Pednandrea Mine

Overview

A tin and copper mine now in the middle of Redruth, at work by the early eighteenth century and worked off and on until 1891. Its chimney, built about 1824 by Arthur Woolf for a 70-inch pumping engine, once stood eight tiers and 145 feet high; cut down in 1891 and 1936, it is still a landmark of the town.

History

Pednandrea Mine lies under the middle of Redruth, near the top of Fore Street. It was at work by the early eighteenth century, and by 1765 it was producing tin, copper, mundic, arsenic and some lead. In 1778 it stood idle, probably because of the slump in copper caused by the Parys Mountain mine in Anglesey.

The mine reopened in 1797 and closed in 1806, and reopened again in 1824, when Arthur Woolf built the great chimney to carry the smoke of a 70-inch pumping engine. It closed in the 1830s and worked again from 1854, as Pednandrea United, until 1891 by one account; its abandonment plans are dated 1880.

The chimney had eight tiers and stood 145 feet high; one section was removed in 1891 and two more in 1936, leaving four, each set back and capped with a granite ring. Steeplejacks were photographed working on it in the 1900s. The mine's count house of the 1770s also survives as a house.

Geology

Tin and copper lodes, with mundic, arsenic and some lead in the 1760s.

Workings

A 70-inch pumping engine from 1824, exhausted by the Woolf chimney; workings under the town.

Closure

Worked intermittently: idle by 1778, closed 1806 and again in the 1830s, and finally after the Pednandrea United working of 1854 onwards, abandoned in 1880 by the BGS plans or 1891 by the archaeological report.

What remains

The chimney stands in a private garden behind Sea View Terrace, reduced to four tiers and listed Grade II; the count house is a private dwelling.

The Pedn-an-drea chimney stack, of killas rubble with granite dressings, and the 1770s count house; nearby, a mine captain's house of the mid nineteenth century.

Redevelopment

The mine ground is built over by Redruth; new dwellings have been built at Pednandrea Yard beside the chimney.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• It reopened in 1854 and stayed open until 1891. (disputed) ²
• Pednandrea United was abandoned in 1880. (disputed) ³

Recorded claims

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

• The chimney was said to be built about 1824 by Arthur Woolf for the reworking of the mine. ^1,2
• It had eight sections originally; one was removed in 1891 and two in 1936. ^1,2
• By 1765 the mine was producing tin, copper, mundic, arsenic and some lead. ²
• The mine reopened in 1797, closed in 1806 and reopened in 1824. ²
• It reopened in 1854 and stayed open until 1891. (disputed) ²
• Pednandrea United was abandoned in 1880. (disputed) ³
• The chimney, visible for miles, has stood since 1824. ^4,1

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Historic England list entry: Pedn-an-drea chimney stack, Redruth — British Listed Buildings (Historic England list entry)
2. (secondary) South West Archaeology: Pednandrea Yard, Redruth, archaeological monitoring report — Archaeology Data Service
3. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: Pednandrea United (tin and copper ores), abandoned 1880 — British Geological Survey
4. (secondary) Cornwall Calling: Pednandrea Mine, Redruth — Cornwall Calling
5. (secondary) cornishmemory.com: Steeplejacks at work on the chimney at Penandrea Mine — cornishmemory.com

Record created: 11 October 2026 · Last researched: 11 October 2026