See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

Site of the earliest and shortest lived smelting house in Devon. It is recorded as having smelted tin twice in 1786 but out of use by 1791. Known locally as 'The Barracks'.
Site of a tenement including a dwelling and outbuildings depicted on the Tithe Map but not shown on the later 1880s historic map. Thought to have been the structures built in the 1780s accompanying the short-lived smelting house at this location.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX67NW27
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 442584
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX67NW/24/1

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• SMELTERY (Built, XVIII - 1701 AD (Between) to 1800 AD (Between))
• HOUSE (Constructed, XVIII to XIX - 1780 AD (Between) to 1880 AD (Between))

Full description

Devon County Council, 1838-1848, Tithe Mosaic, approximately 1838-1848 (Cartographic). SDV349431.

A pair of buildings are depicted on the Tithe Map at this location. Coloured red, they appear to have been dwellings. The Apportionment describes a 'tenement ajoining Post Bridge', comprising a dwelling house, outhouses, court and gardens (837).

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

Site of Blowing House marked.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1979, SX67NW27 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV265789.

(21/11/1979) (SX 64807879) Blowing House (NR) (Site of) (NAT)
"Ruined buildings, known as The Barracks one of which can be identified as a pig-sty, but none as a blowing-house". A much disturbed site. Two identical mould stones, capable of yielding 487 lb ingots of tin, were found here (No mention of a leat by Worth but "Old Leat" is marked on OS 6" running towards this site).
In a pasture field a slightly disturbed are, 6.0m by 8.0m is all that is visible, with the exception of a single mould stone. If there was a building here it has been removed or infilled. A well kept leat 25m to the S can be traced to the river but no branch or former course can be traced to the site.

Cocks, J. S. + Greeves, T. + Lady Sayer, 1983, A Dartmoor Century 1883-1983, 26 (Monograph). SDV351365.

Royal Commission for the Historical Monuments of England, 1993-1998, Dartmoor Royal Forest Project, P. Newman (Report - Survey). SDV346608.

(22/11/1993) SX 64807880 A thin mould stone is all that remains on the site of the smelting house known as the "Barracks". A photograph dated 1889 (DPA 1983) shows a ruined building at the site but it cannot be positively identified as a blowing house. Any remains of a structure have now been totally effaced.
A tin mould made from a single piece of granite lies partially buried at SX 64807880. It has a rectangular mould indentation of 0.55m by 0.33m by 0.18m deep.

Greeves, T. A. P., 1996, Tin Smelting in Devon in the 18th & 19th Centuries, 84-90 (Article in Serial). SDV240078.

The earliest and shortest lived smelting house in Devon was located a short distance to the south of the clapper bridge on the west bank of the East Dart River. It was constructed by William Warren for the Dartmoor Mining and Smelting Company which was involved at Vitifer mine 2.5 miles to the northeast. It is described as a 'tin smelting house' and as a 'blowing house' suggesting it had both a blast and a reverberating furnace. It is recorded as having smelted tin twice in 1786 and being out of use by 1791. It was known locally as 'The Barracks'. In the late 1790's John Swete described 'a smelting house and other necessary building' contiguous with the front shell of a large house with a tenement for labourers behind. The site has suffered from quarrying and other activity and no certain parts of the smelting complex can be identified. Two identical granite mouldstones, one of which survives, were recorded by Burnard and Worth.

Swete, J. (ed. Gray T. + Rowe, M.), 2000, Travels in Georgian Devon. The Illustrated Journals of the Reverend John Swete. Vol. 4, 41 (Monograph). SDV339713.

Description of buildings provided; the 'front shell of a large house', which had been built around 1783-5 by a Mr Warren, who was Conductor of the mines in the neighbourhood. Contiguous to this the smelting house and other necessary buildings had been raised. (Visited 11.11.1797)

Greeves, T. A. P. + Stanbrook, E., 2004, The Clapper Bridge, Postbridge (Leaflet). SDV355878.

Includes a reproduction of the earliest photograph of the clapper bridge dated c. 1870 showing the bridge and the 'cottage (now vanished) known as 'The Barracks' in the background' (photo: William Spreat - Greeves collection).

Lane, K. + Horsham, R., July 1998, DTRG AGM Postbridge Excursion, 2-4 (Article in Serial). SDV214902.

The site has suffered from quarrying and other activities that have removed or covered the evidence of smelting although a possible leat and wheel pit can still be seen.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7431 - Woodland Survey (1989-90) at Bellever, Soussons and other woodland parcels
• EDV8487 - Excavation at blowing house near Postbridge, The Barracks
• EDV8409 - Dartmoor Royal Forest Project

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.