Although much of this website covers topics in Cornish industrial history, it does sometimes stray across the border. Some of these forays are into one of the most amazing landscapes in the UK; the dark highlands of Dartmoor.
A land Rich in layers of history
Dartmoor as a natural landscape is a gem set within the rolling hills of Devon. But, when viewed through the eyes of history it becomes one of the richest landscapes in the world.
Below its mists and below its heather are the evidence of thousands of years of mankind’s existence. Every square mile is packed with the stones, earth banks, and pits that tell a story of the past. Bronze age stone rowsand huts sit alongside Norman warrens, Medieval farms and tinworks lie amongst the remains of Victorian Mines, which in their turn are overshadowed by 20th century clayworks.
Whilst Mining is closely associated with Cornwall, it is Dartmoor that is the where the work of ancient tinners can best be seen. Almost every square foot of stream bed has been ravaged in the hunt for tin, and the associated blowing houses and stamping mills are there to be found if you know where to look.
A Hundred Years on Dartmoor
This blog’s diversion away from Cornwall was triggered by my publication of William Crossing’s masterpiece on Dartmoor History.
William Crossing is the best know of Dartmoor’s chroniclers, best known for his guide, a book still owned by most lovers of the Moor, but he wrote much more.
One of his other classics is A Hundred Years on Dartmoor, a book that describes Dartmoor in one of most dynamic periods, the 18th Century. Navsbooks republished this book in 2021 in the Kindle format. This reprint brought his words into the 21st Century with a new format and extra material.
Click to learn more about the book>
Click to view the book on Amazon>
The Dartmoor Mines Visual Biography
This project dips into my book collection, extracts mine names and Grid References, and drops them onto a colourful interactive map. In doing so it is creating a resource that will allow you to select a location on Dartmoor and identify the mines associated with that location and find out where to read more about that mine.
Click to read more about the map>
Click to explore the map on Maphub>,
The Mine Indexes
Underpinning the map is a collection of alphabetical index pages. Each entry on these pages has links across to the locations on the Ordnance Survey mapping and the historic maps on the excellent National Library of Scotland website. These links form a great way to explore the mine locations online.The Mine Indexes
- The Mines of Dartmoor Granite Mass
- Hamilton Jenkin’s Devon Mines
- The Industrial Archaeology of Dartmoor
- The Mines of Dartmoor and the Tamar Valley after 1913
- The Dartmoor Tin Industry
- Great Rock Mine
Other Dartmoor Related Posts
Artwork
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