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Summary

Three areas of quarrying at Western Beacon; used to extract granite for use in the construction industry. Used in the building of the Ivybridge and Cornwood viaducts. Depicted on the late 19th century historic maps and mentioned by William Crossing.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Earthwork remains of late 19th century or earlier stone quarries at Western Beacon, Ugborough Moor

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX65NE/185
• SHINE Candidate (Yes)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• QUARRY (XVIII to XIX - 1751 AD to 1880 AD)

Full description

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

'Quarries' depicted on the late 19th century historic map.

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

Unchanged from the late 19th century historic map depiction.

National Monuments Record, 1969, SX6557, 2/7-9 (Aerial Photograph). SDV165212.

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

Western Beacon, stone quarry, disused. Cut into the south side of hill with ruins of three stone and concrete buildings, with some brickwork showing. One building is circular, two are rectangular; they probably belonged to the quarry workings. Judging by the nature of these buildings, the quarrying described by Crossing which despoiled the local cairns was of an earlier age. Three quarries of less than 0.1 hectare.
A) SX65415749: surrounded by associated spoil heaps at SX65405744, SX65435746, SX65445749 and SX65445750.
B) SX65425743.
C) SX65415756 with associated spoil heaps at SX65435757, SX65455757, SX65465757 and SX65395758.
Visible on the 1969 National Monuments Record aerial photograph.

Crossing, W., 1992, Crossing's Dartmoor Worker, 75-6 (Monograph). SDV351364.

Crossing mentions that a considerable quantity of granite was quarried from the slope below Western Beacon several years ago, when the new viaducts at Ivybridge and Cornwood were being built.

Ordnance Survey, 2017, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV359962.

Modern map shows the area of 'Workings (disused)'.

Riley, H., 2021, UG21 heritage asset database and gazetteer of sites (Report - Survey). SDV364699.

Visited on 8th January 2021, surveyed and photographed. Granite quarry Western Beacon: 2 large quarry pits, 35 metres by 15 metres and 27 metres by 15 metres, up to 4 metres deep with three spoil heaps. They supplied stone for the railway in the Ivybridge area in the 1840s.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8770 - Archaeological Survey: Ugborough Premier Archaeological Lanscape, Harford and Ugborough

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