See important guidance on the use of this record.

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

Summary

Medieval or Post-Medieval tin streaming on the Cherry Brook at Powder Mills

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1016635: Gunpowder factory at Powder Mills, a partially enclosed stone hut circle settlement and round cairn

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX67NW/248
• Old SAM Ref: 28718

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Pye, A. R. + Robinson, R., 1990, An Archaeological Survey of the Gunpowder Factory at Powdermills Farm, Postbridge, Devon, 40-41, Figure 3, Plate 2. (Report - Survey). SDV254157.

Medieval or Post-Medieval tinstreaming at Powder Mills. Spoilheaps of typically linear form running parallel to the present stream. There is also a linear earthwork running east to west across the valley floor. Its position corresponds with the northern limit of a bog marked on the Ordnance Survey 1:2500 map of 1905, and it may represent a temporary dam associated with tin streaming. The beds of the Cherry Brook and its tributory seem to have been artificially widened to the north and west of this point.

Gerrard, S., 1998, 149208 (Un-published). SDV256723.

Alluvial streamwork adjacent to the Cherry Brook.

English Heritage, 9/10/1981, Gunpowder factory at Powder Mills (Schedule Document). SDV350194.

The gunpowder factory at Powder Mills survives well and contains a complete range of buildings and other structures and features associated with the industry. Many of the buildings remain essentially intact, with only the roofs and machinery having been removed. The system of leats and trackways provides useful additional information concerning the character of the factory. The unique survival of the associated proving mortar emphasises the quality of the surviving archaeology. Together with a comprehensive historical background this represents a fine example of a gunpowder production site. The prehistoric settlement and cairn associated with the Powder Mills are of national importance in their own right and contain information relating to the exploitation of the central part of Dartmoor during the Bronze Age.
The monument, which falls into five areas, includes a gunpowder factory, a partially enclosed stone hut circle settlement and a round cairn situated adjacent to the Cherry Brook. Modern post and wire fences, a shed and piles of sand and other materials associated with a consolidation programme are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6029 - An Archaeological Survey of the Gunpowder Factory at Powdermills Farm

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