Wheal Frementor

Overview

A former tin and tungsten mine on the southern part of the Devon Great Consols site, worked latterly for tin until 1930, whose worked-out vertical deposit left an exceptional open void known as a gunnis.

History

Wheal Frementor -- also recorded as Framator -- lay on the southern part of the already-published Devon Great Consols mine near Tavistock, worked within the only part of the Gunnislake granite body that crosses the River Tamar into Devon. It was originally worked as an opencast for tin and tungsten, wolframite being the principal tungsten ore; a rich, near-vertical deposit of tin here was worked out entirely, leaving a striking 'gunnis' -- an open void some 4 metres wide, 70 metres deep and 200 metres long -- with the main working advancing north-westward for about 100 metres from it. After the wider Devon Great Consols site closed in 1903, underground mining resumed at Frementor around 1915 for tin and tungsten; most work across the site had ceased again by 1925, but Frementor itself, worked latterly mainly for tin, continued until final closure in 1930.

Workings

Originally an opencast working; its main underground development ran north-westward for about 100 metres from the gunnis, a worked-out vertical tin deposit some 4 metres wide, 70 metres deep and 200 metres long.

Closure

Closed in 1930, having outlasted the rest of Devon Great Consols' 20th-century revival by several years.

What remains

The gunnis survives as a large, fenced void; several winzes have flooded owing to the site's low, river-level position. The site is open to public access, with visitors warned against climbing the fence around the gunnis.

The fenced gunnis void, flooded winzes, and other mine ruins and remnants across the site.

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.

• Frementor was originally worked as an opencast within the only part of the Gunnislake granite body crossing into Devon; a rich, near-vertical tin deposit was worked out entirely, leaving a gunnis some 4 metres wide, 70 metres deep and 200 metres long, with underground development advancing north-westward about 100 metres from it. ¹
• Underground mining resumed at Frementor around 1915 for tin and tungsten after the wider Devon Great Consols site closed in 1903; most site-wide work ceased again by 1925, but Frementor, worked latterly mainly for tin, continued until final closure in 1930. ²

Sources

1. (secondary) Wheal Frementor (GooseyGoo) — GooseyGoo
2. (secondary) Devon Great Consols — Wikipedia

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