Boiling Well Mine

Overview

A copper and silver-lead mine on Upton Towans near Hayle, worked under four names between about 1815 and 1862, whose pay was so unreliable that 'on Boiling mine payday' came to mean never.

History

Boiling Well, on Upton Towans in Phillack parish, closed soon after 1815. In 1819 a Cornish company took it up again as Wheal Boil and sank a shaft between two lead lodes, but abandoned it in 1821 because its 36-inch engine could not keep the water down. In the 1830s it was either proposed or reopened, and in May 1836 it was offered for sale as Wheal Rice. A fresh 21-year lease was granted from 1852 by W. Hockin of Truro, at a royalty of one twenty-fourth, and the mine was worked for a time as North Wheal Alfred before taking back its old name.

By 1856 it had three known lodes, an engine shaft 70 fathoms deep and a new shaft at 40 fathoms, and a 60-inch engine, and the mine was drained in 1853. It raised 410 tons of ore worth £2,752 in 1854 and 947 tons worth £6,374 in 1855, under a costbook company of 1,000 £1 shares, with William Vawdrey of Penpoll as purser and George Reynolds as captain. It worked until 1862, producing in all 3,906 tons of copper ore, 459 tons of lead ore, 54 tons of blende and 5,000 ounces of silver. Its reputation for paying its men was poor, and 'on Boiling mine payday' meant never. The site was later taken by the Dynamite Works, and part of it is now a caravan park.

Geology

Three known lodes, the south lode running east-west and dipping 2 feet in the fathom, carrying copper and silver-lead ore with blende.

Workings

An engine shaft 70 fathoms deep and a new shaft 40 fathoms deep with a 30-fathom level, worked by a 60-inch steam engine (1856); earlier a 36-inch engine that could not cope with the water (1821).

Closure

Working ended in 1862.

What remains

The site was later occupied by the Dynamite Works, and part is now a caravan park.

Redevelopment

Part of the site is a caravan park.

Related mines

• Wheal Alfred — Boiling Well was worked as North Wheal Alfred under its 1852 lease; Wheal Alfred lay a mile east of Hayle.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• The mine was worked as Wheal Boil from 1819, offered for sale as Wheal Rice in 1836 and worked as North Wheal Alfred under a lease of 1852 before reverting to Boiling Well. ^1,2
• Wheal Boil was abandoned in 1821 because its 36-inch engine could not cope with the flooding. ²
• In 1856 the engine shaft was 70 fathoms deep and the mine was worked by a 60-inch steam engine. ¹
• The mine raised 410 tons of ore worth £2,752 in 1854 and 947 tons worth £6,374 in 1855. ¹
• Boiling Well worked until 1862, producing 3,906 tons of copper ore, 459 tons of lead ore, 54 tons of blende and 5,000 ounces of silver. ²
• Deposited plans of Boiling Well record copper, silver-lead and zinc ores. ³

Sources

1. (secondary) 1856 Mines in Devon and Cornwall — Grace's Guide
2. (secondary) The Towans — Wikipedia
3. (primary) BGS mine plan: Boiling Well (copper, silver-lead and zinc ores) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 19 October 2026 · Last researched: 19 October 2026