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Summary

Site of the 19th century winder engine house at Devon Great Consols Railway incline

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1021461: Morwellham Quay: transport infrastructure, part of the water control system and a manganese mill

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• ENGINE HOUSE (XIX - 1801 AD to 1900 AD)

Full description

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

'Engine House' with a 'Chimney' 3 metres to the north shown on 19th century map on the west side of Devon Great Consols Railway line. The large building which probably housed the boiler has a small rectangular structure in the south west corner which may represent the 'engine house' part of the complex.

Buck, C., 2005, Wheal Russell Mine, Devon: Archaeological Assessment, 43 (Report - Assessment). SDV336659.

Site of the winder engine house (Site 53) at the northern end of the incline on Devon Great Consols Railway line. The 1867 map shows the engine house 7 metres long by 6 metres wide on the eastern side of the boiler house. The engine house would have supplied power to pull trucks up and apply brakes to trucks on the incline. The survey in 2005 found an overgrown mound 18 metres long by 10 metres wide by 1.5 metres high which would have incorporated the engine house material.

Buck, C., 2009, Project Design for Site Trenching and Archaeological Recording of Former Buildings at the Morwellham Steam Incline Winder, Devon, Appendix; Site 53; Fig 2 (Report - non-specific). SDV366274.

The 1867 maps appear to show that the engine house was located on the eastern side of the boiler house. It would have supplied the power to both apply brakes for trucks going down the incline, and to draw trucks back up.
There is no visual evidence for remnants of the engine house. It is within the same overgrown earth/rubble mound as the boiler house (Site 52). However, there may well be remnants of the lower walls or foundations within the site.

Cornwall Archaeological Unit, 2017, South Cornwall Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey Desk-Based Assessment, 158 (Interpretation). SDV360825.

An engine house, probably associated with the railway linking Devon Great Consols and the port at Morwellham, recorded on the first and second edition 1-25 inch Ordnance Survey maps. A square feature nearby may have been a reservoir for the engine house (GAZ 546).

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4040 - Wheal Russell Mine, Devon: Archaeological Assessment

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