Site Event/Activity record EEM14567 - 2011: HBA - Beasley Weir, Dulverton

Context One Archaeological Services Ltd (COAS) carried out an historic building appraisal of a hydro electricity generating structural complex at Beasley Farm, Dulverton, Somerset (centred on NGR SS 92260 27145) in November 2011. The work was commissioned by Jessica Green (Project Engineer, Western Renewable Energy) and funded by the owner, Mr Bernard Dru. The appraisal was advised by Joe White (Case Officer, Exmoor National Park Authority) to support a planning application for the introduction of a new hydro-electricity generation system within the footprint of Beasley Power Station. Built in 1909, Beasley Power Station, now known as Beasley Weir, was one of a number of hydro-electric generating plants set up on Exmoor in the two decades from 1890. Its history, first as the production part of Dulverton Electric Light Company, its merger with the Exe Valley Electric Company and final replacement by the national grid, exemplifies in microcosmic the introduction of electricity into rural areas. It reflects imaginative and innovative thinking at the time of a further stage in the industrial revolution. The buildings which housed the generator survive remarkably well, although all the equipment which they housed has been removed. The supporting concrete platform was been much altered in the 1950s to meet the requirements of a fishery.