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Summary

Holne Chase 19th century tin mine including openwork, shaft and adit which may also have been exploited at an earlier date. The stamping mill, dressing floors and other features are located on the south side of the River Dart to the south-west. A tramline and incline joined the two sites

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Holne Chase 19thC tin mine which may have been worked earlier, including openwork, shaft, adit, stamping mill, tramway and dressing floors

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX77SW68
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 1441640
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 1470026
• National Record of the Historic Environment: SX77SW63
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX77SW/36
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX77SW/71

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• OPEN CUT (Constructed, Early Medieval to XVII - 1066 AD (Between) to 1700 AD (Between))
• TIN MINE (Constructed, Early Medieval to XIX - 1066 AD (Between) to 1880 AD (Between))
• ADIT (Constructed, Post Medieval to XIX - 1540 AD (Between) to 1880 AD (Between))
• DRESSING FLOOR (Constructed, XIX - 1870 AD (Between) to 1879 AD (Between))
• MINE SHAFT (Constructed, XIX - 1870 AD (Between) to 1880 AD (Between))

Full description

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

Long narrow earthwork shown on 19th century map with a 'Shaft' to the north-west. 'Holne Chase Tin Mine (Disused)' shown on 19th century map at the site on the south side of the River Dart with many round and rectangular features. Map object partly based on this source.

Ramsden, J. V., 1952, Notes on the Mines of Devonshire, 96, Figure 1 (Article in Serial). SDV60737.

Dines, H. G., 1956, The Metalliferous Mining Region of South West England, 737 (Monograph). SDV62852.

Harris, H., 1968, Industrial Archaeology of Dartmoor, 196 (Monograph). SDV149229.

Mine 'H19' Holne Chase, tin. There is little to see; it produced small quantities of tin in the 1870's. The site, near the summit of the hill in Holne Chase, is overgrown.

Greeves, T., 1981, Holne Chase Tin Mine (Worksheet). SDV164361.

Site visited on 11th March 1981. The dressing floor of Holne Chase Tin Mine, on south bank of River Dart. Overgrown, and trampled by animals: identifiable features include a rectangular reservoir, a large leat, wheelpit and tail race, three round buddles, a large round buddle with central boss, three rectangular settling pits with four more near the river. Plan on worksheet. Probably 19th century.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1985, Aerial Photograph Project (Dartmoor) - Dartmoor Pre-NMP (Cartographic). SDV319854.

Not visible due to tree cover on aerial photos.

Greeves, T. A. P., 1990, An Assessment of Dartmoor Tinworking (Report - Assessment). SDV343684.

Openwork important for being situated in a highly mineralised area containing copper, iron and tin, and where there is inferential evidence for possible Prehistoric exploitation.

Newman, P., 2006, Holne Chase Tin Mine, Holne, Devon: An Archaeological Survey, 6-10, Figures 2, 4& 5 (Report - Survey). SDV359868.

(30/03/2006) Holne Chase 19th century tin mine which was possibly exploited at an earlier date. The earthwork and structural remains of Holne Chase Tin Mine, a poorly-documented mine which operated for a short period in the 1870s. The remains include extractive evidence as well as extensive well-preserved dressing floors and a remarkable tramway and incline extending for 950m between the two. The remains also indicate that the mine was scarcely worked to any depth, produced little ore and was probably worked for a short period of only three or four years, though earlier phases are likely. Evidence of extractive activity is located a few metres south-east of the summit of Holne Chase at SX 72317144. This lies between the 170 and 180m contour, and comprises an openwork, shaft and adit. An open rock-cut gunnis, with steep sides and following a strike of approximately 35°, certainly represents the first extractive activity. To exploit the deeper sections of lode an attempt at underground working is evident by a shaft which was sunk close to the western edge of the openwork at SX 72337148. A thin curtain of rock separates the shaft from the deepest point of the earlier working and near the floor of the openwork the shaft has broken through, leaving an overhang. Rubbish dumped into the shaft is now spilling out into the base of the openwork. Hoisting in the main shaft was powered by means of a horse whim, located 6m to the northwest. The whim survives as an 8.3m diameter level earthwork platform, which cuts into the slope on the north side. A mellior stone, with its socket exposed, is sited approximately in the centre. Once raised, waste material was barrowed via a gully on the east side of the openwork and dumped onto a moderate linear heap. An adit portal is sited below the track, 90m south-west of the shaft and was clearly driven to connect with it. The adit is open and clear for its full length of approximately 16m, although rubbish has been dumped in the entrance. A small spoil heap representing material removed from the adit has been dumped at the end of a linear gully. This extends south west from the adit for 36m and is up to 5m wide and 2.5m deep. Near the heap the gully is much shallower and turns gently west-south-west where it forms the start of a tramway installed to transport material directly from the adit level to the dressing floors, 965m to the south west.
See also separate reports for tramway (Monument HOB UID 1470022); dressing floor (Monument HOB UID 1470026):
The stamping mill and dressing floor are located on a level area on the south side of the River Dart. The dressing plant covered approximately 1 hectare and contained a wheelpit, six round buddles, eleven rectangular pits, a large pond and a ruined building.
The dressing floor at Holne Chase Mine is sited adjacent to the south side of the River Dart, 280m north east of New Bridge on a level area that appears to be subject to occasional flooding. The dressing plant covers an area of approximately 1ha and containing a wheelpit, six round buddles, eleven rectangular pits, a large pond and a ruined building. The wheelpit is of a sunken construction, approximately 4m deep and 4.2m wide, although it is probable that the wheel only occupied part of this width. The structure is 4.5m long on the west side but only 4m on the east where a back return wall reduces the length slightly. Judging by the height of the leat which is at maximum 6m above the current base of the wheelpit (allowing for silting), if overshot, the maximum diameter of the wheel would have been just under 6m (19.5 ft). This would have protruded just beyond the end of the structure and the axle would have been lower than the top of the wall. However, a breast-shot arrangement could have been used in which case the wheel would have been larger, possibly 8m diameter, and extending beyond the end of the stone structure. This arrangement would have placed the wheel in a better position to power a set of stamps on the narrow terrace on the north side of the wheelpit, but this is a large diameter for such a modest stamp mill. This stamping area consists of a slightly lowered, approximately levelled area with traces of a revetment along one of its scarped edges and was too small too have accommodated more than four or six heads of stamps. There is a massive tailrace consisting of a straight 6.8m wide linear gully, currently up to 2m deep in places, but heavily silted and permanently wet. The tailrace extends from the wheelpit down to the River Dart, a distance of 65m. Four round buddles survive with masonry linings still in place; a further three are visible as earthworks. The remains of one other marked on the OS 25-inch 1st edition map of 1886 may have survived but is not currently visible due to dense brambles. The largest of the buddles has a diameter of 6.55m, is approximately 0.3m deep, and has an intact masonry lining around its circumference. There is an outflow opening of 0.7m wide on the south side, which directed waste water into the tailings pit set just below. A slight mound in the centre of the buddle is probably the remains of the central dome. Three smaller round buddles are located a few metres to the south west on the slightly raised area described above. They all appear to have intact linings, but are heavily disguised by silt and woodland debris, and are all of approximately 3.25m diameter. Of the other three examples which survive as shallow circular earthworks, their approximate diameters are between 4.5m and 5.5m, but only one has any masonry present. There are three groups of rectangular pits. On the western side of the site is a pair of closely spaced pits aligned east-west, with vestiges of a masonry lining on the interiors. The dimensions are 10.7m by 3.3 ¿ 3.5m wide and very approximately 0.4m deep. The spoil that was removed when the pits were created has been dumped around their edges. A second group is near the river bank and oriented north-south. The three pits are spaced about 1.4m apart, all lined with masonry and very regular in shape. They are all between 7m and 8.5m long by between 3.5 and 4m wide. The average depth is 0.2m. A channel runs along the south side of all three pits, which probably diverted water from them into the tailings pit. This association with the tailings pit offers some support for the idea that these three were more likely to have been part of the ore dressing process. They are also rather shallow to have served as fish-rearing ponds. The third group is located on the east side of the tail race and oriented NW-SE. Three rectangular pits are visible, two of which lie end to end, and a forth feature, which could be an incomplete example. These pits exist as earthwork hollows with sloping sides and no linings. They are between 9.4m and 10m by 5m and 5.5m wide, with a depth between 0.6 and 0.9m. It is worth noting that these three pits are separated from the main dressing floors and the stamps by the tail race and it is difficult to see where in the normal flow of the tin dressing process they could have fitted. Another large pond, which survives as a dry and silted earthwork, is located on the south side of the leat higher up the slope. The earthwork was cut into the hillside and the upcast excavated from it was formed into a retaining bank on the lower side. The resulting approximately rectangular hollow is 22m by 13m but survives to less than 1m deep being heavily silted. The pond was created to collect water from the small spring which issues 15m above beside the path. On the north-western quarter of the site is the tumbled remains of a wall, 7.8m long and 0.8m thick (p). On its eastern side a small L shape wall survives attached but it appears unlikely that either wall was part of a building. Unfortunately the structure is too badly collapsed to interpret its function. On the north-western tip of the wall a low, slightly curving, earthwork bank with a spread of up to 3m, extends for 22m to the west. This has created a shallow pond behind the bank, which fills with water in the winter and may have been deliberately constructed to do so. Water was provided to the dressing floors via a substantial leat, which was dug in 1874, and diverted the water 540m from a point on the River Dart at SX 7108 7059, upstream of New Bridge, just below Salter's Pool. At this point the channel was cut through the solid rock of the river bank to establish the correct level for the weir outlet. A stone-built sluice survives a few metres downstream, bridging the deep channel of the leat, and would have been used to control the flow of water from the sometimes volatile River Dart. The leat passed beneath the road just east of the bridge though its course has been covered by tarmac since it fell into disuse. Although now heavily silted, the leat channel in the proximity of the dressing floors is up to 3m wide and probably passed below the tramway via a conduit thence onto a raised wooden launder to supply the wheel. The leat continues beyond the wheelpit at a much lower level, running back into the River Dart at SX 7152 7105.
Mine surveyed at 1:500 scale and discussed in detail.

Ordnance Survey, 2016, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV359352.

Mine workings shown on modern mapping. Map object partly based on this source.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7123 - Holne Chase Tin Mine, Holne, Devon: An Archaeological Survey (Ref: 50/2006)
• EDV8574 - Hidden Dartmoor: Peripheral Mine (Phase 1 Pilot)

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