MDE11670 - 19th Century adit southwest of Watersmeet House (Monument)

Summary

An adit cut into the rock face on the south side of the East Lyn River probably derives from 19th Century iron prospecting on the Watersmeet Estate.

Please read the Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record .

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

Adit (Iron Trials). SS 743 486. Claughton records workings for iron trials on 1870 in Barton Wood adjacent to Watersmeet House. [1] A short, abandoned adit beside the East Lyn opposite Watersmeet House records an unsuccessful search for metals on the Watersmeet Estate. Probably the search was for iron, the presence of which is hinted at in the red-stained rocks along the valley side. [2] SS 74413 48635. The adit is cut into a rock face at the base of steep slopes on the S side of the East Lyn River. It is 3.2 metres high and 2.2 metres wide at the entrance and penetrates for a depth of 6.5 metres. There is a watercolour print in the Exmoor Museum, Lynton illustrating an ironstone mine near Watersmeet being worked in 1875. It shows a miner wheeling ore ? in a barrow with an adit entrance, presumably this one, in the background [3]. Surveyed at 1:2500. [4] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [5]

Sources/Archives (5)

  • <1> Report: Claughton, P. F.. 1993. A List of Mines in North Devon and West Somerset.
  • <2> Monograph: Keene, P. and Elsom, D.. 1990. Lyn in Flood: Watersmeet to Lynmouth. Thematic Trails.
  • <3> Artwork: Smith, C. R.. 1875. Watercolour in Exmoor Museum, Lynton. Watercolour.
  • <4> Unpublished document: Sainsbury, I.S.S. Field Investigators Comments. RCHME Field Investigation, 16 June 1994.
  • <5> Digital archive: Historic England. Various. National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) entry. 925923, Extant 13 December 2021.

External Links (1)

Other Statuses/References

  • Devon SMR Monument ID: 46119
  • Devon SMR: SS74NW/85/1
  • Exmoor National Park HER Number (now deleted): MDE21395
  • Local List Status (Unassessed)
  • National Monuments Record reference: SS 74 NW28
  • National Park: Exmoor National Park
  • National Trust HER Record
  • NRHE HOB UID (Pastscape): 925923

Map

Location

Grid reference SS 7441 4863 (point)
Map sheet SS74NW
Civil Parish COUNTISBURY, NORTH DEVON, DEVON

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (1)

Record last edited

Dec 13 2021 10:20PM

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