North Wheal Robert

Overview

A copper mine north of Horrabridge, amalgamated with East Wheal Robert in 1850 as North Robert, which raised 3,674 tons of copper ore in 1853-57 before its lodes bottomed out in 1868.

History

North Wheal Robert and East Wheal Robert lie north of Horrabridge in Sampford Spiney parish, beside Sortridge Consols but not connected with it underground. Openworks near North Wheal Robert are probably older still. East Wheal Robert may be the earlier of the two: about 1825-26 an adit was driven 90 fathoms and a small shaft sunk on one of the lodes, and 106 tons of copper ore were sold, but quarrels among the adventurers and water that a hand-pump could no longer hold ended the work. The North Wheal Robert sett was in the hands of a local company in the years before 1850.

In late 1850 a London company of 1,024 shares, whose secretary was J. H. Murchison, amalgamated the two as North Robert. It sank Murchison's and Halket's shafts and ordered a 40-foot waterwheel and 240 fathoms of flat-rods for pumping. Copper was the main product: 3,674 tons of ore between 1853 and 1857, with 85 tons of black tin, 2 tons of lead ore and 120 tons of pyrite in 1853-56. North Wheal Robert's main shaft was sunk on the underlie to 80 fathoms and Murchison's at East Wheal Robert to 62. By 1868 the copper shoots of the main lode had bottomed out and the tin was too poor to work alone, and in October and December that year the materials were advertised for sale, among them a 32-inch engine for pumping and stamping and the 40-foot wheel. The ruined waterwheel house in Monkswell Wood, a thick-walled building thought to have been a crushing house, and the mine captain's house survive.

Geology

A main copper lode with a tin lode, a south lode and numbered lodes.

Workings

North Wheal Robert's main (Trial) shaft to 80 fathoms, Murchison's shaft to 62 fathoms, Halket's shaft, a 90-fathom adit, a 40-ft waterwheel with flat-rods and a 32-inch pumping and stamping engine.

Closure

The copper shoots bottomed out and the plant was advertised for sale in October and December 1868.

What remains

Ruins and spoil in Monkswell Wood and nearby fields.

A waterwheel house in Monkswell Wood, a possible crushing house, a mine building gable and the mine captain's house.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Great and East Sortridge Consols — Both among the Sortridge-area copper mines north of Horrabridge floated in the 1850s.

Recorded claims

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

• About 1825-26 an adit was driven 90 fathoms at East Wheal Robert and 106 tons of copper ore were sold before the working was abandoned. ¹
• The North Wheal Robert company, of 1,024 shares, was formed in 1850, with J. H. Murchison as secretary; the sett had been in the hands of a local company some years before. ²
• In late 1850 a London company amalgamated North Wheal Robert and East Wheal Robert as North Robert. ¹
• The mines returned 3,674 tons of copper ore between 1853 and 1857. ¹
• North Wheal Robert's principal shaft was sunk on the underlie to 80 fathoms; Murchison's shaft at East Wheal Robert reached 62 fathoms. ¹
• In October and December 1868 the materials and machinery were advertised for sale, including a 32-inch engine and a 40-foot wheel. ¹

Sources

1. (secondary) North Wheal Robert and East Wheal Robert — Dartmoor Explorations
2. (secondary) 1856 Mines in Devon and Cornwall — Grace's Guide

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