce well in the paperback form. Within the book is a simplified black and white version of the map, a version that shows the location and extent of the mines well, but omits the production/financial status of the mines. This post contains the map in its original form, and describes the patterns that emerge from it.

The terms used on the map

The setts are colour coded to indicate each mines operational status in 1863.

In production and paying dividends

A mine that is selling ore and paying dividends to its adventurers (share holders).

In production but not paying dividends

A mine that is selling ore, but is not selling enough to offset costs or to pay dividends to its shareholders.

Under development

A mine that is operating, but not producing any ore.

Disused

A mine that was not operational in 1863.

The pattern uncovered

The mine setts are in two groups, the main block of the Caradon copper and tin group run east to west across the northern part of the map, whilst the lead silver groups of Ludcott and Meneheniot run north to south down towards the bottom of the map.

This layout reflects the general distribution of lodes in most of Cornwall, where tin and lead run in a East to west direction, and silver lead North to south. Another pattern is also shown, that is the relationship between the mineral and granite. Tin tends towards the centre of the granite, copper its margins, and silver/lead distant from the intrusion.

Patches of green on the map are clustered around the most successful of the mines, Phoenix, South Caradon and Trewlawny/Mary Ann. Many of those beyond those clusters scrabbling to harvest the money of hopeful investors.

The Book

Brenton Symon’s map is now available in paperback and kindle form within my book on the Liskeard Mining District in 1863.

Click to view the book on Amazon>

Liskeard Mining Area in 1863 is now available as a paperback

The journey I started in the Liskeard museum many years ago has finally finished. Brenton Symons’ 19th amazing map covering the Liskeard and Ludcott mining district has now been published as a full colour paperback. The book reproduces extracts from the geological map alongside a descriptions of the mines shown on the map.

The map covers Ludcott, Caradon, and the Meneheniot mines in South East Cornwall. Mines that include South Caradon, Wrey and Ludcott, Phoenix United, Wheal Trelawney and Wheal Mary Ann at a time when they where in peak production and the district was the most important in Cornwall.

The map shows lodes, cross courses, the granite boundary, engine houses, count houses, water wheels and shafts. It forms an essential resource for anyone interested in the history or geology of the area around Liskeard.

Click to view the book on Amazon>

To get an idea of the maps contained in the book pop across to my post on the granite boundary at Cardon Hill. That post has some extracts from Brenton Symon’s map.

If you wish to know more about the map then follow this blog as I will be adding some new posts over the next few months exploring beyond the book and the map.

The Railway at South Caradon Mine

The South Caradon Mine Website resurrection is still on-going, although the pace has slowed. Here is another of its railway themed posts, with a touch of light editing.

The South Caradon Mine provided the core traffic for the Looe and Caradon Railway (LCR)  for most of its history, and without the Railway the mine’s development would have been severely restricted. This interrelationship explains the presence of the LCR trackbed within the dressing floors of the mine. 1844 was the year that the LCR started transporting ore from South Caradon, seven years after the mine has started production.

The railway layout in the Seaton Valley

 

The unusual layout of the lines Within the Seaton valley came about from the historical development of the railways around Caradon Hill. The Original LCR line split at Polwrath depot, with one branch following the western slope of the valley up to the Granite quarries at Cheeswring via the Gonamena Incline. South Caradon Mine was served by the lower branch that ran to a siding at Valley floor level. 

In 1861 the line was extended around the Southern slopes of Caradon Hill to Tokenbury Corner, with the siding at South Caradon becoming a headshunt for trains using that branch. The layout changed again in 1877 with the opening of the Kilmar Junction Railway, which enabled trains to reach Cheeswring around the Eastern side of the Hill, and therefore bypassing the Gonamena incline.
This Plan is based on OS Maps 1882 (Copyright reserved),site visits, interprestions of the photographs in Messenger and notes within that book.

The Office

In the view above a small office is prominent beside the railway track at the head of the ore yard. The hut is dwarfed by the reveted piles of waste rock behind it and a lone worker appears to be busy with a shovel just outside its door. It has been assumed that the building was an office associated with the ore transport and was possibly owned by the LCR rather than the mine. _{CAU Minions survey.}

The Office Today

The remains of the office in 2001 as seen from the footpath. The foundations can be seen to the left of a patch of undergrowth with a line of fence post runnung infront. None of these fence post existed in the Victorian photograph, indicating that these originate from the period when the LCR remained open but the Mine was shut, and the headhunt remained in use to allow trains to reverse onto the Tokenbury branch.
Using the hut as a reference point it can quickly be seen how much material has been removed from the valley floor since South Caradon’s closure. The huge wall of rock had disappeared and undergrowth now grows over the ore floors

Tolls

The tolls in 1877 paid by the mines to LCR varied from 5s to 5s 9d per ton._{(ref messenger pp 48)}

For each wagon loaded the railway would collect about £1 10s and earn approximately 5s profit. South Cardon would therefore be paying tolls of just under £30 per week and adding to the railways profits by approximately £5 weekly.
Today these figures seem small, but to place them in perspective the amount of profit made on each wagon was roughly the same as the weekly wages paid to some of the mine’s surface worker at the time.

The wagons

The photograph above shows three wagons alongside the loading bank on the South Cardadon siding, The head shunt ran in front of these wagons and the ore yard can be seen behind. Dressed ore was probably delivered to the yard by the overhead tramway in the background.
The wagons shown are some of the stock bought in the early 1860’s when the line was converted to steam haulage. Smaller bottom discharging hopper wagons were used In the lines early history when the line terminated at Moorswater canal basin. These unloaded from overhead stages direct into the canal boats and only carried about 3 tons.

The wagons in the photograph were 6 ton capacity and to enable gravity working had screw brakes ( handles can be seen on the back right hand corners).These brakes enabled a guard to ride on a platform on the buffer to control the wagons descent down the gradient to Moorswater.

The Ore

Parcels of ore can be seen piled up behind the wagons. This ore had been dressed ready for sale to the Copper smelters who would bid for it by a system called ticketing. Copper Ore was normally concentrated ready for selling to the point where it contained about 6.5% metal.
the parcels would be sold by a system called ticketing. At certain dates the smelters agents sampled the ore parcels and made bids by placing tickets on them. The parcel would go to the smelter with the highest bidding ticket in on the parcel. From here the parcels would go down to loow where they would be stored on the quay ore yard to wait shipment by sea to the South Wales.

Some Traffic figures to give a sense of scale

Estimated weekley traffic In wagon loads:

• Ore from South Caradon 16
• Freight Carried on LCR 99
• Maximum Ore from South Caradon 22
• South Caradon ore as a percentage of LCR Freight tonnage 17%

Estimated weekly ore traffic In wagon loads from South Caradon, by decade:

• 1840’s 12.69
• 1850’s 12.05
• 1860’s 18.58
• 1870 ‘s 19.09
• 1880’s 17.46

The above figures are based on Ore production figures published in Burt and LCR figures in Messenger with an assumed wagon size of 6 ton capacity. They only show the Copper ore traffic and do not indicate the return freight of coal,timber and machinery. Despite the limitations of the calculations they show that a couple wagons of ore a day must have left the siding for the quays at Looe, and also indicate that the mine gave provided a relatively consistent source of traffic right up to its closure.

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The 1880 photograph from which the photograph on this page was taken is reproduced in full in the Trevithick Society’s re-print of  “History and Progress of Mining in the Liskeard and Caradon District”.

Webb  and  Geach  published  their  History  and  Progress  of  Mining  in  the Caradon  and  Liskeard  Districts  in  1862,  and  a  new  edition  was  issued  the following  year.  Although  predominantly  aimed  at  potential  investors,  it  is clear  that  the  authors  also  wished  to  put  on  record  the  history  of  the  area.  In consequence  their  book  is  an  invaluable  picture  of  the  Liskeard  and  Caradon area in those early boom times.

Click here to find the book on Amazon>

A map of South Caradon Mine in 1863

An extract from Brenton Symon’s  1863 Geological Map of the Caradon and Ludcott Mining District in Cornwall

Brenton Symon’s map is such a rich resource of information on South Caradon Mine that it deserved its own post, and here it is.

The Map

Brenton Symons’ map coverage includes the Liskeard and Menheniot mining district, and captures the area at the peak of its development, before the financial market crash of 1866.  The geology shown is basic, but what is shown is invaluable in understanding the layout of the Caradon Mines.

Features shown

• Sett boundaries: Coloured dashed lines
• Lodes: Red lines
• Direction of dip: Arrows
• Cross-Courses: Grey lines
• Elvans: Red shaded areas
• Granite Killas Boundary: Blue/pink shading
• Pumping engines: PE
• Whim engines: WE
• Waterwheels: WW
• Shafts: Circles

More information about the map

Click here for an earlier series of posts about the map>

These posts include a discussion on the accuracy of the geology shown by Brenton Symons, puts the map in context, some notes on its creator, and delves into detail on some of the features portrayed.

The full map is reproduced in my Kindle Pubication- The Liskeard Mining District in 1863.

 

 

South Caradon Mine as shown by Brenton Symons

Geology

All the important  geological features that shaped the history of the mine are shown on the map; the granite boundary crossing the southern part of the extract, the east-west trending lodes, the long run of the rich caunter lode and the cross-courses associated with the Seaton Valley.

Structures

Within the Seaton Valley there is a cluster of buildings denoting South Caradon’s dressing floors and administration area. This is where the mine commenced its operations, and this is the area so evocatively described by Wilke Collins in ‘Rambles beyond Railways’.

To the south of this is a run of shafts and engine houses that exploited the Caunter lode. Jopes, Rules and Kitto’s mark the progression of the mine eastwards as it chased the copper across the southern slopes of Caradon Hill.

Railways

The Liskeard and Caradon Railway’s 1863 layout is clearly shown. On the west the line runs up the Gonamena incline plane towards Minions, on the south the line contours around Caradon Hill to East Caradon Mine. This was the arrangement before the railway built the extension around the eastern side of the hill to allow steam traction to reach Minions.

The Liskeard Mining District in 1863

This publication brings  Brenton Symon’s map into the Kindle Format.

Extracts of the map for each of the mines in the area are included, along with descriptions of their history and key features.

Click here for details of the book on Amazon>

The next group of posts in this series will be to recover some of the pages from the old website that describe in more detail the remains at the site.

 

 

 

 

 

Exploring South Caradon Mine by Maps

Navsbooks>South Caradon Mine>Maps

What a difference a few years make on the internet. When I first published the views of South Caradon website online map resources were sparse; but now hours can be idled away in virtual exploration.  Therefore rather then just reproduced my original simplistic and dated .gif map of the mine I have brought together some maps now freely available on the internet. Enjoy exploring..Jm

From the National Library of Scotland

Ordnance Survey map of 1882

Click to view map on the NLS website

This is the best map easily available of the mine site. It shows the buildings all still standing, along with the tramways, leats, shafts,  and ponds. To view the map visit the excellent NLS website.

Click here to view the map>

Google Maps

Ariel view

An amazing resource for the industrial archaeologists. Matching the features shown on the view with the NLS map is a great way to interpret the site.

Google Steet View

This view is taken between Holman’s and Kitto’s shafts.

Cornwall Council Interactive Map

This is a multilayered resource that gives access to archaeological data of all the key remains on South Caradon mine.  Visit the Council’s website and click on the icons to discover more.

Click to view the map on the Cornwall Council website

Click here to view>

Ordnance Survey on line map

OS map 2017

A freely available map showing all the main landscape features.

Cllick to view map on the OS webite

Click here to view>

Click here for  hyperlinks to map pins of the mine’s remains>

British Geological Survey

Sheet 337

This sheet shows the geology of the Caradon Hill area. Some of the important lodes and cross-courses are also shown. The map is available on the BGS website.

Click to view on BGS website

• Click here for sheet 337>
• Click here for an index of Cornwall and Devon BGS Maps>
• BGS geology viewer>

From the ‘View of South Caradon’ website

Here is the original gif image from my original website. A simple map, but one that does explain the layout of the mine.

Other South Caradon Maps on this blog

These maps show areas of the mine in more detail. It is a growing list, so please re-visit

• Sump Shaft area>
• Jope’s Shaft area>
• Holman’s Shaft area>
• Kitto’s Shaft area>
• The Dressing floor operation>
• The Dressing floor area>

 

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Brenton Symons’s 1863 Geological Map

South Caradon Mine is included on this map of the Liskeard Mining district. The full map is available in the Kindle Publication ‘The Liskeard Mining District in 1863’.

Click here for the book’s Amazon page>

South Caradon Mine- A timeline

Navsbooks>South Caradon Mine>History>Timeline

The recovery of the ‘Views of South Caradon’ continues with the history theme. In this post I will rescue the timeline from its geocities vault, and along the way add some cross referenced dates from other time lines on this blog. Should be interesting to see how the histories interwine. The photographs on this post come from a series I took in 2015 on a rare occasion when the South Caradon site was covered in snow and bathed in bright sunshine.

1833 to 1890

Six decades of industrial industry

The mine started in the Seaton Valley but its production moved eastwards in the later part of the history. The richest part of the mine lay in these easterly lodes.

Early working

1662

First record of mineral workings in the area at the Gonamena open works.

Early 19th century

 

A promise of wealth

Experience in the west of the Cornwall suggested that copper deposits probably existed under Caradon Hill. Large deposits of fine gozzen near the surface suggested that workable mineral lodes would exist deeper down. These gozzans may have been worked for tin. Attempts at finding copper had been made by small groups of miners driving adits into the hillside, but with no success prior to the South Caradon find.

Missed chances

On each lease transfer the opportunity of huge wealth was missed by the leaseholder, at one point the sett sold for less than a guinea.

1801 William West was born at Dolcoath

1817 to 1819 William West works at Dolcoath fitting shop

Ennor’s Trial

A miner called Ennor working for a group of Plymouth and Devonport adventurers dug an adit in from the Seaton Valley. This was probably at the location of what became main lode adit.

Some indications of minerals may have been found, but the trial was abandoned on advice of experts. The lease then changes hands several times, often for very small amounts.

The start

1831 West was Engaged by  J. T. Austin at Fowey Consols

1833

The miner James Clymo and members of the Kittow family started looking for Copper in the area. An adit running eastwards from the Seaton Valley was the starting point of their enterprise.

1834 Austen’s Engine is started

1834-1835

Despite shortage or resources the miners continue to persevere in extending the adit, following promising signs of mineralization deeper into the hill.

1835 Trial of Austen’s engine

1836

The adventurers perseverance and determination is rewarded when the main ore body is discovered, but no investors in London could be found to finance the venture. The original miners therefore financed the mine themselves.

1836 -1838 Cornwall Great United Mining Association worked the mines that would become Phoenix United.

1837

First returns are made for the mine after just over £327 had been paid out. 130 tons of ore (of 10% metal) is produced. _{Ref: Shambrock (Allan gives this production as starting in 1838)}

The first engine was installed at sump shaft by William West.
Within a few years South Caradon became one of the biggest copper mines in the world.

 

William West started working for South Caradon mine

The story goes…

That James Clymo offered the shares to a mine adventurer on the coach back from London. The adventurer refused the shares at £5 each. A few months later the shares fetched £2000 each!

Another story is of two maidens who sold some rough land to a lawyer and immediately learnt about the discovery of copper beneath its surface. By the following day they had repurchased the land claiming that they where sentimentally attached to it.
The lawyer heard about the copper the following morning…..just that bit too late
1837 West became the Fowey Consols sole engineer

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The Victorian period starts

1839 West patented the double-beat self acting valve

The rise

1840’s

The mines in West Cornwall suffered a decline but South Caradon’s success sparked a mining boom around Caradon Hill. The mine was producing nearly 4,000 tons of ore a year.

1842 Wheal Phoenix was formed

1848 St. Blazey foundry is established by West

1850’s

1850 William West commenced his association with Phoenix United Mine

What is in a name?

The success of the mine sparked a rush of mines being named with the magic word “Caradon” in their title, in the hope of attracting investors. A practice that became far too common after 1850, and earned the term “market mining”. None of these mines ever came near of matching the success of South Caradon.

• Caradon Consols
• Caradon Vale
• East Caradon
• Caradon Copper
• Great Caradon
• New West Caradon
• Glasgow Caradon Consols
• New South Caradon
• The Caradon Mine
• West Caradon Mine
• Wheal Caradon Mine

Tredhenam  house is built

1852 West installed his first Man engine at Fowey Consols

The Fall

1863 Brenton Symons publishes his map of the Caradon mining District and Webb and Geach produce their book.

Mid-1860’s

The price of copper drops, despite large amounts of ore being produced profits start to fall.
Nearly 6,000 tons of ore a year was being produced by South Caradon.
The mine became the biggest copper producer in Cornwall. But profits still fell.

1864 The Liskeard and District is Bank formed

 1867 Fowey Consols failed

1868 West obtains majority shares in Phoenix United

1879 William West Dies

1880

Work Stopped at the mine

1883

A limited company was formed to raise more capital, and attempts are made to keep the mine more profitable by extending the eastern part of the workings.

The Death

1885

Work Ceases, despite having copper reserves the mine was too expensive to run with the low price of copper. A picture of the mine prior to closure

1889

Attempts made to re-work the mine, but with no success.
The venture planned to run East Caradon, Glasgow Caradon and South Caradon as one mine.

1890

Final closure.
The site becomes mine history.

 

The end of an Industry

When the South Caradon Mine pumps stopped the water rose to flood the workings of adjacent mines forcing them to close. Even Railways suffered. 1885 saw the Liskeard and Caradon Railway going into receivership. A railway whose existence was dependent on the wealth produced by the South Caradon Mine.

Other Time lines on  this blog

• The President Steam Engine
• Samuel Grose
• William West
• J.T.Austen
• Phoenix United

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A Great Book Shop

To find books about the history of the Caradon Hill area pop in to the excellent book shop at Liskeard. They keep some well stocked shelves on Cornish local history, including my two paperbacks on William West– The Last Great Cornish Engineer, and the Liskeard Mining District .

South Caradon Mine- history

Navsbooks>South Caradon Mine>History  

The South Caradon History posts

• South Caradon Mine key dates
• The Mine in 1843
• The Mine in 1851
• The Mine in 1863
• The Mine in 1885

A Victorian enterprise

South Caradon Mine was born in the early Victorian period, during the decades of social

Holman’s Shaft

unrest and change caused by the Industrial revolution. The mine started production in 1838 at the beginning of the Victorian era and raised its last ton of ore towards the end of the Queen’s reign in 1890.

Its peak production coincided with the “high” Victorian years, represented by the Great Exhibition of 1851, a time when Britain became the workshop of the world. Its final struggles for survival occurred in the late Victorian years, a period when the whole country was feeling the impact of industrialization abroad. This was a true Victorian enterprise.

Early history

Tin extraction in the area has a long history, but much of the evidence of earlier streaming in the Seaton Valley has been lost beneath the upheaval caused by South Caradon Mine. A small section of tin streaming remains exist in the upper part of the sett, and nearby. the huge open scar of Gonamena openworks dominates the landscape.

Milestones in Cornish history

South Caradon’s History is also set against a backdrop of great changes within Cornwall. Its founding was towards the end of the great copper boom initiated by the advances made in steam engine technology in the Duchy. Its growth in the 1840’s occurred when the Western mines were closing due to the exhaustion of their reserves.

The 1860s were to mark the collapse of the industry and lead to poverty and a emigration on a massive scale. Cornwall’s population has never recovered to its 1860’s levels, and today descendants of the Cornish miners can be found all over the world.
Another great change occurred in 1859 when Brunel’s railway bridge was opened at nearby Saltash. The river Tamar was finally no longer the physical border it had represented since the Dark ages, splitting British from invaders, Celt from Anglo Saxon, Cornish from English. The Railway age removed Cornwall’s traditional isolation from the rest of Britain.

Geography influences History

A major factor in South Caradon’s history was its location in the eastern part of

Brenton Symon’s Map of the Liskeard and Ludcott Mining District

Cornwall. The large granite mass of Caradon Hill overlooks an area that is many miles from the rich mineral deposits of West Cornwall. A separation that  influenced the late development of copper mining in the district. This late start placed the mine in a position of having large copper reserves available when mines in the West started to fail. Unfortunately, this also left the mine struggling in its later years against the rapidly falling price of copper.

These factors led to the migration of miners across Cornwall into the Caradon region, and caused huge social changes in the area. When South Caradon finally closed, it left miners with no prospects of work anywhere else in Cornwall. Many went to England to find work in factories of coal mines, but large numbers emigrated to work hard rock mines all around the world.

The Hypocrisy of the finance market

Many speculators believed that little copper lay east of Truro and it was left to practical miners to disprove this theory. The Clymo brothers and Thomas Kittow worked on a previous abandoned trial adit and struck copper. Even after the discovery of the lodes, the money markets of London refused to risk money on the mine.

Graylands House in Liskeard This large house was built on the wealth from the mine. Constructed for Peter Clymo in 1855 it was originally named Dean House.

The miners therefore funded the mine’s development themselves, and became extremely wealthy in the process. Once copper mining had become established however, speculators jumped on the bandwagon forming a multitude of mines with the word “Caradon” in their title hoping to attract unwary investors. Most of these ventures proved unsuccessful and helped give Cornish mining a poor reputation for investment.

A Mine Operated by Miners

Being left in the hands of skilled miners gave South Caradon mine several advantages financially over those owned by “up country” investors. For most of its life the mine operated under the Cost book system as regulated by Cornish Stannary law. This system was extremely simple and success often depended on balancing investment in new exploration with the profitable extraction of ore. The practical skills of the Clymo brothers allowed them to get the most out this large mine for many years without resorting to forming a public company.

A wealth still underground?

A downside of the late timing of the venture was that it was hit by the fall in the price of copper. It was the low price of copper that closed the mine, not the lack of available ore. For example in 1864 the mine made over £57,000 from the sale of about 5,700 tons of ore. In 1880 however, over 6,800 was sold to give only £30,000. This halving of the ore price was to cause costs to outstrip revenue and lead to the mines closure when workable reserves where still available underground.

Next is this series will be a timeline of the mine’s history.

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The Liskeard Mining District in 1863

Brenton Symon’s map of the Liskeard mining district is available in Kindle format.

Click here to view on Amazon>

The View of South Caradon Mine resurrected

​Navsbooks>South Caradon Mine>Resurrection of the old website

It is over a decade now since I last updated my views of South Caradon Mine website. That expansive and rambling website was the result of many years of exploring the amazing landscape of Caradon Hill, near Liskeard. In 2016 all that work disappeared whilst I was away at sea, when Geocities closed up shop and took their websites with them.

But then, a rather clever company called Oocities stripped down the webpages and published them under their own banner. Seemed like good news, but unfortunately, despite all my attempts I have been unable to gain access to those files to correct, edit or develop what was once my own website. 

So it is now time though to rebuild the South Caradon Mine pages through the words of this blog. So if you are interested in the mines of Liskeard, please follow along. JM

The Views of South Caradon Website

The purpose of the original website was to record and  add to the knowledge of this very important industrial heritage site, and to illustrate Cornish mining terms and technology.

To avoid legal problems arising from right of way issues it was based on the view from the Crow’s Nest to Minions footpath. Since 2016 however, the rights of way act has been passed, and the area is now part of open access land. This change has removed the self imposed original restrictions on the website, but for the time being I will focus on bringing back on line the original material, tweak it a bit, and then look at additional topics

South Caradon Mine

South Caradon Mine was one of the largest copper mines in Cornwall, and one with a fascinating history. It is an enterprise with a rags to riches story and one that had a huge impact on the social, financial and transport history of South East Cornwall. The emigration that resulted from its final closure spread this impact around the world to wherever metal was mined.

It has left an amazing landscape, a landscape rich in tales of Victorian industry. A richness is acknowledged thtough its inclusion within the of the Cornish Mining World Heritage site.

Changes in time

Over the last 20 years there has been some important
developments that have changed the information contained on the original website.

As mentioned  above, the area is now part of a World Heritage site and the moorland is now officially classed as open access land. The Caradon Hill project is no longer with us, but  their good work has left many of the buildings in a far more stable condition then recorded in 2016.

On closure of the website, I transferred my research into three related publications- The Liskeard Mining Area in 1863, a reprint of Webb and Geach’s account of the Liskeard Mining district, and a biography of the mine’s engineer, William West. Unashamedly, I will plug these publications throughout the posts. If you are tempted to buy one of the paperbacks, pop into Liskeard’s excellent book shop and support their local history section…it is a real gem of a bookshop.

And Next-

I am not sure where to start this challenge, or in which direction to explore the old web pages, but that will be part of the fun; let the exploration commence!

 

An important Note from the original website

On many mine sites in Cornwall dangers may still exist, many hidden.  This web site is published as a resource to those using public rights of way.

South Caradon Mine by Wilkie Collins

​Navsbooks>South Caradon Mine>History>1851

Another piece of writing from a Victorian author, this time from Wilkie Collins.

Ramble Beyond Railways

1851

“soon the scene presented another abrupt and extraordinary change. We had been walking hitherto amid almost invariable silence and solitude; but now with each succeeding minute, strange mingled, unintermitting noises began to grow louder and louder around us. We followed a sharp curve in the tramway, and immediately found  ourselves saluted by an entirely new prospect, and surrounded by an utterly bewildering noise. All around us monstrous wheels turned slowly; machinery was clanking and groaning in the hoarsest discords; invisible waters were pouring onwards with a rushing sound; high above our heads , on skeleton platforms, iron chains clattered fast and fiercely over iron pulleys, and huge steam pumps puffed and gasped, and slowly raised their heavy black beams of wood. Far beneath the embankment on which we stood, men women and children were breaking and washing ore in a perfect marsh of copper coloured mud and copper coloured water. We had penetrated to the very centre of the noise, the bustle and the population on the surface of a great mine”

Wilkie Collins

Wilkie Collins was a best selling  Victorian novelist, and therefore understandably, this account is more descriptive than factual. It forms an evocative image of the mine in its heyday, an image far more atmospheric then any photograph could.

Ramble beyond Railways contains some other fascinating snapshots of Victorian Cornwall, including a non-too flattering account of a pub in Liskeard. It is a rich travelogue that is well worth a read.

‘The Moonstone ‘ by the author is regarded as the first detective novel, and created the format followed by Conan Doyel in his Sherlock Holmes books. Despite of this accolade, I consider that Rambles is a fare better book, but  being non-fiction it did not gain the recognition it deserved.

Click here for a Wilkie Collins biography website>
Wilkie Collins on Amazon

• Ramble beyond Railways
• The Moonstone

South Caradon Mine in 1851

In 1851 the mine produced 2,818 tons of ore along with 296 tons of metallic copper. This was a production which earned the mine an income of £20,208.

South Caradon was still growing; the amount of ore raised and income would triple in the years that followed.

The View of South Caradon is to return

Writing this post has stirred me into finally getting around to resurrecting some of the material lost when Geocities closed many years ago. This blog will now spend some time bringing that website back to life, and up to date.

Webb and Geach explored- The miscellaneous mines

A wander through the ‘History and Progress of Mining in the Liskeard and Caradon District’

That is the final post covering the mines within the miscellaneous section of Webb and Geach’s book  completed. So before this blog leaves the topic for some William West related topics here is an index of the posts.

These posts explores some of the smaller mines described within Webb and Geach’s  book of the Liskeard mining district in east Cornwall. This 1863 publication is currently available in paperback from the Trevthick Society, ISBN 978 0904040 88 3.

Each of the posts explores the mine sites through maps available on the internet, so by following the links a virtual exploration of the locations can be undertaken. The mines covered are all listed in the section titled ‘Miscellaneous’ within the book ( pages 98-102). In describing these mines Webb and Geach state-

“Several lodes in various parts of this district have been formerly worked, mostly for tin, but are now abandoned, many of them for long periods.”

Predictably, many of this mines have little or no evidence on maps, even by the 1880’s little remained on the Ordnance Survey maps. Tantalising traces do remain however, of some of these unsuccessful attempts to mine in the area around Caradon Hill.

• St.Cleer Consols Page 98
• Wheal Venland Page 98
• Liskeard Consols Page 99
• Caradon Copper Mine Page 99
• Wheal St. Cleer Page 99
• Butterdon Mine Page 99
• Wheal Venton Page 100
• East Penhargate Mine Page 100
• North Wrey and Julia Page 100
• West Craddock Moor Mine Page 100
• Penhauger Mine Page 101
• West Phoenix Mine Page 101
• Dunsley Wheal Phoenix Page 101

Brenton Symons’ map of 1863 contains evidence of many of these mines, and a copy of that amazing Victorian Cartography forms part of ‘The Liskeard Mining District in 1863‘ publication.

Its been great fun exploring these little known Cornish mines through the screen of my Kindle Fire. But William West of Tredenham, The Last Great Cornish Engineer is again requiring some fresh research. So this blog will be leaving Webb and Geach for a while, but will return in the future to look at some of the more successful mines of the Liskeard District.