MEM15413 - Mining remains north of Wintershead Farm (Monument)

A linear prospecting pit of probable post-medieval date is visible on aerial photographs as an earthwork. It was most likely cut in the mid 19th Century in an attempt to establish the extent of the lodes of Blue Gate Iron mine (MSO6918).

19th Century mining remains, possibly evidence of prospection and extraction, were identified to the north of Wintershead Farm in Exmoor parish. [1] A linear post-medieval prospecting pit is visible on aerial photographs as an earthwork on the southern edge of Great Woolacombe in Exmoor. Centred at approximately SS 7737 3717, the trench runs roughly north-south, curving slightly to the east at the northern end, and measures some 65 metres in length. It was probably cut in the mid-19th Century in an attempt to establish the extent of the lodes of Blue Gate Iron mine (MSO6918). A mound on the eastern edge of the trench is most likely the remains of a spoil heap. A second trench is visible 100 metres to the west. [2-4] The trench is clearly visible on the RAF vertical photographs of c.1946. It is 60 metres long and turns to the east at the north end. [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]