South Hooe Mine

Overview

South Hooe, on the banks of the Tamar, was worked for silver-lead on and off since the medieval period, but its 19th-century revival under the name Tamar Silver-Lead Mine turned it into one of the richest, and by 1861 the deepest, lead mines in England.

History

Silver and lead have been worked at South Hooe since as early as the 13th century, on the north bank of the Tamar where the river bends from a west-to-east course. The mine saw renewed activity in the early 1800s, with silver content reported as high as 180oz to the ton and lead around 60%; in 1814-15 alone the mine raised 3 tons of silver. In 1820 South Hooe merged with the neighbouring South Tamar mine to form South Tamar Consols, but the combined venture was put up for sale within a year. Work resumed in earnest from 1835 under the new name Tamar Silver-Lead Mine, and expectations ran high: by 1850 the mine had seven engines and employed around 200 people, and by 1861 it was described as the deepest lead mine in England. Local accounts record that in 1851, a group of workers exploring old workings — through which smoke from the mine's engine was ducted to the surface — found a rich pocket of ore, but were overcome by fumes; four of the six men involved are said to have died, though no detailed contemporary record of the incident, including names or an exact date, has yet been located. Between 1845 and 1876, the Tamar Silver-Lead Mine and Tamar Consols together produced approximately 14,640 tons of 62% lead ore and 326,300 ounces of silver, with ore smelted at Weir Quay, where furnaces could process up to 300 tons a month. The mine finally closed in 1885, its workings by then extending to 250 fathoms below adit.

Geology

The mine worked silver-bearing lead lodes within the Tamar Valley orefield, part of the wider Cornubian mineralised belt that also produced the copper and arsenic worked at nearby Devon Great Consols and Bedford United.

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

Workings

At its early-1800s peak the mine ran seven engines to keep the workings dry, and by 1861 had become the deepest lead mine in England. Ore was shipped to Weir Quay on the Tamar for smelting, where furnaces handled up to 300 tons of ore a month.

Closure

The mine closed in 1885 after five decades of intensive working under the Tamar Silver-Lead name, its workings having reached 250 fathoms below adit.

What remains

The former Count House at South Hooe survives and has been converted to private residential use.

Surface traces of the mine's extensive 19th-century workings survive along the Tamar's north bank at Bere Ferrers.

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.

• Between 1845 and 1876 the Tamar Silver-Lead Mine and Tamar Consols together produced approximately 14,640 tons of 62% lead ore and 326,300 ounces of silver. ¹
• By 1850 the mine ran seven engines and employed around 200 people; by 1861 it was described as the deepest lead mine in England. ¹

Sources

1. (secondary) Mining in Devon Database - South Tamar Mine, Devon — Mining in Devon Database
2. (secondary) South Hooe Mine (Tamar Silver-Lead Mine) — Mindat

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