Cuddra Mine

Overview

A copper and tin mine on the eastern edge of St Austell, lifted by the great years that followed the cutting of the Crinnis Great Lode. Joseph Austen — later Joseph Treffry, the most consequential Cornish industrialist of his generation — held a thirty-second share in the Cuddra Adventurers from 1815, and in April 1817 had word that the Crinnis lode had been cut here, with copper on one side of it and black copper on the other. By the 1880s the mine was disused, by 1907 it had gone from the maps, and since 1974 its ground has been a garden of six thousand plants.

History

The spectacular success of Great Crinnis drew money and attention across the St Austell mining district, and Cuddra was one of the ventures it lifted. Joseph Austen, later known as Joseph Treffry, had interests in Cuddra Mine by November 1814, and by February 1815 held a 1/32 share in the Cuddra Adventurers. In April 1817 he received news that the Crinnis Great Lode had been cut at Cuddra, with copper present on one side and black copper on the other; contemporary estimates suggested that if the vein held its quality a single share might be worth around £2,000, against a share in Crinnis that had reportedly produced about £1,900 of profit in twenty months. By the summer of 1817 the mine was prospering, with wagons carrying copper ore regularly to Fowey, and Captain Barrett, who inspected it, described the main lode as being of particularly high quality. Austen's travels between Cuddra and Charlestown brought him into contact with a string of smaller mines — Wheal Treasure, Wheal Fortune, Wheal Chance and Lanescot. Charlestown United Mines later became part of Charlestown United and Cuddra Consolidated Mines, which owned four mines in the vicinity. By the 1880s the Ordnance Survey showed Cuddra tin and copper mine as already disused, with the disused South Cuddra copper mine further east; by 1907 Cuddra was no longer marked on the map at all.

Geology

The mine worked the Crinnis Great Lode where it runs east of Charlestown — the same lode whose cutting at Great Crinnis made the district's fortune — for copper and tin. When it was cut at Cuddra in April 1817 copper was reported on one side of the lode and black copper on the other, and the main lode was described as of particularly high quality.

Geological setting: Veins and Lodes (well documented example)

Workings

Ore went out by wagon to Fowey for shipment. The tips the working left are still marked on modern maps at Cuddra, between the gardens that now cover the site and the industrial estate to the west.

Closure

The Ordnance Survey of the 1880s already showed Cuddra as disused, with South Cuddra, a separate copper mine, disused further east. By 1907 Cuddra was no longer marked on the map at all.

What remains

The site has been a garden since 1974, when Pine Lodge was bought and the ground turned into Pinetum Park and Pine Lodge Gardens: more than 6,000 species labelled by the owner, with a formal garden, a cottage garden, water features and a lake, shrubberies, a pinetum, an arboretum and a winter garden. The ground is named Cuddra Plantations on modern maps.

Tips, still marked on modern maps at Cuddra.

Redevelopment

The mine's site became Pine Lodge and, from 1974, Pinetum Park and Pine Lodge Gardens, a visitor attraction built on plants collected on expeditions around the world.

Related mines

• Great Crinnis Mine — Cuddra worked the Crinnis Great Lode, the same lode as Great Crinnis: it was the cutting of that lode at Cuddra in April 1817 that made the mine's reputation, and Joseph Austen held shares in both ventures' district.
• Wheal Regent — Another St Austell copper mine worked on the Crinnis lodes in the same years.

Recorded claims

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

• Joseph Austen, later Joseph Treffry, had interests in Cuddra Mine by November 1814 and held a 1/32 share in the Cuddra Adventurers by February 1815. ¹
• In April 1817 the Crinnis Great Lode was cut at Cuddra, with copper present on one side and black copper on the other. ¹
• A single share was estimated at around £2,000 if the vein held its quality, against a Crinnis share that had reportedly produced about £1,900 of profit in twenty months. ¹
• By the summer of 1817 wagons were carrying copper ore regularly from the mine to Fowey, and the main lode was inspected and described as of particularly high quality. ¹
• The Ordnance Survey of the 1880s showed Cuddra as already disused, and by 1907 it was no longer marked on the map. ²
• Since 1974 the site of Cuddra mine has been developed as Pinetum Gardens, holding over 6,000 varieties of plants. ²
• Cuddra was among the notable mines of the St Austell area, with Great Crinnis, Greensplat and Goonbarrow. ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Joshua Rowe and the Great Crinnis Copper Mine 1809 (Lyndon Allen, 2026) — Charlestown Tours
2. (secondary) Holmbush, Cornwall — Wikipedia
3. (secondary) Great Crinnis Mine, St Austell Cornwall — Cornwall Calling

Record created: 23 September 2026 · Last researched: 24 September 2026