MEM21955 - Beasley salmon trap, Dulverton (Monument)

'Beasley Salmon Trap' and 'Salmon Steps' are marked on the Ordnance Survey MasterMap. [1] People used to pan for silver at the weir before the hydro electric mill was built. [3] A desk-based assessment and Level 1 survey of Beasley Weir power station was undertaken in November 2011. There was no evidence to suggest the weir existed before the power station was constructed in c.1909. The plant was dismantled in the 1950s, after which fish trap tanks were installed and used by the then Rivers Authority (now Environment Agency) until the 1980s. The site survey noted that the weir and fish pass remained in good condition. They comprised contiguous rectangular block walled tanks against the northeast side of the outlet channel for the station. [4] The site was subject to survey in January 2015, prior to demolition of the mill building. At this time, a pair of rectangular concrete fish rearing tanks linked by a central passage were noted to the southeast of the mill, overlooked by a purpose built platform. Water levels were controlled by opposing sluice gates at either end of the tanks. Most of the surviving mechanical elements on the site related to its use as a fishery. Beasley Mill was decommissioned in the early 1950s and fish tanks were installed by the Rivers Authority (now the Environment Agency). These remained in use until the 1980s, when the site began a slow decline. [5]