Callington Mining District - Gunnislake Clitters Mine

OS Explorer Map 108: Grid reference SX421720

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Location
Gunnislake Clitters Mine was a large copper mine located near Gunnislake in the Tamar Valley in East Cornwall and part of the Callington Mining District. The mine sett was leased from the mineral owners the Duke of Cornwall and the Rev. H. W. Bedford. It is recorded by Spargo in his book The Mines of Cornwall; Statistics and Observations (1865) as having a 40-inch pumping engine, a 30-inch winding engine and a 30-inch stamps engine as well as a 40-foot waterwheel used for pumping. It employed 192 people.

Gunnislake Clitters Mine lies three-quarters of a mile northeast of Hinston Down Mine near Gunnislake and began work in 1820. The mine worked a number of lodes with the major ones being Bonney Lode (also known as No.1 Lode); Skinners Lode; New Tin Lode; No.2 or South Lode and Greenstone Lode. These lodes were worked from mainly Skinner's Shaft on Bonney Lode and New Shaft on South Lode.

History
Although Gunnislake Clitters opened in 1820, the main period of production for the mine was between 1860 and 1890. Records of production for the mine were: 40 tons of copper ore between 1822 and 1827. For the periods 1860-69 and 1902-94 the mine produced 33,310 tons of 8.25% copper ore and 510 tons of black tin.

For more information on production dates and so on please see Roger Burt's excellent book Cornish Mines: Metalliferous and Associated Minerals, 1845-1913 (Mineral Statistics of the United Kingdom, 1845-1913) or what is widely regarded as the mining enthusiasts bible by H G Dines - The Metalliferous Mining Region of South-West England: Vols I & II (Economic Memoirs).

For those of you with possibly a little more time to explore, once you've done 'the tourist bit', why not explore Cornwall's industrial heritage through its Tin and Copper Mines or learn more from my Cornish Bookstore