MSO11011 - 19th Century iron mine on southeast side of Elsworthy (Monument)

Ragged linear trench 2 metres deep and spoil mound 2 metres high. Circular pit 1 metre deep and 3 metre diameter with enclosing spoil mound. Probably a mining trial pit. [1] Earthworks marked as "old quarry" on OS maps and associated with other quarries along Orchard Bottom. [2] The remains of iron ore extraction are visible on the southeastern edge of Elsworthy, on rough ground but adjacent to the boundary with more improved land. The National Grid Reference [1] seems correct but has not been confirmed. The earthworks comprise a shaft visible as a pit 3 metres in diameter and 1 metre deep. On the southeast side is a spoil lobe 1.3 metres high. To the east is a linear trench 2 metres deep extending for some 27 metres. At its west end a narrow gulley runs towards the shaft. The whole probably represents a very short lived attempt to exploit an iron ore source, most likely during the 19th Century. [4] The remains of the possible iron mine are visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s onwards, as described by [4], as earthworks centred on circa SS 8181 4111. The earthworks have been transcribed as part of the Exmoor National Mapping programme. [5,6] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [7] The feature is depicted but not labelled on the 25 inch 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map. [8]