Engine House About 140 Metres South Of Canonteign Barton

The engine house, located about 140 metres south of Canonteign Barton, was built in 1853 for the Wheal Exmouth lead and barytes mine. It is constructed from stone rubble with decorative ashlar granite dressings and features an unusually ornamental design in a classical style that complements the nearby octagonal ventilation shaft.

The building has a rectangular plan and originally stood three storeys tall, although the top storey is now incomplete. The prominent southwest side has a grand rusticated granite round-headed doorway, complete with a keystone and rusticated granite quoins. This doorway retains a timber frame with glazing bars, likely intended for margin panes, and an incomplete two-leaf arched door with plain panelling. The southeast elevation, which is partially covered in ivy, includes a narrow ground floor doorway and a first floor doorway with a surviving timber frame, as well as a second floor window featuring a six-pane timber frame.

On the northeast elevation, there is a round-headed ground floor window made of ashlar masonry, which includes a keystone and a timber frame with glazing bars. The northwest elevation has two ground floor windows with segmental arches, ashlar voussoirs, and six-pane timber frames.

Wheal Exmouth operated from the 1850s until 1880 and employed 70 underground workers in 1863. The mine site was visible from Canonteign House, the Exmouth family seat built in 1828, although it later became obscured by tree planting. The ornate style of the engine house was likely chosen to enhance the view from Canonteign House.