Mines of East Cornwall - The Caradon Mines

Initially streaming for tin, the invention and development of the Newcomen Atmospheric Engine in about 1712 allowed workings to explore deeper using shafts. The often wet ground was de-watered using the new pumping engines whilst the former horse whims gave way to whim (or winding) engines to recover ore or waste to the surface. Other engine houses contained engines to power the ore crushing stamps - such as at Wheal Jenkin

The copper ore was crushed by hand whilst tin mines sent their stamped (crushed) ore to round buddles on the ore dressing floors. Power was also derived from waterwheels such as the large one just north east of Minions. In about 1836, miners unearthed a rich copper lode in the Seaton Valley. A copper boom was born. The new found riches a magnet for miners and mining entrepreneurs alike. The population of Linkinhorne parish all but doubled between 1831 and 1871. A mineral railway was opened in 1846 to service the mines. The nearby Cheesewring Quarry branch providing the granite sleepers (or setts) for the railway. The Liskeard and Caradon Railway took just two years to build. An excellent book on this area is Caradon and Looe - The Canal Railways and Mines by Michael Messenger. To get a feel for the layout take a walk to the right of the Minions Stores and Post Office heading for Caradon Hill. After a short while leave the track and head left through a hole in the granite hedge to view Bellingham's Engine House - part of Wheal Jenkin and the embankment for the railway. The track of the old L&CR provides an excellent walk around Caradon Hill and visits many of the mines mentioned in the text later on.