A collection of walks, discoveries, insights and pictures of exploring Dartmoor National Park
July 28, 2024
Medieval Tin Workings at Hortonsford Bottom, Stinger’s Hill and on the northern slopes of Langcombe Hill
Virtually every river, stream, brook and lake on Dartmoor has at some stage been worked by the Tinners from pre-Roman times through to the 20th century. The area around and to the south of the upper Erme is a good example where Tin mining became increasingly important during medieval times where a technique called Tin Streamworking (or streaming) was used and which left huge scars in the landscape that we can still see today.
By the late medieval period, Tin Streaming was outdated as alluvial deposits were being depleted. The Tinners resorted to work on ‘tin lodes’ in situ and dug trenches, gullies, openworks with many trial pits in order to find their precious ore. There were three Stannary towns established from 1305 around the moor in Tavistock, Chagford and Ashburton with a fourth Plympton added in 1328 to oversee the industry.
This post covers an exploration of the area of Hortonsford Bottom, Stingers Hill and the northern slopes of Langcombe Hill, showing evidence of these medieval tin working techniques. Within these areas are four Tinners’ Huts, two miscellaneous Buildings and a rain gauge
Bibliography
Dr Phil Newman – 2018 – The Upper Erme Valley, Dartmoor National Park, Devon: An Archaeological Survey
Dr Tom Greeves – 2019 – Supplementary information on the Upper Erme Valley 2018 survey
To the south of the upper Erme, there is evidence of Tin Streamworking, Tin Openworks and Trial Pits as indicated on this sketch map.Looking at a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) image of the area, the work of the Tinners in this area becomes very evidentProbably the most visited area of the Upper Erme is Erme Pits, where there are Tin Streamworks and Lode Works covering an area of around 10 Hectares, which includes Erme Head. This area is believed to have been most likely operational between the 12th and 17th centuries. Dr Tom Greeves (1981), refers to a reference to ‘Armehed’ in 1531 and ‘Armed Pit’ in 1671 which probably refers to this place.In a survey conducted in 2018, Phil Newman records : “Erme Pits is well defined a steep scarps of between 1 metre and 4 metres deep running around most of the perimeter. Inside this steep exterior, there are low linear spoil heaps, pits and channels, some have been reinforced by low, stone revetments. Large boulders of natural moorstone were something of an obstacle for the tinners within this working, where many lie in situ having been worked around by the tinners”. Further to this, there are the remains / ruins of at least two Tinners’ Huts and two other Buildings in this area, which are covered and described here: https://dartmoorexplorations.co.uk/tinners-huts-and-mills-around-ducks-pool-blacklane-brook-wollake-and-erme-pits/Lower end of Hortonsford Bottom, close to where the brook enters the Erme. There are a couple of notable waterfalls here.This Tinners Hut lies on the right bank of Hortonsford Bottom Brook close to the waterfalls seen in the previous photograph.Contextual view of the Tinners’ Hut overlooking the Erme Valley, which as can be seen is quite overgrown in the summer. The hut could easily be missed and is located at SX62935 66373The hut has been recorded as measuring 3.7 metres by 2.25 metres internallyA short distance upstream from the lower Hortonsford Bottom Tinners Hut there are, within the streamworks, the remains of another building In the Historic Environment Record (HER), the building is described as ‘a 3-sided rectangular structure’. The HER further records the structure as having ‘tumbled walls randomly constructed from granite, standing to a maximum of only 0.6 metres high’. The north east wall is absent and it is conjectured that it was never built thus providing an open-fronted temporary shelterThe ‘three sided structure’ is located at SX62890 66330Contextual view of the ‘three sided structure’. The internal dimensions are approximately 3.2 by 3.0 metres. In the HER (Newman) it is considered that it is unlikely that this structure was associated with the tinworking, and may be a more recent intrusionHigh above the River Erme and to the east of Hortonsford Bottom there is approximately 3 hectares of tin streamworks on the lower, moderate slope of Stinger’s Hill, west of the River Erme. In this area there is evidence of low linear spoil heaps, pits and channels described as being an openwork. Here, another Tinners Hut can be foundContextual view of the Stinger’s Hill Tinners’ Hut. The Red Lake tip can be seen on the skylineThe Stinger’s Hill Tinners’ Hut has been assume as being post-medieval. The dimensions are around 3.7 m by 1.7 m with walls around 0.8m high. There is an entrance on the southern (long) wallThe Stinger’s Hill Tinners’ Hut is located at SX63076 66112About 30m from Stinger’s Hill Tinners’ Hut are the scant remains of another buildingContextual view of the Stinger’s Hill building remainsThe significance of this building is unknown but is likely to be associated with the TinnersThe Stinger’s Hill building is located at SX63079 66083View towardss the top (southern) end of the Stinger’s Hill workingsAlmost due west from the two Stinger’s Hill structures, is another Tinners’ Hut towards the upper reaches of Hortonsford Bottom. This Tinners’ Hut is rather well preserved with the walls are constructed from mostly flat granite slabs, which stand to a height of around 1.1 metresThis Tinners’ Hut measures 4m by 2.4 m and has a 1.2 metre-wide entrance. This picture shows Red Lake tip in the distance looking down Hortonsford Bottom. There are around 12 hectares of Tin Streamworks in Hortonsford BottomThe Tinners’ Hut is located at SX62352 65924At the head of Hortonsford Bottom Brook is a Rain Gauge amongst a series of spoil tipsClose up of the Rain GaugeContextual view of the Rain Gauge, which is located at SX62141 65810From the head of Hortonsford Bottom, heading due north across the northern slopes of Langcombe Hill, the explorer will, as Erme Pits come into view find a series of Trial Pits and a Tin Work Lode, where there is a ruined rectangular Tinners’ HutThis Tinners’ Hut is quite well preserved with three main walls, each constructed from small pieces of granite. The west wall (closest to the camera) is missing some stoneThe internal dimensions of this Tinners’ Hut is around 5.6 m by 3.4 mThe Tinners’ Hut is located at SX62330 66436Part of the tin work lode and trial pits. The HER describes the openwork as being ‘around 120 m long east to west and comprises a series of conjoined pits of up to 4 metres deep, with a linear spoil heap on the eastern side’
