In Little Horrabridge, opposite Fillace Park there is thought to have once been the remains of the medieval mill, albeit no definitive archaeological evidence has ever been found. In 1940, Worth recorded he had found “Three mortar-stones from a blowing house built in at the base of the quoins of relatively modern sheds at Little Horrabridge, but no structure of a blowing-house can be identified”. This statement is a little confusing as he (Worth) mentions mortar-stones but no mould stones synonymous with a blowing-house. Worth continues in his description of the stones: “Unique in that one of the stones, which has been built into the foundation of a shed, contains four mortars lineally arranged”. He concludes: “A fourth stone, set as a foundation of a wooden shed, has six mortars, one discreet, three confluent, and two confluent. Also a stone with a bearing for a small iron axle.” What is evident from Worth’s record is that there was a plethora of Mortar Stones being used in the construction on a barn on the site, but why so many on one site ?
In July 1950, the Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, visited the site and recorded a couple of interesting facts, namely; a) they stated: “A leat can still be traced nearby (citing Worth, R. H., 10/12/1948), b) they continued: “Two stones, each with two mortar holes, besides those recorded by Worth, were located. One is in the south-west corner of the westerly building and the other inside the building under rubble. The axle bearing showed recent damage” and finally: c) “At SX 5148 6962 are possible remains of a water-wheel pit, being a rectangular depression 4.5m. by 1.2m. up to 0.15m. deep, 3.0m. from the south-west side of the building”. Sadly none of these items have been recorded in situ, by other observer since, in 1980, the barn was demolished to make way for a new house much of this evidence may well have been lost. The barn was marked on the Walkhampton tithe map of 1840.
What was recorded after 1950, was during the demolition of the barn, when Dr Tom Greeves and P.J Weddell undertook a salvage operation and their findings make for an interesting read. In their report they recorded finding in the rubble: a) 35 complete or fragmentary mortar stones, b) one fragmentary tin mould stone*, c) two halves of a broken millstone, one stone inscribed with the initials “I. B.” , one inscribed with the Roman numeral “X”, d) one fragment of possible crazing millstone, or bearing stone, and e) two pieces of a grindstone. *This appears to be the only (circumstantial) evidence of the existence of a blowing-house.
Into the 21st Century, of interest is that there are two walls at the entrance to the property called Tinners’ Mill (outside the gate) which contain at least 8 mortar stones (4 in each wall), one of which matches up with the description given by Worth. The current location(s) of stones not in the wall and recorded here is unknown to the author and he would welcome any information as to where they might be.
Bibliography
- R.H. Worth, (1940), Notes on some Dartmoor Blowing Houses, 205, pl. 13, fig. 2 (Article in Serial).
- R.H. Worth, (1940), The Dartmoor Blowing House, 227 (Article in Serial).
- Dr Tom Greeves, and P.J Weddell, (1980) – Salvage operation at the site of a Medieval tin mill at Horrabridge, West Devon. Preliminary report., 2-3 (Article in Serial).
- Dr Tom Greeves (1981) – Post Graduate Thesis: The Devon Tin Industry 1450 – 1750 Archaelogical and Historical Survey





