Yeoland Consols

Overview

A tin mine between the River Meavy and Roborough Down, formed in 1852 from three Elizabethan-rooted workings, whose deep adit ran from the Meavy to the engine shaft near Yeoland Farm.

History

The ground between Meavy village and Hoo Meavy was worked for tin in Elizabethan times, perhaps first in 1566, and William Crymes's clash mills here drew a letter from Sir Walter Raleigh in 1600 defending the miners against Plymouth's complaints about its leat. The early workings went no deeper than adits and shallow shafts. In the late 1840s three mines were reopening the old ground between the Meavy and Roborough Down - East Wheal Yeoland, South Wheal Yeoland and Yeoland Mine - and from about 1849 to 1852 they were known as Plymouth Wheal Yeoland, south and east. In January 1851 the amalgamation was announced in 2,048 shares, more than a thousand taken up at once, and from 1852 they worked as Yeoland Consols, adding 24 heads of stamps and a dressing floor near Yeoland Farm.

In 1856 the mine, in Buckland Monachorum parish eight miles from Plymouth, had a 36-inch steam engine that drove 24 heads of stamps and pumped the mine, and a 22-inch drawing engine; its tin sales since 1851 had realised £13,000. The east part, by the Meavy, was worked only at adit level from a Deep Adit that ran west to the engine shaft near Yeoland Farm. That company lasted until 1857. A new Yeoland Consols company was formed in 1881; in 1883 it sent 16 hundredweight of concentrate to Redruth and had 2,000 tons of tinstuff ready for stamping, but had no water or machinery to deal with it, and the equipment was auctioned in 1892. The mine is said to have produced 470 tons of black tin in 1852-57 and 1883-88. Buddles, building ruins, a wheelpit, a tail race and the Deep Adit remain by the Meavy.

Geology

Tin lodes, including the Great North Lode.

Workings

A Deep Adit from the Meavy to the engine shaft near Yeoland Farm, a 36-inch pumping and stamping engine, a 22-inch drawing engine, 24 heads of stamps, buddles and a burning house.

Closure

The first company ended in 1857; a reworking of 1881-88 did little, and its equipment was auctioned in 1892.

What remains

Ruins and earthworks in woodland by the River Meavy.

Buddles, buildings, a probable wheelpit, a cut-and-cover tail race and the Deep Adit portal.

Redevelopment

A barn stands on the site of the burning house near Yeoland Farm.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• Yeoland Consols worked in 1852-57 and 1883-88 and is said to have produced 470 tons of black tin. (uncertain) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• In 1600 Sir Walter Raleigh wrote to Sir Robert Cecil about William Crymes's clash mills on Roborough Down, siding with the miners against Plymouth. ¹
• East Wheal Yeoland, South Wheal Yeoland and Yeoland Mine were known as Plymouth Wheal Yeoland from about 1849 to 1852 and were amalgamated as Yeoland Consols in 1852, in 2,048 shares. ¹
• In 1856 Yeoland Consols, in Buckland Monachorum, had a 36-inch steam engine driving 24 heads of stamps and pumping, and a 22-inch drawing machine; tin sold since 1851 had realised £13,000. ^2,1
• A new Yeoland Consols company was formed in 1881; in 1883 16 cwt of concentrate went to Redruth for smelting, but little was done. ¹
• Yeoland Consols worked in 1852-57 and 1883-88 and is said to have produced 470 tons of black tin. (uncertain) ¹
• A plan of Wheal Yeoland South in tin ore is held in the national mine plan catalogue. ³

Sources

1. (secondary) East Wheal Yeoland (Plymouth Wheal Yeoland East) — Dartmoor Explorations
2. (secondary) 1856 Mines in Devon and Cornwall — Grace's Guide
3. (primary) BGS mine plan: Wheal Yeoland South, tin ore — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

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