Wheal Fanny

Location	Gulworthy, Tavistock, Devon — 50.5320, -4.2270 (approximate)
Commodities	Arsenic, Copper
Type	Metal
Worked	Started in 1845 as one of the original setts making up Devon Great Consols; the lode was cut only 3 fathoms below the surface.–Closed with the rest of Devon Great Consols in 1903; underground working resumed around 1915 for arsenic, but had reverted to surface-only working by 1921.
Maximum depth	No reliable depth figure has yet been located.
Operators	Devonshire Great Consolidated Copper Mining Company (1845–1903)
Status	Researched

Overview

One of the five original setts making up Devon Great Consols, started in 1845 and revived briefly after the main mine's 1903 closure to work arsenic during the First World War.

History

Wheal Fanny was one of five original setts -- alongside Wheal Maria, Wheal Anna Maria, Wheal Josiah and Wheal Emma -- that together made up the already-published Devon Great Consols mine near Tavistock, once the richest copper mine in Europe and later the world's largest producer of arsenic. Wheal Fanny itself was started in 1845, its lode found only 3 fathoms below the surface. When Devon Great Consols as a whole closed in 1903, Wheal Fanny lay idle for about twelve years; around 1915, with wartime demand reviving interest in the site, underground mining resumed there specifically for arsenic, continuing into the early 1920s before reverting to surface-only working by 1921. Most work across the wider Devon Great Consols site had ceased again by 1925.

Workings

Worked a lode found only 3 fathoms below the surface; revived for underground arsenic working around 1915 before reverting to surface-only extraction by 1921.

Closure

Closed with the rest of Devon Great Consols in 1903; a brief underground revival for arsenic around 1915 had reverted to surface-only working by 1921, with most activity across the wider site ceasing again by 1925.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Recorded claims

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

Wheal Fanny was started in 1845 as one of the original Devon Great Consols setts, its lode cut only 3 fathoms below the surface. ¹
Wheal Fanny lay idle for about twelve years after Devon Great Consols closed in 1903; underground mining resumed there for arsenic around 1915, reverting to surface-only working by 1921. ^1,2

Sources

(secondary) Devon Great Consols — Wikipedia
(secondary) Devon Great Consols Mine (Graces Guide) — Graces Guide

Record created: 31 August 2026 · Last researched: 31 August 2026