MineArchiveWheal Margaret
| Location | Uny Lelant parish, near St Ives, Cornwall |
|---|---|
| Commodity | Tin |
| Type | Metal |
| Worked | 1790–1877 |
| Maximum depth | 200 fathoms (366 m) at the engine shaft in 1873 |
Overview
A granite-country tin mine in Lelant parish, worked at intervals from 1790 and continuously in 1855-77, which paid £17 a share in 1855 and had sunk its engine shaft to 200 fathoms by 1873.
History
Wheal Margaret was a tin mine in the parish of Uny Lelant, in granite country. It produced tin in 1790, 1798 and 1840, and then continuously from 1855 to 1877; East Wheal Margaret was also listed as working in 1856. In 1855 the cost-book company, of 112 shares, paid dividends of £1,904, or £17 a share, and its purser was W. S. Arthur of Penzance. Thomas Uren was its manager and William Jenkin its engineer in 1861.
By 1873 the mine was held on a 21-year lease at one-eighteenth from the Hearle family, Messrs. Williams and the executors of W. B. Tyringham. Its four known lodes ran east and west, crossed by two north-south cross-courses, and dipped 18 inches in the fathom. It was worked and drained by two steam engines of 24-inch and 36-inch cylinders, and its engine shaft was 200 fathoms deep. The company then had 896 shares, with Thomas Treweeke of St Ives as purser and James Mitchell as agent.
Geology
Four east-west tin lodes in granite, with two north-south cross-courses.
Workings
An engine shaft 200 fathoms deep with steam engines of 24 and 36 inches.
Closure
Production ended in 1877.
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.
- Wheal Margaret produced tin in 1790, 1798, 1840 and 1855-77. 1
- In 1855 the company, of 112 shares, paid dividends of £1,904, or £17 a share; the purser was W. S. Arthur of Penzance. 2,1
- In 1861 Thomas Uren was manager and William Jenkin engineer at Wheal Margaret. 1
- In 1873 it was held on a 21-year lease at 1/18th from the Hearle family, Messrs. Williams and the executors of W. B. Tyringham. 1
- In 1873 it was worked by 24-inch and 36-inch steam engines and its engine shaft was 200 fathoms deep. 1
Sources
- (secondary) Wheal Margaret Mine, Cornwall — Cornwall Calling
- (secondary) 1856 Mines in Devon and Cornwall — Grace's Guide
Record created: 18 October 2026 · Last researched: 18 October 2026