East Caradon Mine

Overview

A copper mine on the southern side of Caradon Hill, one of the four that worked the South Caradon lodes, producing from 1860 and drowned out in 1885 when South Caradon's pumps stopped.

History

East Caradon lay on the southern side of Caradon Hill, beside South Caradon. After South Caradon's great copper find a trial began here in 1840; it found no ore and the sett was abandoned in 1844, and another company tried again from 1851. Production began in 1860, when extensions of the South Caradon lodes were found, and the mine employed 180 people in 1862 and 250 in 1865. Excessive share speculation led to an important stannary court case in 1863. Output peaked in 1864 at 5,933 tonnes of copper ore worth £34,791, and in 1865 48-inch and 30-inch engines pumped while a 24-inch engine wound and stamped. In 1866 the men at East Caradon and Marke Valley refused the pitches offered and struck, and the managers resolved not to employ members of the miners' society.

East Caradon was one of four successful mines on the southern side of the hill and produced about 15% of their recorded ore, against South Caradon's 60%. By 1882 it employed 63, forty of them underground. When South Caradon stopped its pumps in 1885 the rising water forced East Caradon to close, and the Liskeard and Caradon Railway closed too. A combined sett with Glasgow and South Caradon was tried in 1889-90, and in 1907-08 Budd and Co. worked it with Marke Valley as the East Caradon and Marke Valley mine, digging assay pits across the hill in a hunt for new lodes; both attempts failed.

Geology

Eastward extensions of the South Caradon copper lodes.

Workings

Shafts including North shaft, with 48-inch and 30-inch pumping engines and a 24-inch winding and stamping engine.

Closure

Flooded out in 1885 when South Caradon stopped pumping; reworkings in 1889-90 and 1907-08 failed.

What remains

The engine houses are rubble and no chimneys stand; the pale tips beside the Upton Cross road, partly reworked for minerals and aggregate, remain a landmark, and the count house survives.

Spoil tips, stone footings, assay pits and the count house.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Glasgow Caradon Consols — A combined sett of East, Glasgow and South Caradon was attempted in 1889-90.
• Marke Valley Mine — Their men struck together in 1866, and Budd and Co. worked them together as the East Caradon and Marke Valley mine in 1907-08.
• South Caradon Mine — East Caradon worked extensions of South Caradon's lodes and flooded when South Caradon stopped pumping in 1885.

Recorded claims

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

• A trial began in 1840 after South Caradon's copper find; it found no ore and was abandoned in 1844; another company formed in 1851. ^1,2
• Production began in 1860 on extensions of the South Caradon lodes; 180 were employed in 1862 and 250 in 1865. ¹
• Production peaked in 1864 at 5,933 tonnes of copper ore. ¹
• Of the four successful southern Caradon mines, East Caradon produced 15% of the recorded ore and South Caradon nearly 60%. ³
• The mine closed in 1885 when South Caradon's pumps were switched off. ^1,3
• In 1866 the men at East Caradon and Marke Valley struck over pitches. ¹
• The engine houses lie in rubble; the tips beside the Upton Cross road have been reworked for minerals and aggregate; the count house survives. ³

Sources

1. (secondary) East and West Caradon — Cornwall Calling
2. (observational) East Caradon Mine (Geograph 5555985) — Geograph
3. (secondary) East Caradon Mine — John Manley (oocities.org)

Record created: 18 October 2026 · Last researched: 18 October 2026