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Summary

Silver mining may have taken place at Blaxton Wood. Designed landscape features were added in the post-medieval to modern period, for recreational purposes.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• SILVER MINE? (Medieval - 1066 AD (Between) to 1539 AD (Between))
• MANAGED WOODLAND (XVIII to XIX - 1701 AD? (Between) to 1900 AD? (Between))
• RIDE (XVIII - 1789 AD (Between) to 1789 AD (Between))

Full description

The Gentlemen's Magazine, 1789, Diary of Their Majesties' journey to Weymouth and Plymouth, 1144 (Article in Serial). SDV365966.

Several new roads were cut through [Tamerton] woods, for the accommodation of the Royal Visitors.

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

Footpaths are depicted. Quarried cuttings may be depicted on the upper path.

Smart, C., 2021, Silver Mining at Blaxton Wood, Bickleigh, South Hams, p103-104 (Correspondence). SDV364629.

During the medieval period the Crown were given the right to use certain sites for silver mining and may have included Blaxton Wood. An extract from the book, Mining in a Medieval Landscape- The Royal Silver Mines of the Tamar Valley' (p103-104) names Blakstone as one of the sites which could relate to Blaxton. Please see below extract from the book.
The Cistercian monastery at Buckland would have no doubt had a strict regime of management employed at their woods of ‘Biccombe’, ‘Blakstone’ (Blaxton) (Figure 5.1), and Buckland before the Crown was given the rights to these for use in the mines. Similarly, the Crown’s own woodland in Calstock would probably have already been managed prior to 1301 when it was granted to the mines. It is inconceivable that the Crown would allow its managed woods to be over-exploited, and King Edward I’s attitude to the value of woodland suggests that if there was insufficient that could be cropped without long-term disruption or damage, then woodland products would be purchased from elsewhere or the rights to other woodland leased. Neither could the Crown countenance the unreasonable wastage of woodland by the keepers of the mines. After the departure of the Frescobaldi in 1300, the complaints of the Abbot of Buckland that at least 300 acres of woodland had been devastated by the mine, with the allegation that half of the damage had been done during the Frescobaldi’s tenure, were upheld by a local jury and the Crown pledged that it would not happen again. The attitude of management under the Frescobaldi would appear to have been much as it was to ore production, achieving a quick return without regard for future production and ran counter to the general evidence for long term woodland management.

Smart, H., 2022, Images of quarried rock, Blaxton Wood, Bickleigh, South Hams (Ground Photograph). SDV364903.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV325644	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1904 - 1906. Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital).
SDV364629	Correspondence: Smart, C.. 2021. Silver Mining at Blaxton Wood, Bickleigh, South Hams. Not Applicable. p103-104.
SDV364903	Ground Photograph: Smart, H.. 2022. Images of quarried rock, Blaxton Wood, Bickleigh, South Hams. Email.
	Linked images:3
SDV365966	Article in Serial: The Gentlemen's Magazine. 1789. Diary of Their Majesties' journey to Weymouth and Plymouth. The Gentlemen's Magazine. 66. Digital. 1144.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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