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Summary

Gawton began as a copper mine circa 1852. It was converted to the extraction and manufacture of arsenic in the late 19th century from which the surviving remains date almost entirely. The main features comprise engine and boiler houses, long arsenic flues and chimney, a quay with cooperage, limekilns and refinery, minecaptain's house and nearby store buildings, calciners and spoil heaps. A number of the features here have been recorded as part of the Tamar Valley NMP project.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1002667: Gawton arsenic mine and flue

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX46NE/527
• Old SAM County Ref: 1024

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• MINE (XVIII to XXI - 1751 AD to 2009 AD)

Full description

Dines, H. G., Untitled Source (Unknown). SDV242406.

The mine was worked from four main shafts in two major lodes. Geological details and outputs given.

1842, Tavistock Hamlets (Cartographic). SDV242411.

There is no indication of mining activity from the tithe map.

Williams, J., 1862, Cornwall and Devon Mining Directory (Monograph). SDV242424.

Spargo, T., 1864, Mines of Cornwall and Devon (Monograph). SDV242422.

Ordnance Survey, 1885, Ordnance Survey 6 inch map of 1885 (Cartographic). SDV242408.

The 1885 6 inch Ordnance Survey map shows the mine before the alterations of the 1890s.

Collins, J. H., 1895, Mineralogy of Cornwall and Devon (Monograph). SDV242421.

Ordnance Survey, 1906, Untitled Source (Cartographic). SDV336662.

The 1906 25 inch map shows the buildings of the arsenic works and what are left from the copper mine fairly intact. It is called "disused" at this time.

Collins, J. H., 1912, Observations on the West of England Mining Region (Monograph). SDV323594.

Ramsden, J. V., 1952, Notes on the Mines of Devonshire, 95 (Article in Serial). SDV60737.

Ordnance Survey, 1953, Untitled Source (Cartographic). SDV242410.

The buildings on the 1953 25 inch Ordnance Survey map are much the same but are mostly in ruins.

Barton, D. B., 1964, The Mines and Mineral Railways of East Cornwall and West Devon, 97-98 (Monograph). SDV240068.

The mine was started about 1852, though it had been worked before this, and was worked not very profitably for copper till the 1870s. After this the emphasis turned to arsenic - a refinery was built for this in 1890. The arsenic flue was rebuilt and extended in 1895.

Booker, F., 1967, Industrial Archaeology of the Tamar Valley, 50,141,172 (Monograph). SDV240774.

Gawton was an old copper working restarted in 1846. It produced copper until 1890, and arsenic from 1881 until 1902. Conspicuous remains of flues, processing plant, quay, and dumps. Other details: Plate.

Devon County Council, 1970, Devon County Council, Mines and Quarries (Tips) Act 1969, Register of Disused Tips, Vol. 1 (Report - Survey). SDV356723.

Gawton Mine
Mineral worked: Copper and Arsenic
Tree and shrub coverage at time of survey.
Material would encroach into river as a result of tip movement.

Hamilton Jenkin, Dr. A. K., 1974, Mines of Devon. Volume 1: The Southern Area, 35,52 (Monograph). SDV336694.

Other details: Plates.

Minchinton, W. E., 1976, Industrial Archaeology in Devon, 28 (Monograph). SDV7016.

Gawton arsenic works. Many remains of arsenic plants can be found in the Tamar valley. Arsenic was found in association with copper and when the copper lodes began to decline, arsenic plants were set up at most of the mines. Much of the arsenic was to fight the boll weevil in the cotton fields of the southern states of America. The stack at Gawton mine is prominent and has a pronounced slant. It terminates the long and impressive arsenic flue.

Gaskell-Brown, C., 1980, Untitled Source, 37 (Monograph). SDV242404.

A leat taking its water from the Tavistock canal served Gawton mine in the 19th century. Parts of leat still visible above Newquay (see PRN 19378).

Gaskell-Brown, C., 1984, Untitled Source (Un-published). SDV242407.

Summary of history of mine given, description of the surviving buildings their former use and state of preservation - boiler, jigger house; calciner; furnace; refinery; limekilns; stores, cooperage and magazine. Maps showing these buildings also reproduced [see related PRNs for more detail].

Weddell, P. J., 1984, Untitled Source (Worksheet). SDV242433.

Timms, S., 1985, An Archaeological Assessment of the Remains of the Quay, Mine and Arsenic Works at Gawton, Tavistock Hamlets (Report - Assessment). SDV352213.

An assessment of the extensive remains of the quay, mine and arsenic works at Gawton. Includes a plan of the mine workings after 1895 and details of the method of ore treatment at the plant.

Larcombe, A., 1985, Bulldozers Called Off (Article in Serial). SDV354815.

The arsenic mine at Devon Great Consols has been the subject of controversy since the Sunday Independent labelled it the 'valley of death'. Reports of the threatened demolition alarmed conservationists, but the environmental health department in Tavistock has never heard of any health risk from the many mine workings in the area.
The baffle chamber where the arsenic ore was burned has a coating of arsenic on the inside of its walls and the paper claimed, holds enough to kill an army.
The building, around 40 feet long and six feet wide is crumbling. It was built during the heyday of Devon Great Consols which opened in 1844 and closed in 1903.

English Heritage, 1986, Gawton Arsenic Mine and Flue (Correspondence). SDV346434.

Letter advising that the monument comprising Gawton Arsenic Mine and Flue has been included in the Schedule of Ancient Monuments. Other details: Filed with SAMs.

Cloke, G., 1986, Gawton Our Mining Heritage (Article in Serial). SDV361495.

Article written by son of previous mine leaseholder, depicts his time working in the mines and how they were built/used.
Father and Uncle took the lease in 1910 to extract copper precipitate and other minerals.
Closed in 1929 due to a bad recession.
Besides copper a small amount of tin and wolfram, mundic (raw arsenic) from the rock dumps and a small amount of arsenic from the chambers leading away from the calciners and refiners, where the arsenic precipitated as a crystal when the fumes met cold air. Did not recover all arsenic contained in the walls so that is still there today.
There was also an old ash dump from the calciners, which contained a saleable amount of arsenic and this was sold to the continent. Author saw the last two sailing cargo boats come up to Gawton to ship the material abroad.
There is (or was) a stream coming from an adit which precipitated a pale green poisonous precipitate.
Without doubt it has the best preserved calcining and refining plants and the longest chambers in the country. These took fumes to the leaning chimney near the top of the hill. I should guess the chambers to be 300-400 yards long. Author was told that the chimney was built by two men working back to back building half each. One mason building the south, or leaning side did not use as much mortar as the other and when the chimney finally settled it was leaning.
There is also an engine and pump house above the calciners to pull up the burnt ore to be put on the waste dump and a fine concrete reservoir to hold water pumped from the shaft for use by boilers that supplies the power for the haulage.
There is an oblong of four walls, now roofless which is reputed to be the first building made of concrete and ashes in the country.

Griffith, F. M., 1988, DAP/KM, 6A-12 (Aerial Photograph). SDV242441.

Dixon, T. + Matthews, A. + Pye A. R. + Slater, W. D., 1988, Gawton Mine and Arsenic Works. The Field Survey. 1988 (Report - Survey). SDV222516.

Gawton began as a copper mine some time before 1850. Converted to extraction and manufacture of arsenic in the late 19th century, from which phase the surviving remains date almost entirely. Various small scale operations have been conducted on the dumps since its closure in 1903. Underground workings probably extended about 750m northeast-southwest to a depth of 240m, covering circa 12ha (30 acres). Other details: Survey: Spring/Summer 1998.

Atkinson, 1988, Index of Mines (Unknown). SDV361827.

Gawton Mine 1846-1902. North of Bere Alston.
Produced 21,876 tons of copper; 15,560 tons of arsenic; 3000 tons of mispickel; 1435 tons of pyrites, 22 tons tin.
The tall, leaning chimney stack of Gawton Mine, standing on the edge of the valley north of Great Gawton Farm, is a familiar landmark in the Tamar area. A massively constructed flue, still intact, connects this stack to the remains of the arsenic treatment buildings above the river near Gawton Quay. Three engine houses and an attendant stack lie in the woods halfway up the valley side, with considerable waste tips and tailings with more ruined masonry both here and lower down beside the river bank.

Timms, S. C., 1988, Untitled Source (Report - Interim). SDV242412.

The Gawton complex was scheduled as an ancient monument in 1986. A detailed description on the scheduling document reiterates the above points, with details of machinery. The two Brunton calciners are particularly rare. Site surveyed by Exeter Archaeological Field Unit Spring 1988.

Weddell, P. J. + Pye, A. R., 1989, Gawton Mine and Arsenic Works: The Documentary Research 1988 (Report - non-specific). SDV263249.

Egan, G., 1990, Post-Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1989, 204-5 (Article in Serial). SDV241563.

A quay, limekilns and store buildings existed at Gawton by circa 1770. Two lodes run east-west under the site, the south one also being rich in arsenic ore. Initially copper was extracted from the north lode via three shafts. Power supplied by a 40 foot water-wheel. From the 1860s the south lode was also mined. An engine house and ore crushers were built around the engine shaft, and earlier buildings (captain's house) were adapted to provide accommodation. By 1895 the underground workings covered 30 acres and extended to a depth of 240 metres. By the early 1880s the emphasis had switched to arsenic production. A 2,000 foot flue (the lower of the two surviving) was built leading from a calciner to a chimney on the ridge above the site. A refinery built of concrete manufactured from burnt ore was added in 1890, and an Oxford calciner by 1895. In 1895 the mine was taken over by Devon Great Consols and substantial investment made in plant and buildings. Most of the remains date from this period. A self contained ore processing plant was built, containing engine house, boiler house, stack, 2 crushers, jigger house and buddles. Tramways and inclines connected the works with the quay, engine shaft and calciners. The refinery was expanded with at least three Brunton calciners built by 1897. Mine closed in 1903. Most of the arsenic processing plant remains together with earlier quayside buildings and the 1860s structures around the engine shaft [see related PRNs for more detail]. Other details: EMAFU information.

Greeves, T. A. P., 1991, An Assessment of Copper Mining in Devon (Copper, Brass, Tin), 18.3 (Report - Assessment). SDV60709.

Pye, A. R. + Weddell, P. J., 1992, A Survey of the Gawton Mine and Arsenic Works, Tavistock Hamlets, West Devon, 62-96 (Article in Serial). SDV242439.

Survey of the 18th quay and 19th century copper mine and arsenic works at Gawton, carried out in 1988 by Exeter Museums Archaeological Field Unit. This is a summary of the two previous field surveys.

Richardson, P. H. G., 1992, The Mines of Dartmoor and the Tamar Valley after 1913, 132 (Article in Serial). SDV323598.

Copper precipitating about 1912-26. Dumps sampled 1918-20.

Knott, R., 1993, Untitled Source (Monograph). SDV242440.

Cranstone, D. + Hedley, I., 1995, Monuments Protection Programme: The Arsenic Industry, Step 3 Site Assessments (Report - Survey). SDV241572.

Site Number 2A.
Gawton mine and works (West part) (SX 450 688).
Prime metal: Arsenic.
Description: Extensive and well-preserved late 19th century arsenic mine and works, with some remains of earlier copper mine. West part includes important survival of cooperage, within complex of wooded ruins.
Landscape: Within Tamar mining landscape.
Archaeology: Already surveyed. Considerable stratigraphic survival.
Period: Late 19th century; mainly 1880-1903.
Assessment: The best surviving example of an arsenic mine, ore dressing plant, and calcining/refining works. The cooperage and manager’s house/smithy are very rare survival.
Action: Maintain existing Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Management: Conservation to standing structures.

Site Number 2B.
Gawton mine and works (East part) (SX 453 688)
Prime metal: Arsenic.
Description: Extensive and well-preserved late 19th century arsenic mine and works, with some remains of earlier copper mine. East part includes important 1897 steam-powered ore-dressing works, and calciners/refinery/flue system.
Landscape: Within Tamar mining landscape.
Archaeology: Already surveyed. Considerable stratigraphic survival.
Period: Late 19th century; mainly 1880-1903.
Assessment: The best surviving example of an arsenic mine, ore dressing plant, and calcining/refining works. The steam-powered crushing, jigging and buddling plant with associated dressing waste, and the refinery, are particularly important.
Action: Maintain existing Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Management: Conservation to standing structures.

Cranstone, D. + Hedley, I., 1995, Monuments Protection Programme: The Arsenic Industry: Introduction to Step 3 Site Assessments, 2-5, 12, Site Number 2A and 2B (Report - non-specific). SDV357960.

Site Number 2A.
Gawton mine and works (West part) (SX 450 688).
Major national or international importance.

Site Number 2B.
Gawton mine and works (East part) (SX 453 688).
Major national or international importance.

2A- Bob setting- The term has replaced bob pit, to include examples where the surviving feature is a pillar for the bearing of the balance- or angle-bob, rather than a pit. Building other- No modification. Engine house beam. Shaft- No modification. Smithy- No modification. Structure other- No modification. The examples recorded include limekilns and walled yard at Gawton Mine. Crusher- No modification. Cooperage- No modification.

2B- Boiler house- No modification. Engine house beam. Loading- No modification. Reservoir- Defined as a water pound formed by upstanding walls or banks on all sides (as opposed to the dam, which combines with natural landforms to form the pound. Date range- 19th-20th century. Importance- Low. Buddle, round- No modification. Crushing mill- No modification. Dressing waste- No modification. Jigger house- No modification. The ore-dressing complex at Okel Tor is thought to include a second example, but this has been componented as part of the dressing mill, due to uncertainties of interpretation. Calciner- The term is now confirmed to calciners which cannot be more closely identified, calciners which positively do not fit the normal type-range being componented as calciners other. Calcined waste- No modification. Probably under-identified due to non-distinctive form. Refinery- No modification.

Mills, R. + Murrell, D. + Vandenbossche, P. + Watts, S., 1997, An Archaeological Assessment of the East Side of the River Tamar between Calstock and Gunnislake (Undergraduate Dissertation). SDV242446.

Andrew Brown, 1998, Monuments Protection Programme The Non-Ferrous Metals (Tin, Copper, Arsenic and Minor Metals) Industries: Appendix III, Step 4 Report (Report - non-specific). SDV357940.

DV2A Gawton mine and works (west part)
Late 19th century arsenic mine and ore works, the best surviving example in the country and highly representative of the technology of the period in the Tamar mining region. Associated buildings are especially rare survivors and key parts of the diversity of features of the site.
No problems of practicability anticipated. Unsuitable for adaptation owing to integrity of complex, but potential for re-roofing and low key re-use of some buildings in the context of presentation and interpretation, for which current regime remains appropriate. Stratigraphy vulnerable to ground disturbance. Features associated with quay not assessed but included within constraint area.
DV2B Gawton mine and works (east part)
Late 19th century arsenic mine and ore works, the best surviving example in the country and highly representative of the technology of the period in the Tamar mining region. The steam-powered processing plant and the concrete refinery are of especial note.
Buildings/Machinery
Engine house, crushing mill; calciners, refinery boiler house, jigger house, chimneys, loading, reservoir, Brunton calciner, flues.
Concrete construction of refinery may pose conservation challenge. No scope for adaptation owing to integrity of context, but potential scope for re-roofing and re-use in the context of presentation and interpretation, since the site is considered well suited to public enjoyment and education in the context of the Tamar-edged industries.

Buck, C., 1998, Preliminary Assessment of Sites of Archaelogical Importance in the Tamar Valley, 45,50 (Report - Assessment). SDV241750.

The main features consist of two engine/boiler houses (pumping and crushing), long arsenic flues and chimney, quay remnants with cooperage, limekilns and furnace/refinery, mine captain's house and nearby store houses, remnants of four arsenic calciners and large spoil heaps (likely to be toxic). The site and buildings are affected by dense undergrowth. The long arsenic flues are ruinous in places. Upper sections of buildings collapsing in many instances [see related PRNs for more detail].

Cornwall Archaeological Unit, 2001-2002, Tamar Valley National Mapping Programme Transcriptions and Database Records, RAF/540/226/F10/5307-8; RAF/540/226/F10/5246-7; OS/ 74 158/014 1974 (Interpretation). SDV346287.

A series of structures, including building remains and a chimney stack, and earthworks of a trackway, shaft and soil-heap are visible on aerial photographs. Map object partly based on this source.

Buck, C., 2003, Gawton Mine, Devon, 4-7 (Report - Survey). SDV222530.

Gawton Mine was included in Cornwalls bid for 'World Heritage Site' status and tree removal on the site recommended. Mining began in 1852 with copper, and later tin and arsenic were produced. The mine was worked at varying levels of production until c1930 when small amounts of black tin were recovered from the spoil heaps. Other details: Figs 1-6.

Smith, J. R., 2006, Bere Alston to Tavistock Railway: Archaeological Assessment, 36 (Report - Assessment). SDV336796.

Buck, C., 2006, Gawton Mine, Devon: Archaeological Assessment, v (Report - Assessment). SDV344672.

In the mid to late 19th century the Bedford Consols Mine and Gawton Quay sites were amalgamated, as lodes inclining below and south of Gawton Quay were worked, changing the landscape from that of an ore quay to one of a working copper mine. In later years as its copper lodes were diminishing, its function changed again, from ore production to arsenic refining.

Buck, C., 2006, Gawton Mine, Devon: Impact Assessment Report, v (Report - Assessment). SDV348353.

The Tamar Valley Mining Heritage Project has proposed that a programme of building conservation and public safety works be undertaken to a number of sites within Gawton Quay and Mine. The site has become generally overgrown and the buildings and structures have decayed to varying degrees (roofs have collapsed and numerous walls fallen down), but overall the complex is largely intact. The main impacts upon the mine and quay buildings is to conserve and consolidate the buildings in their present condition. There are a small number of structural remediation works to undertake that may entail removal and rebuilding of masonry, with some failed timber structural components replaced Other details: Figure 4.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2006, Scheduled Monument Consent Letter (Correspondence). SDV324292.

Scheduled monument consent granted, subject to conditions, for proposed works at Gawton Arsenic Mine and Flue, Gulworthy, concerning sampling of stream sediment, soil and spoil material and precipitates.

English Heritage, 2010, Heritage at Risk Register 2010: South West, 112 (Report - non-specific). SDV344777.

Generally unsatisfactory with major localised problems. Principal vulnerability deterioration.

English Heritage, 2011, Gawton Arsenic Mine and Flue (Correspondence). SDV349242.

Application for Scheduled Monument consent. Confirmation that an archaeological evaluation may be lawfully carried out.

English Heritage, 2011, Heritage at Risk Register 2011: South West, 116 (Report - non-specific). SDV355280.

Former copper and arsenic mine and processing complex comprising a full range of buildings from cooperage to engine houses. Structures are at risk from a lack of maintenance. Poor condition. Priority A (Immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric; no solution agreed).

Ordnance Survey, 2011, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV346129.

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2016, Backlog Recording of the Tamar Valley National Mapping Programme Survey (Personal Comment). SDV359374.

A number of the features recorded as part of this survey are depicted on historic maps and have their own individual Child records. Only part of the photo reference is given in the transcription attributes, so the date of the photographs is not known.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV3146 - Unnamed Event
• EDV3159 - RCHME Field Investigation
• EDV3168 - Unnamed Event
• EDV4746 - Archaeological Assessment of Gawton Mine, Devon
• EDV4747 - Field Survey of Gawton Mine

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