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Summary

Wheal Friendship Mine. Second only in magnitude to Devon Great Consols. Worked 1700-1925. Copper was the principal product until the 1870s when arsenic became the main revenue earner. There was also some late tin production. In 1880 the mine's name was changed to"Devon Friendship". Work ceased in 1900 resuming in 1907. In 1912 the mine was taken over by Wheal Jewell and Marytavy Mines Limited. Closed in 1925 with limited reworking in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Managed by John Taylor from 1799 (when he was only 19) until 1812, and later from 1817-1828.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Structural remains of buildings and machinery, as well as earthwork and buried remains of features relating to the Wheal Friendship Mine, Mary Tavy, worked between 1700-1925

Other References/Statuses

• National Buildings Record: NRI)!
• National Monuments Record: SX57NW87
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 439970
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX57NW/82

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• ARSENIC MINE (XVIII to Early 20th Century - 1714 AD (Between) to 1925 AD (Pre))

Full description

de la Beche, H. T., 1839, Report on the Geology of Cornwall, Devon and West Somerset (Monograph). SDV337075.

Watson, J. Y., 1843, A compendium of British Mining (Monograph). SDV253743.

Henwood, W. J., 1843, Metalliferous Deposits (Monograph). SDV337406.

Unknown, 1843-1849, Mining Journal (Article in Serial). SDV337403.

Wood, 1850, Map of Dartmoor (Cartographic). SDV340908.

White, W., 1850/1968, White's Devon. History, Gazetteer and Directory of Devonshire (Monograph). SDV6497.

Williams, J., 1862, Cornwall and Devon Mining Directory (Monograph). SDV242424.

Spargo, T., 1864, Mines of Cornwall and Devon (Monograph). SDV242422.

Garage site located within zone of activity of Wheal Friendship copper mine which was active from the late 18th century until the 1880s and then as a source of arsenic until 1925. There are indications that the garage site lies within a triangle formed by three mine shafts which may signify underground workings.

Spargo, T., 1866, Mines of Cornwall and Devon (Monograph). SDV228100.

Hall, T. M., 1868, Mineral Localities of Devon, 334 (Article in Serial). SDV228163.

Hall says that zinc has also been found in Wheal Friendship and Wheal Betsy.

Hunt, R., 1887, British Mining (Monograph). SDV241726.

Collins, J. H., 1895, Mineralogy of Cornwall and Devon (Monograph). SDV242421.

Crossing, W., 1901, A Hundred Years on Dartmoor (Monograph). SDV350954.

Crossing, W., 1903, Present-day Life on Dartmoor (Article in Serial). SDV228152.

Crossing, W., 1912 (1965), Crossing's Guide to Dartmoor (Monograph). SDV320981.

Dewey, H., 1916, Special Reports on the Mineral Resources of Great Britain: Tungsten and Manganese Ores (Article in Serial). SDV228156.

Dewey, H., 1920, Special Reports on the Mineral Resources of Great Britain: Arsenic and Antimony Ores, 15 (Article in Serial). SDV354854.

Dewey, H., 1923, Special Reports on the Mineral Resources of Great Britain: Copper Ores of Devon and Cornwall (Article in Serial). SDV228159.

H. M. Stationary Office, 1929, Abandoned Mines (Monograph). SDV215700.

Royal Air Force, 1949, RAF 540/226, 5160 (Aerial Photograph). SDV271060.

Ramsden, J. V., 1952, Notes on the Mines of Devonshire, 95 figure 1 (Article in Serial). SDV60737.

Another part of the mine is known as Barkell's, and also Wheal Jewell and Wheal Betsy which also mined tin. Plans R 115 4473 - R 303 D, in the mining record office.

Ordish, H. G., 1962, Wheal Friendship flue, calciners and cooling chambers (Photograph). SDV276562.

Photographs show the great arsenic flue, the calciners and the count house.

Council for British Archaeology, 1963-1985, National Record of Industrial Monuments (NRIM): Index Cards, DV16 (Un-published). SDV364291.

Recorded by NRIM.

Harris, H., 1968, Industrial Archaeology of Dartmoor, 208 (Monograph). SDV149229.

Wheal Friendship Mine. In addition to the general features, the central area contains a dilapidated shed in which is an engine bed and near it the remains of dressing floors, the site of the stamps and a buddle. Also remaining, though uninhabited, are some cottages and the former mine captain's house and count house. On the opposite side of the road are the remains of the arsenic works, various buildings and the calciners in which the ore was roasted.

Hedges, C., 1975, The Tavistock Canal. A Short History, 30 (Monograph). SDV361772.

Minchinton, W. E., 1976, Industrial Archaeology in Devon, 25 (Monograph). SDV7016.

Mine. Wheal Friendship. Copper, arsenic, lead and iron were mined here for 130 years. It was a large mine, extending under the village street of Mary Tavy east to the Tavy valley and stretching nearly a mile westwards from the valley. In 1798 John Taylor took over the management and opened up the mine further with a new shaft in 1826. During its prime, the power for this mine was produced by 17 overshot water-wheels. In the 1880s, the mine was reopened by the Devon Arsenic Company and extensive new plant was installed; working continued until 31st July 1925. A considerable amount of the arsenic plant remains.

Burt, R. + Waite, P. + Burnley, R., 1984, Devon and Somerset Mines, 56-59 (Article in Serial). SDV347761.

Details of mine production, ownership, management and employment given from 1848-1913.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1985, Aerial Photograph Project (Dartmoor) - Dartmoor Pre-NMP (Cartographic). SDV319854.

Field to the east of Mary Tavy containing the spoil heaps of the disused Devon Friendship Mine. Includes shafts and large area of disturbed ground and spoil heaps to the west of the mine.

Greeves, T. A. P., 1991, An Assessment of Copper Mining in Devon (Copper, Brass, Tin), 14,16+2 (Report - Assessment). SDV60709.

Richardson, P. H. G., 1992, The Mines of Dartmoor and the Tamar Valley after 1913, 36-47, figure 5 (Article in Serial). SDV323598.

Wheal Friendship Mine. Second only in magnitude to Devon Great Consols. Worked 1700-1925. Copper was the principal product until the 1870s when arsenic became the main revenue earner. There was also some late tin production. The earliest workings were near the Tavistock-Okehampton road at Mary Tavy, extending to just beyond the Cholwell Brook. The western part of the mine was developed when arsenic and tin were sought. The principal pit in this latter phase was Bennett's Shaft. There was extensive use of water power with two principal leats (see related records) powering a succession of waterwheels. Arsenic works built in the 1870s and later extended.
In 1880 the mine's name was changed to "Devon Friendship". Work ceased in 1900 resuming in 1907. In 1912 the mine was taken over by Wheal Jewell and Marytavy Mines Limited. Closed in 1925 with limited reworking in the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

Cranstone, D., 1993, Monuments Protection Programme: The Arsenic Industry. Step 1 Report, 4A-B (Report - non-specific). SDV355885.

The refined arsenic had a variety of uses such as: metal alloy, clarifying glass, medicinal purposes, as a pesticide and to create pigment in paint.

Hedley, L. and Cranstone, D., 1995, Monuments Protection Programme, Zink, Copper, Minor Metals, Step Three: The Copper Industry, Introduction to Step 3 Assessments, 18 (Report - non-specific). SDV357718.

4. Wheal Friendship Mine SX 506 792.
Lesser national importance.

Cranstone, D. + Hedley, I., 1995, Monuments Protection Programme: The Arsenic Industry, Step 3 Site Assessments, 13-14 (Report - Survey). SDV241572.

The site is particularly important in showing John Taylor's developments (his first mining experience) in water-power, surface mine organisation and mechanised ore dressing. The extensive mine sett was linked by tramways, leats and flat-rod runs.The nearby South and Mid Devon United Mines were worked in conjunction with Wheal Friendship in the nineteenth century. Between both sites is the Mary Tavy hydro-electric power station that re-used part of the water supply system for Wheal Friendship. The three sites in conjunction illustrate the development of water as a means of power over the nineteenth and early twentieth century. In 1994, the site was covered in dense undergrowth.

Griffith, F. M., 1996, DAP/ABF, 9 (Aerial Photograph). SDV273204.

Munro, D., 1999, The Mary Tavy / Peter Tavy Excursion, 8-9 (Article in Serial). SDV224990.

Hamilton Jenkin, Dr. A. K., 2005, Mines of Devon, 87-90 (Monograph). SDV282410.

One of the main mines worked on the perimeter of Dartmoor, Wheal Friendship (also known as Devon Friendship) exploited two principle lodes - Sprague's or Main Lode on the north and Bennett's Lode to the south - with numerous side lodes and stringers forming an interlaced pattern between. Workings extended for nearly a mile westward from the Tavy, passing beneath the Tavistock-Okehampton road 0.25 miles north of Mary Tavy.
Worked on several previous occasions during the 18th century, it was taken over by John Taylor, a 19 year old civil engineer from Norfolk in 1798. in 1796 it had been recorded to have recently started to make a profit. 40-50 men were employed underground, with many women and boys preparing the ore at the surface. The sett had two shafts and the length of the lode was about 60 fathoms. The ore consisted of 'pyritical' copper.
In 1825 it was announced that 'rare mineral Tungstate of Lime (scheelite), rarely if ever before met in England' had been found which was also exploited. In 1838 the mine employed 453 people and was equipped with seven waterwheels, but by the following decade, Wheal Friendship and Wheal Betsy together possessed 17 wheels. Eight of these were used for pumping from a depth of nearly 200 fathoms, four others served for hoisting, the remainder were used for crushing and grinding. Water was supplied from two leats. The longest had its intake at the foot of Ger Tor near Tavy Cleave and was brought across the moors first to Wheal Jewell, then to Wheal Betsy and then southward to Wheal Friendship. A shorter leat, taken off the river at Hill Bridge, flowed direct to the eastern part of the Friendship sett.
There was also an 80 inch cylinder beam engine (to safeguard against the failure of the leats in severe drought or frost).
Among the eleven shafts on the Friendship main lode, Taylor's was the deepest, sunk vertically to 90 fathoms below adit and then on the underlie to the 220 fathom level. Additionally, there were also two inclined planes, each equipped with a single tramway.
After 1870 the production of copper ore showed a rapid decline and by 1875 had been almost wholly supplanted by arsenic and pyrite and the mine was worked for these ores until 1924. In 1912 the mine was taken over by a company known as the Wheal Jewell and Marytavy Mines. By this time the old water-wheels had been abandoned in favour of Pelton wheels. This latest period of work concentrated on treating the tin ore of Wheal Jewell, activity at Wheal Friendship being confined to picking over the dumps for tin and arsenic.

Southwest Archaeology, 2007, Blackdown Garage Site, Mary Tavy, Devon (Report - Assessment). SDV358122.

Waterhouse, R., 2017, The Tavistock Canal. Its History and Archaeology, 9, 217-220, Fig 6.74-75 (Monograph). SDV361789.

John Taylor (1779-1843), who later rose to become one of Britain’s foremost mining engineers and mine managers managed Wheal Friendship from 1799 (when he was only 19) until 1812, and later from 1817-1828. The mine rapidly went from a failing enterprise to an extremely successful one. He became known as an honest and effective manager, and innovator. His legacy lay in training and nurturing talented mining captains and then deploying them in places best suited to their temperament and skills.
The origins of Wheal Friendship are unknown but it worked an extremely rich lode of tin and was probably exploited from at least the later medieval period. The mine was restarted some time in the later 18th century but had problems at depth due to insufficient power of the pumping equipment.
The mine was managed by the young John Taylor from 1799 and it is where he learned his trade as mine manager and developed the techniques later used on the canal and its mines. The period 1799 -1812 saw significant changes in the way the mine was managed and large scale improvements in the use of water power, exploiting local rivers; Cholwell Brook was the only source used prior to 1799. Over the next 40 years, water was introduced from further afield, with two long leats from the River Tavy. A collection of leats and waterwheels (a total of 17) powered the site and the worlds first railway incline shaft, worked by a 40 foot waterwheel, was sunk to the 112 fathom level in 1808, followed by a second in 1826-27 down to the 200 fathom level. A third in 1834-36 was named after Henry Brenton who presumably oversaw its construction. These greatly improved production at Wheal Friendship and were copied at Wheal Crebor (1810-12) and Wheal Marquis (from the late 1820s).
Inclined shafts became typical and characteristic features of any mine managed by John Taylor and were subsequently sunk at Wheal Crebor (1812) and on the Marquis lode of Bedford United Mine (by 1828), both of which were Tavistock Canal mines.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8423 - Duchy Farms Project

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