ICLOK
  • ICLOK
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17 years ago
In Aug 99 I got permission to explore the Gawton Site. I went down the lane at the side of the farm and did up and to my right with the famous bent chimney, engine houses and tailings.
Re- tracing my steps I ended up in the woods on the edge of the set bordering Rumleigh Brick Works. I passed two stone structure I took to be Kilns (see picture) and ended up hacking my thru dense undergrowth to be rewarded with two interesting features hidden right on the edge of the Sett. I also passed a stream stained with the Blue of copper.

First feature was the base of an engine house(s) (poss 2 - whim and pump) next to a collapsed shaft with remains of the shear legs still embedded in sides, the bottom of one leg was painted white.
The second feature was a rough badly laid tarred floor obut with mounds of overgrown seemingly burnt copper ore or pyrites. There were traces of plant in the undergrowth.

It was hammering down by this point and i didn't dare get out the camera and all was overgrown such that any picture would have been naff anyway.

Has any one got any old pics of the mine or even better a plan, has anyone surveyed it or recently visited???
[img]http://www.aditnow.co.uk/showimage?f=/community/Personal-Album-856-Image-009/[/img]


Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh Creeper!!!!!
ferret
  • ferret
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  • Newbie
17 years ago
i know Gawton very well and have been there often both on surface and underground, as to plans there is a very good survey that was conducted in 1988 showing a ground plan elevations of the remaining buildings ( i will scan and upload a copy when the site has finished server hopping) i also have some photos i will add of the mine then.
any more info you want fire away 😉
ICLOK
  • ICLOK
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  • Newbie Topic Starter
17 years ago
Fantastic.... its always been a bit of a mystery site to me....

When I there in the late 90's way up on the spoil heaps the rain water had formed two open caves (big!) and some old tramp was in one just passing thru, he wasn't nasty or off and kept going on about what an amazing view from his front window he had.... I had a cup of tea with him.... it was very welcome given the climb.
I went back 4 weeks later for a look at the engine house up there again-no cave and no tramp! The whole part of that spoil heap had run right down to the river. HMMM I wonder???

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh Creeper!!!!!
ferret
  • ferret
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17 years ago
as promised here are some more pics of the site (these are from 2005):
1895 engine and crusher house
🔗Gawton-Copper-Mine-User-Album-Image-009[linkphoto]Gawton-Copper-Mine-User-Album-Image-009[/linkphoto][/link]
inside the same engine house...
🔗Gawton-Copper-Mine-User-Album-Image-008[linkphoto]Gawton-Copper-Mine-User-Album-Image-008[/linkphoto][/link]
🅱the aforementioned copper stained stream

🔗Gawton-Copper-Mine-User-Album-Image-007[linkphoto]Gawton-Copper-Mine-User-Album-Image-007[/linkphoto][/link]
🅱and an overview of the spoil heaps from upriver

🔗Gawton-Copper-Mine-User-Album-Image-006[linkphoto]Gawton-Copper-Mine-User-Album-Image-006[/linkphoto][/link]

MineAddict
14 years ago
Hi Guys
I've just come back from a short trip to the Tamar Valley and took pics in Gawton Mine today, it was very leafy !! I took what Ian thought to be lime kilns to be a labyrinth perhaps. I would be very interested to see the survey so that I can put identities to some of the buildings before they all merge into one confusing haze ! I can send pics too 🙂
Cheers
Michelle
MineAddict
14 years ago
I'd love to know what the big tank-like building is about 100m along the path from the crusher/engine house complex. Is it a big bath for dirty miners, or maybe a water reservoir ? I tried pasting the picture in here, but couldn't work it out !!

Cheers
M

coachman
14 years ago
Hi Michelle.
I was at the Gawton site mid 2009 and again in September last year. Sometime inbetween my two visits someone has spray-paint marked certain in-the-way trees. Why, I have no idea. I wondered if it was something to do with English Heritage.
Anyway, your query re the sunken rectangular structure near the 1895 Engine House: Your second guess was spot on. It was a reservoir.
I have a copy of the 1988 survey on disc - I photocopied every page of the survey held by Tavistock library!
If you'd like a copy I can email it to you or send you a disc.
I'm not sure how the forum mods would react to copyright material being published on here.
While you were at Gawton, did you go into the mine?
David
Well, ok.......just one for the road then !

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