MEM15412 - Mining remains north of Wintershead Farm (Monument)

A linear trial pit believed to date to the mid 19th Century is visible as an earthwork. A slight bank alongside the trench appears to be the remains of a spoil heap, and a second trench is visible 100 metres to the east.

19th Century mining remains, possibly evidence of prospection and extraction, were identified to the north of Wintershead Farm in Exmoor parish. [1] A linear trial pit running north-south is visible as an earthwork on the southern edge of Great Woolcombe. Centred at approximately SS 7728 3723, the trench runs north-south and measures some 186 metres in length and is up to 3 metres wide. At the northern end of the trench, a short section runs east-west for 30 metres before petering out. The trench is believed to have been cut during the mid 19th Century in an attempt to find the extent of the lodes of Blue Gate Iron mine, as described by Burton in The Heritage of Exmoor. A slight bank alongside the trench appears to be the remains of a spoil heap, and a second trench is visible 100 metres to the east. [2-4] The trench is clearly visible in the RAF vertical photographs of c.1946. It is c.180 metres long and runs straight north-south. To the north of the trench is an area of disturbed ground, probably caused by iron prospecting. [5] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [6]