A View of
South Caradon
TeamManley
Streamworks at South Caradon
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South Caradon |
Streamworks at South Caradon |
 2001 The dumps behind are of a shaft worked by horse whim sank on the northern group of South Caradon's lodes. |
The re-shaping
of the landscape by the South Caradon mine has destroyed and hidden evidence
of any earlier mineral working in the Seaton Valley. However, at the northern
end of the sett, where the valley narrows some signs of streaming can be seen from the footpath.
A small area of tinners burrows exist, their survival being a result of the ground they sit on being off too small area to be of use to the South Caradon adventures. These workings may have formed part of the large Gonomena openwork operation. They scarping of the valley sides as it passes through South Caradon's dressing floor area also indicates that the area may have been worked for alluvial tin long before the Victorian copper mining operation commenced. The dark blue lines in the
picture are the possible routes of the tyes
(water channels) as they pass between the burrows (B). These are aligned
with the valley and the light blue line is the present course of the River
Seaton.
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In this 6" OS
map (1882) extract the relationship between the workings and the river
can be seen. The remains are in brown and the red spot identifies the viewpoint
on the footpath Although a mine leat
uses the scarped valley side to maintain height it departs from its line
at just south of the workings. The scarping shown on the map on the eastern
valley side probably identifies the limit of the earlier
tin
streaming operations.
Both the tinners and later miners have diverted the River Seaton's course according to their needs, so its current relationship to the tin works may not be the same as when they were operating. Records of tinning in the
area is sparse, the first documentary evidence is from 1506. This refers
to the granting of permission to stream at Bodgara moors (now at
Tencreek farm) a site south east of Liskeard (Ref Allen). Tinners
in this area came under the power of the Foweymore Stannary
and the tin produced had to be sent down to Liskeard for Coinage.
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