MDE8286 - 19th Century mining remains above The Rawns (Monument)

SS 5935 4811. Cliff symbol and slopes shown (but not annotated) on the 1890 Ordnance Survey map. [1] Annotated "Old Quarry" on 1904 Edition. [2] SS 5933 4811. A linear trial or costean trench [3]. The north facing slope has been cut into on the uphill south side exposing an east to west oriented rock faced gulley, or trench, 100 metres long, 10 metres wide and about 2.5 metres deep. The west end of the trench is cut obliquely by an enclosure wall and the workings appear to have continued to the west of this wall where there is also an adjacent spoil heap on the north side of the trench. The whole is now covered with gorse and scrub making access and measurement difficult. This feature is similar to the trench some 450m to the west at SS 5893 4805 (MDE8287) and they are associated with the mid 19th Century Girt Down Mine sett for Iron/Manganese [3]. [4] A linear extractive pit, known locally as an openwork is visible on aerial photographs above The Rawns, Combe Martin. It is centred at SS 5933 4811, and is similar in size and form to the openworks located to the west, at Little Hangman Cliff, which are thought to be associated with iron or manganese working at the Girt Down Mine Sett. It may be the result of several smaller trial pits gradually being linked to form a single pit, but due to its position on the edge of the cliff, it is not possible to discern an exact plan from aerial photographs. The area is at risk from coastal erosion and further study is required to assess the preservation of these and other mine workings in the area. [5,6] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [7]