Trevoole Mine

Overview

A copper and tin mine on the road from Camborne to Praze, in Crowan parish, recorded from 1825 and worked under several names, last as West Wheal Grenville in 1886-91. It never found the ore its owners hoped for. Its listed 1888 engine house held a 70-inch engine built for South Caradon.

History

Trevoole Mine sits beside the road from Camborne to Praze, in Crowan parish. The first records date from 1825, though the mine is likely to be older; a 30-inch pumping engine and five horse whims worked it then. It reopened in 1837 as Trevoole Bounds, became Wheal Trevole in 1839 with a new 26-inch engine, and stopped in 1841.

In 1851 the Trevoole Copper and Tin Mine was formed, with plans for a 66-inch engine and a longer adit, but little was done until 1856, when a 60-inch Harvey's engine was put up. From 1856 to 1861 the mine was deepened and raised moderate amounts of poor copper, but its debts grew and new development found nothing, and it shut in September 1861.

In 1886 it reopened for the last time as West Wheal Grenville, amid rumours that it had found the Great Flat Lode. In 1888 a 70-inch pumping engine, built by Harvey's in 1875 for South Caradon, was erected with a 23-inch whim, but no worthwhile orebody was found and the pumps stopped in August 1891. The mine raised about 3,355 tons of poor copper ore and, late on, 211 tons of tin.

Geology

Main, North and South lodes, the last two little explored; the copper ore was of poor quality.

Workings

Engine shaft (130 fathoms), Stephen's, Long's, Glasson's, Lean's and Richard's shafts, with adit at 13 fathoms; successive 30-, 26-, 60- and 70-inch pumping engines and a 23-inch horizontal whim.

Closure

Closed in 1841 and again in September 1861 when development found no new ore; the final working as West Wheal Grenville stopped its pumps in August 1891 after the hoped-for Great Flat Lode failed to appear.

What remains

The 1888 engine house and the detached whim chimney stand on private land, visible from the road, both listed Grade II in 1987.

The three-storey granite engine house with its two-stage chimney and granite bob wall, virtually intact apart from its roof and floors, and a detached two-stage chimney that served a whim.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• South Caradon Mine — The 70-inch engine erected at Trevoole in 1888 had been built by Harvey's in 1875 for South Caradon.

Recorded claims

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

• Records of Trevoole Mine begin in 1825. ¹
• The mine was last worked as West Wheal Grenville from 1886 and closed in August 1891. ^1,2,3
• The surviving engine house held a 70-inch engine built by Harvey's in 1875 for South Caradon and erected here in 1888. ¹
• It raised about 3,355 tons of copper ore and 211 tons of tin. ¹
• The engine house and a detached whim chimney are listed Grade II. ^2,4

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Explore Cornwall: Trevoole Mine — Explore Cornwall
2. (primary) Historic England list entry 1142192: Engine house at SW639322, Trevoole Mine, West Wheal Grenville, Crowan — British Listed Buildings (Historic England list entry)
3. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: Grenville West formerly Trevoole (tin and copper ores), abandoned 1892 — British Geological Survey
4. (primary) Historic England list entry 1310496: Detached chimney at SW639322, Trevoole Mine, West Wheal Grenville, Crowan — British Listed Buildings (Historic England list entry)

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