Wendron Consols

Overview

A tin and copper mine at Trenear near Wendron, worked underground from 1851-52 on ground mined for a century before, which took in the old Wheal Roots and sent its ore to the Trenear stamps; it closed in 1869, and its dressing floors are now the site of Poldark Mine.

History

Wendron Consols lay at Trenear, near Wendron, in a district where tin had been streamed for centuries. It opened as an underground mine in 1851-52, on ground worked for at least ninety years before, and worked six lodes, Richard's, Flander's, Liddlecote, Hurler's or Main, Grace and Grenfell, from shafts including Engine (55 fathoms), Hill's (80 fathoms), Sleeman's, Hurler's and Robert's. From 1854 its neighbour Wheal Roots, an old tin mine worked about 1720-80, and the Trenear stamps were under the same management, and most of its ore went to Trenear to be crushed and dressed; by 1856 Wheal Roots was part of the mine.

In 1855 a 60-inch pumping engine was built to pump four shafts by flat rods, while waterwheels drove 24 heads of stamps, soon more; a pumping engine went onto Baldee's lode in 1860, and the stamps grew to 51 heads and then 55. In 1864 the mine sold 117 tons of black tin for just over £7,000 and employed 184 men, 61 women and 50 boys, the women all at the surface dressing ore. Its annual festival of 1859 saw nearly 700 people sit down to a meal at the account house after a procession led by the Porkellis Band. Between 1854 and 1869 it raised 2,390 tons of tin and 48 tons of copper ore. The mine closed for good in 1869, and engines of 70, 50 and 18 inches were advertised for sale from 1867. The wall of the main pumping engine house survives in a hedge at Trenear, and the mine's former dressing floors are the site of Poldark Mine.

Geology

Tin and copper from six lodes: Richard's, Flander's, Liddlecote, Hurler's (Main), Grace and Grenfell.

Workings

Engine, Hill's, Richard's, Barclay's, Bishop's, Hurler's, Robert's and Sleeman's shafts; a 60-inch pumping engine with flat rods, a second pumping engine on Baldee's lode, and up to 55 heads of stamps.

Closure

Closed for good in 1869; engines advertised for sale from 1867.

What remains

Only a wall of the main pumping engine house survives, in an overgrown hedge at Trenear.

A wall of the main pumping engine house.

Redevelopment

Its former dressing floors and the Wheal Roots workings are part of the Poldark Mine heritage site.

Related mines

• Poldark Mine — Wheal Roots, now Poldark Mine, became part of Wendron Consols, whose dressing floors occupied the site.

Recorded claims

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

• Opened as an underground mine in 1851-52, although worked for at least 90 years before. ¹
• From 1854 Wheal Roots and the Trenear stamps were under the same management, and most of its ore went to Trenear; by 1856 Wheal Roots was part of Wendron Consols. ^2,1
• In 1864 it sold 117 tons of black tin for just over £7,000 and employed 184 men, 61 women and 50 boys. ³
• The Wendron Consols festival of 1859 ended with nearly 700 people at tables at the account house. ³
• Between 1854 and 1869 it produced 2,390 tons of tin and 48 tons of copper. ¹
• Wendron Consols closed for good in 1869. ¹
• During the 19th century the Poldark Mine site was occupied by the main dressing floors of Wendron Consols. ²
• Plans of Wendron Consols and Wheal Fat in tin ore are dated to abandonment in 1859. ⁴

Sources

1. (secondary) Wendron Consols — Explore Cornwall
2. (secondary) Poldark Mine — Wikipedia
3. (secondary) Wendron Mining District: Delve Deeper (audio trail notes) — Cornish Mining World Heritage Site
4. (primary) BGS mine plan: Wendron Consols, Wheal Fat (tin ore, abandoned 1859) — British Geological Survey

Record created: 17 October 2026 · Last researched: 17 October 2026