Category: Articles
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Metheral Hill Contour Leat
Discovered by myself but jointly investigated with Stephen Holley in late 2024. The leat comes off the Small Brook and would have flowed east to west following the contour for about 770 m. It’s about 1.2 m (4 feet) wide and in places (guessing) the leat bank is 1.2 m wide and about 0.5 m…
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Tin Straws
by Hilary Whitelock A bundle of tin straws was one of the items which fascinated me at the St Just Mining and Minerals Museum, during the excellent DTRG visit to the Botallack area in May. These rather contorted sticks of tin are ca 50 – 55cm long, roughly D-shaped in cross-section and ca 9mm diameter.…
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Walkham Valley Mines
Geology The lodes worked occur in an area of clay-slates of Devonian age. Southwards towards Yelverton, these slates show signs of Metamorphism. Some 600-700 ft north of the workings is a large elvan dyke, which extends westwards to the Hingston Down-Gunnislake granite mass. General Information This article concerns four mines two of which were predominantly…
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Tin Workings around Chagford
CHAGFORD jump to: Greet Week Map Chagford has long been associated with the tin-mining industry of Dartmoor, being one of the three original 1305 Stannary Towns. Chagford served the north east of Dartmoor and as a Stannary Town acted as a centre for the taxing and marketing of tin in this district of Dartmoor. During…
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Westdown and Anderton mines
Westdown Mine West Down is situated north of the River Walkham and attempts to realise paying lodes between Lower Grenofen and the River Tavy were made around the 1840’s and 1850’s. The earliest documentation relating to this area dates to 1847 when some mining was being undertaken on the easterly extension of one of the…
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West Beam Calciner
Photo 1: This photo shows the well constructed opening at the end of the calciner adjoining the cottage which was used for retrieving the burnt ore which would have been raked out from an opening to the left not now intact. Behind the substantial lintel is the separate sump referred to in the text. Above…