Wheal Cupid

Overview

A copper mine about a mile from Redruth, worked in the 1850s by a cost-book company with over £11,700 of paid-up capital together with the small ventures of Wheal Lily and Wheal Trefula; its plans were closed in 1860.

History

Wheal Cupid lay in the parish of Redruth, about a mile from the town, within the manors of Messrs. Williams and others. It was one of a number of small ventures, with Wheal Lily and Wheal Trefula, that were worked in close conjunction in the 1850s and 1860s. In 1856 it was held under a 21-year lease from 1850 at a royalty of one-thirteenth, granted by Messrs. Williams and S. R. Davey, and was being worked for copper. The cost-book company had 1,024 shares, paid up to a capital of £11,746 2s. 8d.; the purser was R. H. Pike of Camborne and the captains were Joseph Vivian and William Pryor. Redruth was the nearest railway station, and ore and machinery went through Portreath and Perran, four and six miles away.

West Cupid, north of Pedn-an-drea, adjoined the western part of the sett; several tin and copper lodes ran through it at the junction of the granite and killas, large returns had been made in a former working above adit, and in 1856 its adventurers were sinking below to work it in depth. The abandonment plans of Wheal Cupid in copper ore are dated 1860. Some of its burrows, the old waste heaps, survive in the fields near North Trefula.

Geology

Copper lodes; the adjoining West Cupid sett lay at the junction of the granite and killas.

Workings

Unknown.

Closure

Abandonment plans dated 1860.

What remains

Burrows survive in the fields near North Trefula.

Waste burrows.

Redevelopment

Farmland.

Recorded claims

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

• In 1856 Wheal Cupid was held under a 21-year lease from 1850 at 1/13th, granted by Messrs. Williams and S. R. Davey, and was worked for copper. ¹
• The cost-book company had 1,024 shares representing a capital of £11,746 2s. 8d.; the purser was R. H. Pike of Camborne. ¹
• Wheal Cupid lay in the parish of Redruth, about a mile from the town. ^1,2
• Wheal Cupid, Wheal Lily and Wheal Trefula were small ventures worked in close conjunction in the 1850s and 1860s. ³
• West Cupid, north of Pedn-an-drea, adjoined the west part of Wheal Cupid. ¹
• Abandonment plans of Wheal Cupid in copper ore are dated 1860. ⁴
• Some burrows remain in the fields near North Trefula. ³

Sources

1. (secondary) 1856 Mines in Devon and Cornwall — Grace's Guide
2. (secondary) Wheal Cupid — Grace's Guide to British Industrial History
3. (secondary) Wheal Cupid Mine, Cornwall — Cornwall Calling
4. (primary) BGS mine plan: Wheal Cupid, copper ore, 1860 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

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