Places: Wheal Wrey Mine

This mine amalgamated with the adjacent Wheal Ludcott in 1861 after Wheal Wrey's impending closure had threatened the flooding of Ludcott's workings. Wheal Ludcott's owners paid £3450 for the mine and at the time about 40 employees were working there. The mine's workings lay within the south west corner of the sett on the eastern of two parallel lodes. In an agent's report of 1863 Wheal Wrey was referred to as "North Mine" with work in progress sinking the engine shaft and driving levels both north and south. By the end of that year the focus of attention had returned to Wheal Wrey in the hope that new reserves would be found at depth within its workings.

The mine had been producing lead and silver for ten years and for some time had been under the management of Peter Clymo of South Caradon. Its peak production occurred in 1856 at 1064 tyons of lead. The amalgamated mine closed in 1866 at which time most of the production was from the ludcott section.

Wheal Wrey was worked to a depth of 130 fathoms and produced a total of 5435.8 tons of lead and silver ore.

Today a footpath runs through the sett on the bank of the river Tiddy. Little can be seen apart from the base of the large waste tips.

Grid Reference: SX295 664 Acknowledgement: John Manley's 'The Liskeard Mining Area in 1863'

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