The earliest named workings in this area are those of William Cookworthy, who opened pits after seeing locally made fire bricks at Great Work Mine in June 1746. He took leases of china clay and china stone. Josiah Wedgewood and John Turner visited Cornwall in 1775 looking for china clay supplies and found that Cookworthy was still working Tregonning. As the material here did not look very promising they looked elsewhere and eventually opened a pit at St Day.

During the 1830s the china stone leases were granted to Thomas and John Carey of Lane End, Staffordshire, potters who manufactured a special type of stoneware known as 'White Granite Ware' at the Anchor Works at Lane End.

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Because of a slump in the china clay industry the Tregonning workings were abandoned towards the end of the decade, with the Careys leaving in 1839. In 1851, after twelve years of lying idle, the setts were leased to William Browne of St Austell. Browne was in partnership with a Redruth draper called Robert Dunn, and together they opened new works called Leeds, close to Cookworthy's original operations. At the same time the latter setts were leased to William Lobb, also from St Austell.

In 1863 a new pit, Tresowes Moor, was opened by Henry Wheeler Higman, yet another St Austell man, in partnership with John Tresidder of Helston. The sett also included the stone quarry originally worked by the Careys. In 1871 the Leeds sett was relinquished and passed on to William Harvey of Hayle. Five years later Leeds was being worked by William Argall of Breage and John Toy of Helston, the pair having sublet the property from William Harvey.
 

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