Next come the 1851 to 1881 census returns and it is with these that we see the rapid growth in population as the quarries at Foggintor, Swell Tor, Ingra Tor and King Tor opened. Walkhampton granite was used for Nelson's Column, parts of London Bridge, Dartmoor Prison and the Plymouth Breakwater. By 1861 there were 267 inhabitants and over 40 buildings including a shop and later a school. This area is well worth a visit. These mine shafts were sunk to obtain copper.
Records exist detailing accidents and quantities of ore extracted.
It was in 1846 that the Devon Constabulary was founded but a further fifteen years or so passed before Walkhampton got its very own policeman. Samuel Seabright entered his daughter into the local school in 1863. A brief history of law and order in the village appears in the Walkhampton Notes page. With the decline of the quarries and mining the population decreased. For the Parish it was 584 in 1901, having been over 800 some forty years earlier.