Herodsfoot Mine

Overview

Herodsfoot, straddling the parishes of Lanreath and St Pinnock near Liskeard, was a substantial silver-lead mine best remembered today not for its output but for the exceptional 'cogwheel' bournonite and tetrahedrite crystals its lodes produced between 1850 and 1875 — specimens still sought by mineral collectors worldwide.

History

Lead mining at Herodsfoot was worked intermittently from the early 1700s and again briefly in 1831, but the mine's main working life ran from its reopening in 1845 to final closure in 1884. Over that period the mine reached a depth of 215 fathoms (1,290 feet) and raised more than 19,000 tons of lead ore alongside upwards of 600,000 ounces of silver, recovered from the silver naturally alloyed with the lead. From around 1850 to 1875 Herodsfoot's lodes also produced mineral specimens of exceptional quality, particularly bournonite in the striking twinned crystal habit collectors call 'cogwheel ore', along with fine tetrahedrite — material that made the mine internationally known among mineralogists quite apart from its ordinary lead output.

Geology

The mine worked silver-lead lodes within the Cornubian orefield of south-east Cornwall, the same broad belt of hydrothermal, granite-related mineral veins worked across the county.

Geological setting: Hydrothermal Deposits (well documented example), Veins and Lodes (well documented example)

Workings

Workings reached 215 fathoms (1,290 feet) below surface over the mine's main working period from 1845 to 1884.

Closure

The mine closed in 1884 after nearly four decades of continuous working under its main phase; no later revival is recorded.

What remains

Surface remains include a mine chimney and associated structures, recorded on Geograph and in Historic England's listings for the district.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Recorded claims

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

• The mine reached a depth of 215 fathoms (1,290 feet) and raised more than 19,000 tons of lead ore and upwards of 600,000 ounces of silver during its main working period, 1845-1884. ¹
• From around 1850 to 1875 Herodsfoot's lodes produced exceptional 'cogwheel' bournonite and fine tetrahedrite specimens, still prized by mineral collectors internationally. ¹

Images

Sources

1. (secondary) Herodsfoot Mine (North Herodsfoot Mine), Lanreath, Cornwall, England, UK — Mindat
2. (primary) Herodsfoot mine plans (OM1830 / OMR146) — British Geological Survey / The Coal Authority
3. (secondary) Herodsfoot — Wikipedia

Record created: 22 August 2026 · Last researched: 22 August 2026