St. Austell Consols had a brief write-up in Thomas Spargo's book of 1865 entitled 'Statistics and Observations on the Mines of Cornwall and Devon'. He said '... in St. Stephens, near St. Austell, yielded several kinds of metallic minerals, some of which rarely occur in Cornwall; but the whole were insufficient to meet the expenditure. It was given up about three years ago.
http://www.cornwallinfocus.co.uk/history/staustcons.php
Par & St Blazey Consols mines
Par & St Blazey Consols, otherwise known as South Prideaux Wood and formerly known as Par & St. Blazey United mine lies just north of St. Blazey on the edge of Prideaux Wood in the Luxulyan Area of the St. Austell Mining District. This rathere modest tin mine worked Quarry Lode from Hitchen's Shaft.
A good account of the state of Par & St Blazey Consols in the mid 1860's comes from Thomas Spargo's book of 1865, entitled 'Statistics and Observations on the Mines of Cornwall and Devon'where he writes 'PAR AND ST. BLAZEY CONSOLS, (late Par and St. Blazey United), in the parish of St. Blazey, Cornwall, in 6,000 shares. Purser, Mr. Watson, Glasgow. Manager, Captain Wm. Taylor, Glasgow Caradon Mine, Liskeard. Agent, Captain Wm. Bryant, St. Blazey. Landowner, Sir Colman Rashleigh, Bart. In January, 1865, 20 men employed. Adit, 8 fathoms deep; bottom, 16 fathoms below adit. Pumping (rotary) engine, 36-inch, intended for stamping also. No returns in 1864. The present Company took the mine in February, 1864. The sett is near St. Blazey village, and contains several tin lodes of a very promising character, and one copper lode'.
Records of production are: 23 tons of black tin in the years 1839, 1852 and 1855 - as St. Blazey Consols and 65 tons of black tin between 1855 and 1863 as South Prideaux Wood.
http://www.cornwallinfocus.co.uk/history/blazeycons.php
St Blazey industrialised
Until the early 19th century St Blazey was a small agricultural village based on a medieval church and surrounded by farming and fishing hamlets. From the 1820s, however, Joseph Treffry developed the Luxulyan Valley and the area to the south as a centre for the extraction and export of tin and copper ores and china clay and stone. With the construction of the Par Canal, Par Harbour, and (later) the Cornwall Mineral Railway (CMR), St Blazey expanded into a small town and industrialised settlements also developed at Par and St Blazey Gate (the growth of the latter also resulting from its location on a turnpike road).
Owing to the continuation of the china clay industry and Par Docks, the industrial function of these settlements persisted until recent times, and in the case of Par in particular continues to the present day. Despite modern redevelopment and housing estates, many historic industrial features survive - for example, 19thand early 20thcentury terraced houses, religious and municipal buildings, and shops, together with William West’s foundry, the Par Canal, the CMR and its impressive locomotive depot.
http://www.historic-cornwall.org.uk/cisi/st_blazey/cisi_st_blazey_report.pdf
St Austell mining
Mining has always featured in the locale of St Austell, originally early settlers mined tin but later on with the discovery of copper new shafts were dug. The demand was so great that in 1580 Queen Elizabeth I employed immigrant German miners, interestingly many names considered Cornish like Hore, Keast, Lobb, Sleeman, Starke and Waldron can all trace their ancestry back to this time.
Unfortunately in 1865 there was a dramatic drop in the price of copper which led to the closure of many mines. This led to the emigration of many miners from Charlestown port to America, Australia and South Africa. All was not lost, prosperity returned to the town with the continued development of china clay originally discovered by Quaker and Potter William Cookworthy (1705-1780). Demand increased so much that in 1820 there were only 12 clay works, by 1858 this had grown to 96.
http://staustelltown.co.uk/town-guide/historic-town/town-history/
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