Craddock Moor Mine

Overview

A copper mine on the edge of Craddock Moor near Minions, in St Cleer parish, started in 1844 after the success of South and West Caradon. It got going in 1854, employed 230 people by 1861 and raised over 20,000 tons of copper ore before closing in 1874. Two listed chimneys stand on the moor.

History

Craddock Moor Mine lies on the edge of Craddock Moor a short way from Minions, in St Cleer parish. Encouraged by the success of its neighbours South Caradon and West Caradon, Captain Nance started it in 1844, but that attempt and another in 1846 came to nothing.

A new company took it over in 1854, when 22 people were employed and a small 16-inch engine was installed. A 24-inch engine on Edmund's shaft then pumped, wound and crushed ore, and in 1865 another 24-inch engine went up on Harris's shaft. By 1861 the mine employed 230 people, and by 1862 it was 100 fathoms deep and near the peak of its prosperity. Between 1856 and 1874 it raised 20,080 tons of copper ore at 7.75 per cent.

Production fell from about 1864 and the workforce shrank to 160; in the early 1870s South Caradon took on 20 of its men. The machinery was offered for sale in 1873, nobody came forward to take the mine on, and it closed in 1874. A little prospecting followed between 1907 and 1916, to no effect.

Geology

Copper lodes: Menadue, Vivian's, Dunstan's, Gilpin's and an unnamed lode.

Workings

Harris's and Edmund's (Main) shafts, both 100 fathoms, and Fox's shaft; a 16-inch engine of 1854, a 24-inch engine on Edmund's shaft that pumped, wound and crushed, and a 24-inch pumping and winding engine of 1865 on Harris's shaft.

Closure

Output fell from the mid-1860s; the machinery was advertised in 1873 and, with no buyer for the mine, it closed in 1874. Prospecting in 1907-16 found nothing worth working.

What remains

Two granite chimneys stand on open common land, listed Grade II in 1987; the 1865 house on Harris's shaft is rubble beside its restored chimney.

The western chimney, circular and tapered, and the eastern chimney with part of a gabled engine house at its base; the base and loadings of the Edmund's shaft engine house.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Recorded claims

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

• Craddock Moor Mine was started in 1844. ^1,2
• A new company took over in 1854 and installed a small 16-inch engine. ^1,2
• By 1862 the mine was 100 fathoms deep and near its peak. ²
• It employed 230 people in 1861. ¹
• Between 1856 and 1874 it raised 20,080 tons of copper ore at 7.75 per cent. ¹
• The machinery was advertised for sale in 1873 and the mine closed in 1874. ^1,2

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Explore Cornwall: Craddock Moor Mine — Explore Cornwall
2. (primary) Historic England list entry 1329200: Pair of chimneys at SX 255 701 and SX 259 701, St Cleer — British Listed Buildings (Historic England list entry)
3. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: Craddock Moor (tin and copper ores) — British Geological Survey

Record created: 11 October 2026 · Last researched: 11 October 2026