Engine House at Sx 408715

This is a Cornish engine house located at Hingston Down Consols Mine, built in the mid to late 19th century and altered in 1905. Constructed from granite with dressed quoins and brick dressings, the engine house has a rectangular plan and stands three storeys high. The bob wall features an arched opening at ground level and a large rectangular bob opening above, with cast iron wall plates at the corners marked "Tavistock Iron Works 1882." Each side wall has an arched window at every level. The parapet has been rebuilt in brick, and the building was re-roofed in 1905 when it was adapted to house a second-hand 36-inch rotative beam engine from the Bedford foundry in Tavistock. This engine previously worked at Devon Great Consols and was used here to operate a set of stamps and pump from the adjacent Bailey's Shaft. The hipped roof is now largely decayed. This engine house is an interesting example of a late engine house adapted for dual purposes, although it appears to be older. The brick parapet and roof structure suggest alterations to an earlier building, but the entire structure may date from 1905. The 1882 dates on the wall plates are unlikely to refer to the original building, as the mine was unworked at that time. The main periods of operation for Hingston Down Consols Mine were from 1846 to 1878 and again from 1905 to 1908. The engine house serves as a prominent landmark on the summit of Hingston Downs.