The Penwith Mining District - Charlotte United Mines

OS Explorer Map 102: Grid reference SW533297

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Charlotte United Mines including Trenow Consols, Carn Perran and Wheal Charlotte lies about half a mile west of Perranuthnoe in a field overlooking Mount's Bay. Producing copper and tin, its nearest neighbours were the mines of Tregurtha Downs, Wheal Neptune and also Tolvadden Mine.

The group can be thought of as having two distinct sections. The northern section being centered on Wheal Charlotte with the southern section based around Trenow Consols. There were seven lodes on the enlarged sett. These were: North Lode, Charlotte North Lode, Charlotte South Lode, New South Lode, King's Lode, Trenow Engine Lode and Carn Perran Tin Lode.

There were numerous shafts working the ground including North Shaft, Old Engine Shaft, Norden's Shaft, Richmond Shaft, Angola Shaft, Simmons' Shaft, Boundary Shaft, Dubban's Shaft, Trevelyan's Shaft, Hoskin's Shaft, Engine Shaft, King's Shaft, Doctor's (Whim) Shaft, Sump Shaft, Flat Rod Shaft, Hill's Shaft and Wheal Pleasant Shaft. Carn Perran Tin Lode was worked from Smith's Shaft.

Thomas Spargo gives us a very brief insight as to the state of Trenow Consols in his book of 1865 entitled 'The Mines of Cornwall and Devon; Statistics and Observations'. He reports that Trenow Consols was, '... in Perranuthnoe, Cornwall, in the land of Messrs. Trevelyan and others, and lately managed by Captain Peter Floyd, has ceased to be worked'.

The mine was at work between 1844 and 1856. It produced 4,525 tons of 10% copper ore from Trenow Consols between 1845 and 1847 and also 894 tons of 6% copper ore in 1855-56. It also sold 461 tons of 5.5% copper ore between 1845 and 1847 from Carn Perran.

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