| Summary : Dam and reservoir to Greenburn Mine. Field investigations by English Heritage in 2000 found the dam surviving to a height of 6 metres. It comprises a peat and clay core covered with a stone facing and was constructed across the Greenburn Beck at some time between 1847 and 1864. This created a reservoir of about 1.6 hectares which supplied the water wheels at the mine's main processing area, via a system of dams and leats (NY 20 SE 30 and 32). It seems unlikely that the reservoir was used after circa 1885, but some confusion arises from apparent inaccuracies in the depiction of the feature (along with others) on the Ordnance Survey Second Edition 6-inch map, surveyed in 1889. The dam remained intact until the winter of 1979-80, when it burst following a storm. The water level was reduced by about 1.5 metre, but most of the dam survives in good condition and the reservoir remains an extensive body of water. |
More information : Between mid September and late November 2000, English Heritage carried out an analytical field investigation of the surface remains of Greenburn Mine; the survey was requested and partly funded by the landowners, the National Trust (Event record 1335820) (1). The best-preserved building, which comprises an accommodation block, office and workshop (NY 20 SE 9) serves as a parent record for the other components of the complex.
A massive dam up to 6m high, with a peat and clay core covered with a stone facing was constructed across the Greenburn Beck at some point between 1847 and 1864. This created a reservoir of c.1.6ha which supplied the water wheels at the mine's main processing area, via a system of dams and leats (NY 20 SE 30 and 32). It seems unlikely that the reservoir was used after c.1885, but some confusion arises from apparent inaccuracies in the depiction of the feature (along with others) on the Ordnance Survey Second Edition 6-inch map, surveyed in 1889. The dam remained intact until the winter of 1979-80, when it burst following a storm. The water level was reduced by c.1.5m, but most of the dam survives in good condition and the reservoir remains an extensive body of water.
For further information, see the report at Level 3 standard available through the NMR archive, which includes reproductions of 19th-century documents, extracts from the survey at 1:500 scale, photographs and interpretative drawings. (1)
|