West Wheal Seton

Overview

A Camborne copper mine opened in 1844 that paid £7,000 in dividends in 1855, survived the slump of the 1870s and closed in 1891 after fifteen years of losses.

History

West Wheal Seton lay about a mile from Camborne within the Tehidy manor, on a sett a mile long on the course of the lode and half a mile wide, held on a 21-year lease at one-fifteenth from the late Baroness Basset. Opened in 1844, it was worked for copper with a little tin, in killas country, and drained by steam. Its produce rose from £2,415 in 1851 to £21,348 in 1855; the adventurers had paid calls of £19,000 and spent £62,127 by October 1855, and dividends were £3,000 in 1854 and £7,000 in 1855. The purser was Benjamin Matthews of St Day and the managing captain Joseph Jennings, and ore went out through Portreath.

It made large profits from copper in the 1840s and 1850s. In the mining depression of the 1870s it almost closed in 1875 while struggling to keep its workings from flooding, but its accounts for December 1875 to March 1876 showed copper ore sales of £6,811 and tin of £1,778 against a labour bill of £5,065 and dues of £487 to Gustavus Basset. Its 600 shares were then held 41 per cent in the Camborne-Redruth district, 23 per cent elsewhere in Cornwall and 36 per cent outside the county, the largest holder being William Rule of Camborne, who also supplied it with coal, powder and tallow. It worked at a loss for about another fifteen years and closed in 1891, when its shareholders withdrew their support; its abandonment plans are dated 1890.

Geology

A copper lode with a little tin in killas.

Workings

Steam-drained shafts on a sett a mile long and half a mile wide.

Closure

Closed in 1891 when the shareholders withdrew their support after years of losses.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Recorded claims

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

• West Wheal Seton was first opened in 1844 under a 21-year lease at 1/15th from the late Baroness Basset, and was worked for copper. ¹
• Its produce was £2,415 in 1851 and £21,348 in 1855; dividends were £3,000 in 1854 and £7,000 in 1855. ¹
• The mine made considerable profits from copper in the 1840s and 1850s and almost closed in 1875. ²
• From December 1875 to March 1876 copper ore sales brought £6,811 and tin ore £1,778; labour cost £5,065. ²
• Its 600 shares were held about 41% in the Camborne-Redruth district, 23% elsewhere in Cornwall and 36% outside Cornwall; William Rule of Camborne held almost 20%. ²
• It ran at a loss for about fifteen more years and closed in 1891, when shareholders withdrew their support. ²
• Abandonment plans of Wheal Seton West in tin and copper ores are dated 1890. ³

Sources

1. (secondary) 1856 Mines in Devon and Cornwall — Grace's Guide
2. (secondary) West Wheal Seton: a working mine of the 1870s — Bernard Deacon
3. (primary) BGS mine plan: Wheal Seton West, tin and copper ores, 1890 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

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