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Summary

One of two reck houses to the south of Stamping Mill number 7 at the 19th century Wheal Katherine Tin Mine

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1021056: Wheal Katherine, 235m west of Plym Ford, forming an outlying part of Eylesbarrow Tin Mine
• SHINE: Earthwork remains of tin streaming and trial pits at Wheal Katherine Mine

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX66NW/213/10
• Old SAM Ref: 34468
• SHINE Candidate (Yes)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• METAL WORKING SITE (XVIII to XIX - 1750 AD to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

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

Building shown on 19th century map.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 157299 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

Site visited on 15th may 2002. Reck house 330 metres west-south-west of Plym Ford, forming part of Wheal Katherine Tin Mine. A 3 metre long by 2.5 metre wide building denoted by a 1.1 metre wide drystone wall standing up to 1 metre high. Eastern part of the building has a revetted chamber measuring 1 metre wide by 0.4 metres deep. Loose rubble lying within the chamber. Grass, bilberry, rushes and heather.

Newman , P., 1999, Eylesbarrow (Ailsborough) Tin Mine, 32, Figures 4, 14 and 15 (Report - Survey). SDV352201.

The 'reck' or 'rack' house was where fine residual tin trapped in the tailings underwent a further refining process. The apparatus consisted of single or paired boards onto which the tailings were placed and over which a gentle flow of water was introduced. The concentrate would build up and then it was removed either by tipping the board or washing it into a separate launder by a more powerful stream. The north eastern of two reck houses to the south of Stamping Mill number 7 at Wheal Katherine Tin Mine is situated to the east of the dressing floor.

Newman, P., 1999, Eylesbarrow (Ailsborough) Tin Mine, Figure 14 (Article in Serial). SDV231130.

GeoInformation Group Ltd, 2010, 1:625 2010 Colour (12.5cm resolution) (Aerial Photograph). SDV346026.

Feature visible on aerial photograph.

English Heritage, 2014, National Heritage List for England, 1021056 (National Heritage List for England). SDV355683.

A number of different types of earthworks and structures relating to tin extraction and processing survive within Wheal Katherine Tin Mine. The final form of mining is represented by five particularly large pits called shafts and an adit. These features probably belong to the 19th century extraction phase. Ore extracted from these shafts and adits would have been processed in the stamping mill and associated dressing floors. The stamping machinery would have sat next to the large stone faced wheelpit and the dressing floor survives as a series of linear and rectangular hollows in the area south of the stamps. Two reck houses in which the tin was further refined survive towards the southern edge of the dressing floor. The final product from this processing area would have been black tin which would have then been transported elsewhere for smelting.

National Monument Record, 2014, Pastscape, 1063881 (Website). SDV355682.

Remains of a tin processing works at Wheal Katherine which formed part of Eylesbarrow tin mine set and was operational until 1856. An archaeological field survey in 1994 located structures including a stamping mill, dressing floors and buddles.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6239 - Eylesbarrow (Ailsborough) Tin Mine

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