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Summary

There are waste heaps spread over a wide area near confluence of Dry Lake and Left Lake with the River Erme.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Earthwork remains of the early 20th century China Clay works at Redlake Mine and the associated railway, as well as prehistoric remains on Ugborough Moor

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX66SW/13/1
• SHINE Candidate (Yes)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• STREAMWORKS (Early Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1750 AD? (Between))

Full description

National Monuments Record, 1969, NMR SX6463, 3 (Aerial Photograph). SDV165976.

Hankin, C. F., 1977-1979, Harford Parish Checklist, 1978? (Worksheet). SDV149931.

Dry Lake and Left Lake, Erme Valley. Waste heaps spread over a wide area near confluence of Dry Lake and Left Lake with the River Erme. The waste heaps contain large stones and remain mostly bare of vegetation. Two wall-like structures stand amongst the heaps; also there is a deep pit, now grassy, approximately 2.5 metres deep and about the same diameter. Downstream, south, there is a tinners' gully, running north-south along the river bank. Period of workings is not known.

Hankin, C. F., 1980, An Archaeological Check-List for Harford (Un-published). SDV361875.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1985, Aerial Photograph Project (Dartmoor) - Dartmoor Pre-NMP (Cartographic). SDV319854.

Streamworks are visible on 1969 National Monuments Record aerial photograph.

GetMapping, 2010, GetMapping 2010 aerial photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDV351585.

Area of streamworks visible on the 2010 aerial photographs.

Newman, P., 2018, Erme Valley Survey data (GIS and Excel spreadsheet) (Cartographic). SDV361913.

Newman, P., 2018, The Upper Erme Valley, Dartmoor National Park, Devon: An Archaeological Survey, Appendix 1 (Report - Survey). SDV362921.

Patchy tin streamworks follow the course of both Lower Dry Lake and Left Lake. They converge into a larger area of workings where the two tributaries meet the eastern bank of the River Erme. Both tributaries run through natural, narrow canyons, which remain mostly untouched by the tinners, though evidence in the form of disturbed ground is visible higher up the slope. Near the Erme the tinwork is 3-4 metres deep, with a well-defined perimeter scarp, and covers an area of 0.4 hectares. The interior working area contains remains of low, partly turf-covered spoil heaps, pits and silted channels, some of which have been reinforced by low revetments. This tinwork has not been fully dated but, where available, documentation for tinworks of this type elsewhere on Dartmoor, would suggest a likely operational date between the 12th and 17th centuries.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8082 - Survey of the Upper Erme Valley

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