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Summary

Approximately 11 hectares of tin streamworking remains follow the sinuous course of Red Lake, an eastern tributary of the River Erme. The remains are spread along both sides of the tributary, between the confluence with the River Erme and Redlake clay pit, forming a working area of over 1.6 kilometres long but only up to 116 metres wide and rising 125 metres over its entire length.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX66NW72
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 1063445
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX66NW/124

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• STREAMWORKS (Constructed, Early Medieval to Early 20th Century - 1066 AD (Between) to 1901 AD (Between))

Full description

National Monument Record, 1969, NMR SX6468, 1 (Aerial Photograph). SDV226078.

Photograph taken on 12th April 1969.

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

Large streamwork on Red Lake extending to SX64666650 and to SX63756631 where it meets another streamwork on the River Erme.

Butler, J., 1993, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Four - The South-East, Map 55 (Monograph). SDV337765.

Streamworking and some tinners huts sketch plotted by Butler.

Royal Commission for the Historical Monuments of England, 1993-1998, Dartmoor Royal Forest Project, S. Probert (Report - Survey). SDV346608.

(10/11/1994) [Part of] Approximately 32ha of streamworking remains flank the left bank of the River Erme and the floodplains of three of its tributaries, Blacklane Brook, Dry Lake and Red Lake. The former workings are marked by the characteristic spoil heaps and water channels enclosed by a sharply cut cliff. In several places, most noticeably on the Blacklane Brook between SX 63066793 and SX 63026720 and at SX 63466655 on Dry Lake, are large bands of parallel linear spoil heaps most of which are revetted through at least half of the worked area appears to have been more randomly exploited or reworked at a later date. The cliffs marking their edges also remain well preserved and range in height from around 1.0m to 3.5m. Several leats (Monument HOB UID 1063683, 1063691 and 1063696) formerly feeding the sides of the streamworkings and openworks that extend up the various valley sides are visible on the surrounding hillsides and unexploited areas of floodplain.
The remains of one (Monument HOB UID 441565), possibly two (Monument HOB UID 1063737) blowing houses, seven identifiable tinners huts (Monument HOB UIDs 441565, 441635, 441638, 1063732, 1063742 and 1063753) and two other structures (Monument HOB UIDs 1063422 and 1063734) are visible within the investigated area of streamworks.
Little deposition or disturbance has occurred since the abandonment of these workings and as a consequence they constitute some of the clearest and best preserved examples of this type of tin extraction on Dartmoor.

Cranstone, D. + Hedley, I., 1995, Monuments Protection Programme: The Tin Industry Step 3 Site Assessments, Devon 45a (Report - non-specific). SDV357946.

dditional reference.

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

Feature shown on survey.

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

Approximately 11 hectares of tin streamworking remains follow the sinuous course of Red Lake, an eastern tributary of the River Erme. The remains are spread along both sides of the tributary, between the confluence with the River Erme and Redlake clay pit, forming a working area of over 1.6 kilometres long but only up to 116 metres wide and rising 125 metres over its entire length between 380 and 445 metres above OD. The limits of the lower western section of the working are defined by a steep escarpment up to 3 metres high in on the northern side. The interior of this lower area contains remains of low, partly turf-covered spoil heaps, pits and silted channels, some of which have been reinforced by low, stone revetments. A ruined tinners’ building survives built into the waste heaps near the lower end of the working (MDV16605). The upper, eastern section of the working has been overwhelmed by peat bog of Red Lake Mire, with very little of the remains visible apart from the edge defined by a slight change in height representing the edge of the bog. The very upper limit of the working was effaced when the Redlake clay pit was excavated in the early 20th century. Although this site has not been fully dated, Dartmoor’s stream tin resources were most commonly exploited in the medieval and/or post-medieval period and an early 17th-century reference to a tinworks called 'Little Redelake' and the 'Riche Redelake' in Lydford/Harford, probably refers to parts of this working (Greeves 1981, 337).

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8082 - Survey of the Upper Erme Valley
• EDV8409 - Dartmoor Royal Forest Project

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