The Cornish Copper Company

The Cornish Copper Company began life at Carn Entral just outside Camborne in 1755. It was initially a smelting company importing coal through Hayle and using it to smelt local copper ore. Since it took 3 tonnes of coal to smelt 1 tonne of copper ore and the only transport from Hayle was by pack mule, it was soon realised that it would be more economic to take the ore to the coal rather than the other way around.

In 1758 the Cornish Copper Company moved to Ventonleague on the eastern arm of the Hayle Estuary. A canal was cut from Ventonleague to the sea and lock gates built to impound the water which was released on the falling tide to scour the channel and keep it clear of sand.   The process of smelting copper resulted in a large residue of copper slag. A use was soon found for this waste, it was poured to make large black metallic bricks or Scoria block which was subsequently used as a building material throughout Hayle.

Copperhouse Canal

The major development of both Foundry and Copperhouse took place between 1810 and 1830, and to a lesser extent the 1840s. the rival expansion of both led not only to competition between the two companies but violent opposition to each other. The development of Hayle Harbour reflects this. The economics of copper smelting and in particular the high cost of transporting coal however soon meant that the Cornish Copper Company was fighting a losing battle with the newly established Welsh copper smelters. In 1819 the Cornish Copper Company abandoned copper smelting altogether. Instead it used the expertise it had gained in transporting materials to establish itself as a trading company importing coal and timber and exporting copper and tin ore.

The big expansion of the Cornish Copper Company came after the purchase of the land around Copperhouse Creek. This enabled the company to shift their principal offices and warehouses to Penpol/Merchant Curnow’s quays, extend North Quay improving the sluicing ability of Copperhouse Pool at the same time. New or East Quay was added in  1819, and land drained and built up on which Penpol Terrace was subsequently built.

The Cornish Copper Company also began to establish itself as a foundry producing iron castings in direct competition with Harveys. The company expanded and was soon producing a range of products from castings to seam engines and from waterwheels to rock crushing equipment. Perhaps the two most noted items to come out of the Cornish Copper Company were the chains for the Clifton suspension bridge (after which Clifton Terrace was named), and the first locomotive for the Hayle-Redruth Railway the Cornubia.

The Cornish Copper Company also produced a few complete ships as well as supplying engines for existing vessels. The Riviere, Penair and Margaret were three iron ships built by the company in the 1860s

The general decline of mining in Cornwall and the death of the founders led to the demise of the Cornish Copper Company or Sandys, Carne & Vivian as it had become. The company was wound up in 1869 and most of its assets bought up by Harvey's. Some of the building were subsequently used by J & F Limited. The company specialised in the production of perforated metal, originally for use as screens in the mining and smelting industries but it also was responsible for Pool's Cornish Hand Wrought Copper. Hayle Copper as it became known was similar to Newlyn Copper but unlike the latter was not totally handmade. Blanks were stamped out by machine and the pieces were then hand finished often by hammering (or planishing). J & F Pool were taken over by midlands based firm Ash and Lacey, but still have a presence in Hayle making perforated fabrications.