MDE8288 - Late 18th Century mining remains southwest of Little Hangman (Monument)

SS 5834 4785. One of 5 adits or shafts reopened or worked in the 19th Century. [1] The grid reference given by [1] is not precise. It comes from an Ordnance Survey 1:10560 map marked up by Peter Claughton (an Engineer and Industrial Historian in British Metal Mining) and the reference is only approximate. The reference covers an area of about 2 hectares on steep outcropping slopes heavily covered by scrub and gorse, some 300 metres southwest of Little Hangman. According to Claughton [2] Swete in October 1796 had a good view of the iron mine then being opened up below Little Hangman. It was worked under land forming part of the West Challacombe Estate and some 9,293 tons of iron ore were shipped from the mine in the seven years to 1802, destined for Alexander Raby's iron works at Llanelli. (This could well be a reference to these workings). The slope is crossed diagonally by gulleys of outcropping rock which may have been exploited in the search for minerals. Adits were allegedly seen here in the 1970's by some locals [3]. There are holes in the outcrops, and also what may well be spoil heaps, but the whole is now so eroded, collapsed and overgrown by vegetation that it is now difficult to assess what is natural and what might have been part of workings and after some considerable searching with Claughton [1] and Warburton no definite adits or shafts were identified. The accounts house at SS 5825 4778 referred to by Toms [4] was most probably associated with these workings. [5] The adit is possibily a pit identified during an National Trust Survey survey in 2002 at SS 5839 4791 on the west side of Little Hangman. It is an irregular pit 10 metres by 7 metres with possible spoil pits to the south and southwest. [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]