See important guidance on the use of this record.

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

Summary

Industrial quarry building visible on aerial photographs and recorded on historic map. Part of the 19th century Foggintor Quarry. Ruined remains of the former weighbridge at Foggintor Quarry which apparently was later converted into a dwelling known as Royal Oak Bungalow. The conversion appears to have taken place between 1883 and 1904 as the first edition Ordnance Survey map depicts a tramline approaching the northwest corner, but the second edition map shows an ordinary track along the same course.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Earthwork and structural remains on Walkhampton Common including 19th century Swelltor and Foggintor Quarries, a section of the early 19th century Plymouth and Dartmoor Tramway, later converted to railway, also streamworks along the Yes Tor Brook

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX57SE/112/2
• SHINE Candidate (Yes)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• INDUSTRIAL BUILDING (Built, XVIII to Early 20th Century - 1800 AD (Between) to 1920 AD (Between))
• WEIGHBRIDGE (Built, XVIII to Early 20th Century - 1800 AD (Between) to 1920 AD (Between))

Full description

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

Shown on the late 19th century historic map.

Royal Air Force, 1949, RAF 540/226, 5730 (Aerial Photograph). SDV262351.

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

Two industrial buildings visible on 1949 aerial photograph and recorded on map overlay.

Wakeham, C., 2016, Report on an Audit of Archaeological Features and Structures Relating to Railways and Tramways on Dartmoor Phase 1, DR+T_FQ_019 (Report - Assessment). SDV360397.

Ruined building at SX 56551 73531. Ruined remains of the former weighbridge at Foggintor Quarry. Kath Brewer (n.d., page 76) states it was converted into a dwelling known as Royal Oak Bungalow. The conversion appears to have taken place between 1883 and 1904 as the first edition Ordnance Survey map depicts a tramline approaching the northwest corner, but the second edition map shows an ordinary track along the same course. The ruins that occupy the site today are 10.2m (NNE-SSW) by 7.1m externally. Walls were generally c.0.5m thick and of granite rubble bonded with a creamy white lime mortar. The exterior was coated in a black cement render. The northeast corner still stands to a maximum height of c.2m (where holes for drainpipe brackets are still visible in the render). The 0.89m wide front doorway is south of the midway point along the ESE-facing wall. The OS map indicates there was a lean-to, or similar construction, to the south of the doorway by 1904. The 2.72m (NNE-SSW) by 2.58m lean-to at the back (now reduced to its barest footings) also appears on the second edition map. There are traces of a window along the back wall (just north of the midway point). The southernmost end wall has traces of a 0.16m ledge at either end of its interior face and there appears to be a break in the walling, 1.35m (externally) from the southwest corner. The northernmost end wall has a 2.15m complete gap in its masonry, 0.85m from the northwest corner. These irregularities may reflect the position of a through route when the building was in use as a weighbridge. A 11.7cm diameter metal pipe, inserted through the northernmost wall nearer the northeast corner, was possibly inserted when the building was converted.
The building is very ruinous. Its interior is largely grassed-over and there is debris about the edges of the interior. The relatively small amount of debris suggests the ruin was quarried for material for use elsewhere. Some of the remaining masonry and render looks vulnerable to collapse, particularly at the northeast corner.

Ordnance Survey, 2018, MasterMap 2018 (Cartographic). SDV360652.

Remains depicted on the modern mapping.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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