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Summary

Also worked under the name 'Morewood', Pepperdon was worked for micaceous haematite in the 20th century. Was worked in conjunction with an adit at Kelly Mine from the late 1940s to around 1950.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX78SE/3

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• Micaceous Haematite Mine (XX - 1931 AD to 1951 AD (Occasionally))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1946 - 1949, Royal Air Force Aerial Photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDV342938.

The site of the mine is visible on the aerial photograph.

Minchinton, W. E., 1973, Industrial Archaeology in Devon, 25 (Monograph). SDV7016.

The Morewood Mine was worked for micaceous haematite from 1931 to 1948. Here several open adit levels and the buildings which contained the dressing machinery can be seen.

Richardson, P. H. G., 1992, The Mines of Dartmoor and the Tamar Valley after 1913, 68 (Article in Serial). SDV323598.

Pepperdown (located in vicinity of SX778850?) Opened for micaceous iron in the early 1940s but ceased operations in 1944. Its exact location is not known to Richardson, but is assumed to be near the Wray Mines at SX771848 and may have been little more than a prospect.
Morewood (SX777837). A recent mine existing because the ore from Wray was unsatisfactory for paint manufacture and in 1931 the management propected in the area to find more suitable lodes; finding these in Moor Wood. Mine said to have been reopened in the 1950s but a visit in 1966 showed it to be abandoned. Mill building on two levels contained only concrete bases for farmer machinery items though some electrical switchgear was still in place, along with the settling pits. In 1974, the building was dismantled and a dwelling was being constructed on the site.

Brooks, T., 2016, Kelly Mine and the 'Shiny Ore' Mines of the Wray Valley, 89-112 (Monograph). SDV359934.

The mines refered to as Wray, Wraybarton, Moorwood and Pepperdon were worked in the 20th century (1920-1938) and have a confused and sometimes contradictory history. Moorwood was worked under the name of Pepperdon, even though Pepperdon Farm is very close to the Wray Mine and some way from Moor Wood. The author refers to the mine in Moor Wood as Pepperdon Mine throughout to clarify matters.
Pepperdon was worked in close association with Wray until 1938 when work ceased and it remained idle until 1941, when a new lease was granted covering the area of Pepperdon and Wray Mines. Work discontinued at the mine in 1944, but was reopened around 1946. A new mill was built (1947/8), equipped with a crusher, a Hardinge ball mill, two shaking tables, settling tanks and a long bed dryer with heating underneath. This major investment may have been rash however, as there was little minable ore and the results were disappointing. The company were looking for sources of ore to supply the mill and took over the Kelly Mine site to rework the dumps and a western extension on the Hawkmoor lode. The ore extracted from the Slade lode was taken by lorry to Kelly Mine for cleaninf, crushing and settling, before being taking the concentrate to the modern plant at Pepperdon for final dressing, drying and bagging.
Work on the Slade adit continued until about 1950 when it came to a dramatic end when they unexpectedly blasted through to a previously unknown area of old workings. Attension was then turned to a lode in the field to the south towards Slade Cross but despite numerous pits being dug, the company failed to find any further workable deposits and this led to the final closure of Kally and Pepperdon Mine and 1951 saw the end of MIO (Micaceous Iron Ore) in the Wray Valley.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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