A collection of walks, discoveries, insights and pictures of exploring Dartmoor National Park
December 17, 2024
Venford Tinners’ Mill (submerged)
Venford Reservoir was completed in 1907 taking its waters from Venford Brook. The flooding of this valley resulted in the loss of an old bridge and a late 16th / early 17th century Tinners’ Mill, which for those interested in industrial archaeology, will have understandably been a disappointment in having lost such an old artefact.
RH (Richard Hansford) Worth* mentions the mill and a possible location, which can be found in ‘Worth’s Dartmoor’ (page 293). That said, Worth states that: “the mill now lies under the waters of the Paignton Reservoir”, which possibly suggests that he never visited the site. With this in mind, the author investigated using 19th century maps to determine if the mill is recorded, but if not whether there were any indications of where it might once have been. The results of this investigation are covered in this post.
*Worth was the author of numerous papers published by the Devonshire Association, some of which became the basis of the book which was published posthumously He died before being able to complete this task but he left a sum of money and instructions in his will for the publication of such a book with the proceeds of the sales to go to the Devonshire Association. The first version was published privately in 1953 and it was re-published in 1967. The mill was first recorded in the Transactions of the Devonshire Association lxxii (number 72).
This annotated 19th century map shows where the RH Worth siting of the Tinners’ Mill might have been. That said, the map provides a ‘hint’ of a possible leat coming off Venford Brook then returning back to it. Is this location a more probable location for this mill?Venford Reservoir was completed in 1907 taking its waters from Venford Brook and latterly (around 1929) also from the Swincombe (via a pipeline). There are 52 water works marker stones located in the vicinity which are inscribed PUDC (Paignton and Urban District Council) on one side and RD/H on the other. RD/H stands for ‘Richard Dawson, Holne’, from whom Paignton Water Works purchased 700 acres of Holne Moor, paying £11 per acre.A short distance from the dam, along the fence line on the west side of the reservoir there is a gate beyond which there is located an original mortar stone from the Tinners’ Mill The railings surrounding the reservoir are rather non-descript but have an interesting story relating to them. A Claude Warren of Buckfastleigh, (who passed away aged 82 in 1988) was well known in the district and had a great knowledge of the moor. He came from a family of blacksmiths at Holne and his very first job was to hammer the little iron balls on the spikes of the railings surrounding Venford Reservoir. The iron balls were added to the railings following a hunting incident. A fox was being pursued by the hounds and went through the railings. The hounds were unable to follow and some were subsequently unfortunately impaled. There is a lovely tribute to Claude which was recorded in the Dartmoor Magazine, Issue 14 (Spring 1989) which describes when he took a blind man for a walk on Dartmoor, recording on tape a running commentary on the sights and sounds around them. This was used as a library for the blind.Just inside the gate are two signs, one with a map on it and a second wooden one (dating from 1980s) whose writing is difficult to readAn old photograph of the sign reveals an inscription which states: “THIS MORTARSTONE DATES TO ABOUT AD 1600 AND WAS USED AS A BASE ON WHICH TIN ORE WAS CRUSHED CUP SHAPED HOLLOWS WERE FORMED BY THE MECHANICAL ACTION OF STAMPS POWERED BY A WATERWHEEL EARLY THIS CENTURY THE STONE WAS REMOVED FROM A SITE ABOUT TO BE FLOODED BY THE RESERVOIR IT WAS PLACED HERE IN 1984″The sign relates to this triple hollowed mortar stone, which is a fine example. It is 4ft (1.22m) long, 2ft 3in (0.7m) wide and 1ft 3in (0.38m) deep. The hollows are 9.5 in (0.24m) deepRH Worth records : “A mortar-stone, with three mortars in a line was removed from the site (Tinners’ Mill), and now lies by the drive near the caretaker’s house”. One assumes the caretaker’s house is the building located below Venford dam.The mortar stone is located at SX68570 71174The hollows on the mortar stone are very recognisable as being associated with water powered stamps. The Tinners’ Mill will have used this technology, but probably not as grand as those illustrated in Georg Bauer’s De re metallica (Latin for ‘On the Nature of Metals’ [Minerals]). The book is a cataloguing of the then state of the art of mining, refining, and smelting metals. It was published a year posthumously in 1556 due to a delay in preparing woodcuts for the text. The book remained the authoritative text on mining for 180 years after its publication. It was also an important chemistry text for the period and is significant in the history of chemistry. Georg Bauer, was a pen name and was the Latinized Georgius Agricola (“Bauer” and “Agricola” being respectively the German and Latin words for “farmer”) – source : WikipediaRH Worth recorded the Tinners’ Mill as being at lat. 50deg-31′-20″, lon. 3deg-51′-26″ which converts to SX68442 70782. Using National Library of Scotland (Side by Side) maps, the possible location using 1885/1886 25” OS map (which shows a possible leat makes the location at SX 68366 70714. The difference between the two ‘possible’ locations is approx. 102m. Whilst walking south on the west side of the reservoir the author estimated the two possible locations for the Tinners’ MillThe Reservoir surface area is around 33 acresPossible location of the Tinners’ Mill as recorded by RH Worth. The location is quite central in the reservoirView from near the inlet point to the reservoir and the estimated possible locations of the Tinners’ Mill. On the balance of probabilities the author believes the (green) location estimated using the 19th century map is probably more accurate as it is located closer to the original Venford BrookSouth end of reservoir where Venford Brook enters Bridge where Venford Brook enters the Reservoir. Workman’s Ford was once located in the vicinity‘Water and Wildlife’ sign near the footbridge
