Tavistock Canal - Archaeological Excavations

Ore Chute Excavation - 1973

This small excavation was carried out by Amber Patrick on top of the high wall at the rear of the Lower Copper Quay, as part of her early 1970s archaeological and historical investigations at Morwellham. The outer chute of the third pair from the west was investigated, with a small trench.

The chute's top was found to have had angled sides, sloping in to a square vertical shaft. A railway on longitudinal timber baulks crossed it, suggesting that the waggons were end-tippers, or else had hatches in their bottoms. After abandonment, the hole had been bridged with scrap cast iron plate rails of various types and backfilled with rubble.

Observation of the retaining wall behind the quay below shows that two chutes in tandem were originally present, the inner one discharging its ore through an arched opening immediately below the outer one. These inner chutes were subsequently blocked, leaving the outer ones open. The tops of these were probably covered at the time the Canal closed in 1873.

No other holes in the 1806 group have been investigated, but one of those in the rear wall of the 1846-49 eastern extension to the quay was uncovered in 1978-79 during the work to develop the George & Charlotte Mine and was also shown to have been blocked with rails, although these are understood to have been lengths of later 19th century rolled wrought iron flat-bottomed rail (pers. comm. Rick Turner, communicated via his brother Jeff).

See also: Ore Chute - 1973 Excavation - Gazetteer...