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A View of South Caradon 		 TeamManley 

West Caradon  Mine
 South Caradon Mine Views    The Footpath Route History lode Map Production
People     Management     Engines
Click for view from this path 
Summer 2001 
The Crows Nest to Minions footpath passing through the waste tips of West Caradon mine overlooking the Seaton Valley. This section provides a perfect viewpoint for interpreting the remains of the South Caradon mine. 
The path follows the Liskeard and Caradon and railway on a low embankment and then disappears between the large heaps of waste.The tips have been re-worked for minerals and hard-core leaving little to be interpreted of the West Caradon mine. The movement of waste has obscured the track bed in places but the footpath is still passable.		 West Caradon mine was started in 1837 in attempt to discover similar riches to those found in the adjacent South Caradon mine. After an expenditure of £ 6,000 it became profitable and soon returned large profits for its investors. In fact for a period from 1846 to 1855 its production was larger than its famous neighbour.  
This success was not to last and the mine started to fall rapidly from the late 1850 onwards as its reserves ran out. The mines workings moved towards the Western part of the sett in an attempt to find more copper but closure came in the 1870s. Small scale workings occurred in the 1880s but the mine could not survive the stopping of South Caradon's pumps in 1886. Some of this later operation of the mine was conducted under the name of New West Caradon. 

 
 

People
In its earlier days the mine was a major employer in the area as seen by the following records of employees. These also however show a steady fall in employment, a loss of about 30 staff a year. Of these staff  20% to 30% are women and children who would have made up the majority of workers on the dressing floor. Over this period productivity  ran at about 6 tons of copper per employee annually. By the 1880s the mine had shrunk to shadow of its former self, the maximum employed in the decade being only 65 in 1883(Burt). Its productivity was still at the same level though at 7 tons each per year.
Management
BENNETT  CAPTAIN  PRYOR FRAN  SECRETARY  
BUZZA J   CAPTAIN  PRYOR J  CHIEF AGENT  
CROUCH EA   SECRETARY PRYOR THOS   CHIEF AGENT
DUNSTAN R  CAPTAIN RICHARDS NICH   MANAGER /CHIEF AGENT  
FOOKES W   LANDOWNER  RICHARDS NICH   CHIEF AGENT 
HENDER F   LANDOWNER RICHARDS W  AGENT 
JOHNS WILLIAM  MANAGER TAYLOR H   CAPTAIN 
KELLY JAS   CHIEF AGENT TRATHAN ROBT   CHIEF AGENT 
LAVINGTON WJ   SECRETARY TRATHAN W   CHIEF AGENT
LOAM M  ENGINEER  WATSON JOHN  MANAGER 
NANTHAN R   AGENT  WATSON WH   SECRETARY 
WILLIAMS J  CHIEF AGENT
 This table lists names associated with the managent of the mine, infomation from Allan, Webb and Geech and Burt.
Pryor, Watson and Trathan are surnames that occur more than once in the list.
Management names at other mines:

Steam engines
The table below summarises the engines recorded on the site by five contemporary publications and by the engine house plans shown in CAU for both West Caradon and New West Caradon sett. Inspection shows discrepancies between in the locations, size and purpose of the engines on the sett. According to these authorities It would appear that the mine was served by four or five engines for most of its life, the largest being 50".
 
Allan 1854 50" being installed   30" largest engine     Four engines in total
Webb and Geech 1863 50"Crouches  Fire whim  30"Pryor's  Fire Whim    30" Stamping
Symons 1863 Elliots PE Elliots WE Pryor PE Crouches WE   Stamps
Sprago 1864 50"  22" Winding   24" Winding and Capstain   Stamping crushing 30"
OS 1883 Elliots PE Elliots WE RIckard's PE Crouches WE Marina's WE Stamps
CAU 50" Fox 50" Elliot's 30"Hallets 20" Whim 22"Crouches 30" Stamps
 It seems strange that the history of such major items of machinery as Cornish beam engines should be so uncertain, but despite their size engines were often sold, bought and moved both within and between mines.
No public right away exists to any of the mine sites visible from this footpath. 
On many mine sites in Cornwall dangers may still exist, many hidden.  
This web site is published as a resource to those using the public right of way.
 
South Caradon Mine Views    The Footpath Route History lode Map Production
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