Spearne Consols

Overview

A small but rich tin mine inland from the coast north of Botallack, which by 1856 had paid £9,408 in dividends on an outlay of only £1,280 since starting in 1839.

History

Spearne Consols lay just inland, north of Botallack, in the parish of St Just in Penwith. It and its neighbour Spearne Moor were worked as two separate mines, both small but very rich and paying regular dividends in the early 1800s, and they were later amalgamated to reduce working costs. Spearne Consols itself commenced in 1839, and by 1856 it had paid £9,408 in dividends on an outlay of only £1,280. In that year it was held on a 21-year lease at a royalty of one twenty-fourth, worked for tin by steam engines of 24-inch and 20-inch cylinders and by water power, and run as a cost-book company of 1,024 shares whose purser was Richard Pearce of Penzance; the prospects in the bottom levels were thought good enough for dividends soon to be resumed.

Thomas Bennetts was agent in 1866. Its stamps were driven by waterwheels, and in the dry summers around 1870 the mine overcame the shortage of water by using a portable steam engine. In 1873 it had engines of 27 and 20 inches and five shafts, the company now had 242 shares, the purser and manager was Richard White of Pendeen and the captains John Wallis and John White. A section called Higher Bal, originally part of Spearne Consols, was acquired by Levant in the early 1880s. In the 1960s, when Levant was pumped out and a decline was driven from the bottom of its Victory Shaft towards Botallack, the decline cut the lodes of the Spearne Consols sett.

Geology

Tin and copper lodes between Levant and Botallack.

Workings

Five shafts by 1873, steam engines of 24 and 20 inches (1856) and 27 and 20 inches (1873), and waterwheel-driven stamps.

Closure

Unknown.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Levant Mine — Levant acquired Higher Bal, part of the Spearne Consols sett, in the early 1880s.
• Spearne Moor Mine — Neighbouring mine, worked separately and later amalgamated with Spearne Consols.

Recorded claims

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

• Spearne Consols commenced in 1839 and by 1856 had paid £9,408 in dividends on an outlay of £1,280. ^1,2
• In 1856 it was held on a 21-year lease at 1/24th, worked for tin by 24-inch and 20-inch steam engines and water power, with 1,024 shares; the purser was Richard Pearce of Penzance. ^1,2
• Spearne Moor and Spearne Consols were worked as two separate mines and later amalgamated to reduce working costs. ²
• In dry summers around 1870 the mine used a portable steam engine to work its waterwheel-driven stamps. ²
• In 1873 it had 27-inch and 20-inch engines and five shafts, and the company consisted of 242 shares. ²
• Higher Bal, originally part of Spearne Consols, was acquired by Levant in the early 1880s. ²
• A plan of Spearne Consols and Carnyorth in tin and copper ores is recorded as abandoned in 1861. ³

Sources

1. (secondary) 1856 Mines in Devon and Cornwall — Grace's Guide
2. (secondary) Spearne Consols Mine, Cornwall — Cornwall Calling
3. (primary) BGS mine plan: Spearne Consols and Carnyorth, tin and copper ores, 1861 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

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