Great Hewas Mine

Overview

An eighteenth-century tin mine on the western edge of Sticker, near St Austell, around which the village grew. It had a Boulton & Watt engine in the 1790s, employed over 250 people in the nineteenth century, and was re-equipped in 1853.

History

Great Hewas was at work in the eighteenth century, and in 1785 Sticker was described as "a new place": the village grew up as a settlement for the mine's workers on its western outskirts. A 45-inch Boulton & Watt pumping engine was installed in the 1790s. In the nineteenth century the mine employed over 250 people and produced tin together with copper, lead and some silver.

In the spring of 1853 a new company, Great Hewas United Mines, took it on in St Mewan parish and spent about £7,000 on engines alone: an 80-inch pumping engine, 40-inch and 24-inch stamping engines and a 40-inch drawing engine. In 1856 the mine was being worked for tin by a costbook company of 30,000 shares, with John Webb as captain and its offices on the mine.

Two smaller mines to the west, Ventonwyn and Hewas Water, worked alongside Great Hewas. The last of the group ceased production in 1926. The village inn, rebuilt in 1825, was formerly called the Great Hewas Inn.

Geology

Lodes worked chiefly for tin, also yielding copper, lead and some silver.

Workings

A 45-inch Boulton & Watt pumping engine in the 1790s; from 1853 an 80-inch pumping engine, 40-inch and 24-inch stamping engines and a 40-inch drawing engine.

Closure

The last of the Great Hewas group, with Ventonwyn and Hewas Water, ceased production in 1926.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Ventonwyn Mine — Ventonwyn was one of the two smaller mines that worked alongside Great Hewas, on the western extension of its lodes.

Recorded claims

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

• Sticker grew up as a settlement for workers at the Great Hewas Mine and was described in 1785 as "a new place". ¹
• A 45-inch Boulton & Watt pumping engine was installed at Great Hewas in the 1790s. ¹
• In the nineteenth century Great Hewas employed over 250 people and produced tin, copper, lead and some silver. ¹
• The Great Hewas United company, formed in the spring of 1853, spent about £7,000 on engines: an 80-inch pumping engine, 40-inch and 24-inch stamping engines and a 40-inch drawing engine. ²
• In 1856 the mine was worked for tin by a costbook company of 30,000 shares, captained by John Webb. ²
• The last of the Great Hewas group of mines, with Ventonwyn and Hewas Water, ceased production in 1926. ¹
• A deposited plan covers Great Hewas United with Wheal Elizabeth and Little Ventonwyn, worked for tin ore. ³

Sources

1. (secondary) Sticker, Cornwall — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) 1856 Mines in Devon and Cornwall — Grace's Guide
3. (primary) BGS mine plan: Hewas United Great, Wheal Elizabeth, Ventonwyn Little (tin ore) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

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