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Summary

Segmented earthwork ditches and mounds, visible on aerial photographs taken from 1946 onwards and on visualisations derived from lidar data captured between 1998 and 2017, form one of a number of similar opencuts for tin working on Roborough Down. These had probably been disused for some time before the end of the 19th century. Golf course landscaping may have impacted on the earthworks.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Earthwork and structural remains of the World War II RAF Harrowbeer airfield, as well as medieval fields and farms, industrial tin working, sections of the Devonport and Plymouth Leats, and part of the Plymouth and Dartmoor Tramway on Roborough Down

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56NW/94/1
• SHINE Candidate (Yes)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• OPEN CUT (Early Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1750 AD)

Full description

Untitled Source (Aerial Photograph). SDV267246.

Aph=raf/106g uk 1190/3200-3205(27/2/1946).

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV267247.

Des=worksheet(griffiths 1986). Vis=30/4/1986 (griffiths) tinworking along e-w alignment from sx51406605 to sx51826600 - gullies and shafts. Presumably either the work of yeoland consols or south yeoland (sx514-660-), which were working during the second half of the c19 (griffiths).

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/106G/UK/1190, RAF/106G/UK/1190 RS 4198-4199 27-FEB-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363067.

Irregular earthwork ditches are visible.

Burt, R. + Waite, P. + Burnley, R., 1984, Devon and Somerset Mines, 118 (Article in Serial). SDV347761.

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

Openwork, with trial pits, visible on RAF 1946 aerial image at SX 5160 6600 and recorded in project.

Environment Agency, 1998-2017, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) EA: South Devon Coast to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX5167 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 31-MAY-2017 (Cartographic). SDV361470.

Irregular earthwork ditches and banks are visible.

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2019-2021, The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (AI&M, formerly NMP) (Interpretation). SDV362982.

A linear series of irregular earthwork pits, very approximately 20 metres in maximum visible width, is visible as segmented earthworks on aerial photographs taken from 1946 onwards and on visualisations derived from lidar data captured between 1998 and 2017. One linear ditch part appears to have slight banks on either side. They have been suggested to be part of Yeoland Consols or South Yeoland later 19th century tin mines, although the earthworks are not depicted on the available historic mapping, suggesting that they had been disused for some time before the end of the 19th century. They are one of a number of similar opencuts for tin working on Roborough Down probably dating to the late medieval or post-medieval period. A number of bunkers, fairways and greens relating to Roborough Golf Course are visible on the aerial imagery from the 1940s, and landscaping undertaken for the golf course may have impacted on the earthworks.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8098 - The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping (formerly NMP) Survey, Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (Ref: ACD2040)

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