Burning House In Middlecott Wood, About 400 Metres South West Of Middlecott Farmhouse

ILSINGTON SX 77 NE 3/274 Burning House in Middlecott - Wood, about 400 metres south-west of Middlecott Farmhouse - II

Burning House. Probably mid to late C19. Built of large dressed granite blocks, except for part of the western end which is of granite and slatestone rubble; red brick dressings and internal finishings. Roof covered with corrugated iron. Rectangular 3-cell plan, the middle cell rising the full height of the building and having a doorway and 2 windows on the south side. The east and west cells each contain a furnace with a storeroom for ore above it. Each furnace has an opening with iron door leading out of the middle cell; above the opening is a flue which originally had a stack on the roof-ridge, but a second horizontal flue leads out of the first one to a detached stack (serving both furnaces) on the north side of the building. Each furnace has a segmental brick vault containing a hopper, through which ore could be shovelled in from the storeroom above. The fire was against the gable wall with an external access in the north wall and an ashpit beneath. At the opposite end, below the furnace, is a cooling chamber with external access in the south wall. The storerooms each have a doorway in the gable wall, and a window in the south wall. The simple roof-trusses, probably the original ones, survive. The building continued in use until early C20; it is believed to have processed tin ore from the nearby Atlas Mine. Immediately to the south (but not included in the listing) is the water-wheel pit of a former stamping mill. The burning house is a rare and unusually complete survival; it has been said that it "presents a textbook picture, rendering the functioning of this type of furnace very easy to understand". Sources: P H G Richardson in Plymouth Mineral and Mining Club Journal, Vol.7, No.3, January 1977, (with plan and section), information from Mr A S Courtier (owner), Dr T A P Greeves, Mr Dick Wills.

Listing NGR: SX7810376584