Wheal Betsy – Dartmoor’s last Engine House

From the A386 road from Okehampton to Tavistock, and easy to miss is Wheal Betsy Engine House, with its leaning chimney.

It has been thought that the mine was opened in 1740 or earlier. The mine follows a N-S  lode and was worked for about three-quarters of a mile. It yielded lead, zinc, and a lot of silver.

The mine was shut down in the late 1700s. It was reopened in 1806 by John Taylor, who ran the nearby Wheal Friendship mine. By November of 1821, levels had been opened up at depths of 24, 45, and 57 fathoms. It produced yields such that the furnaces couldn’t handle the amount of metal that was made. Lead ore that was being mined also had a lot of silver in it, and the mine made 4,202 ounces of silver between August and October. Production of ore rose to over 100 tonnes a month the next year. The amount of water was preventing work on deeper levels, but by December 1822 there were six levels, the deepest of which was 70 fathoms deep. In this year, work began on a new engine house that, it was thought, would make it easier to get the deep things out. Also this year, a new smelting process was adopted, which meant that all ores, no matter how good or bad they were, were processed at the mine.

But by 1846, the mine was making very little money, so it was decided to stop working and sell off all of the materials that were left behind to make money.

Prince Arthur Consols, a new company based in Glasgow, opened the mine again in 1863. Over the next few years a lot of new equipment was put in place. In 1866, the new mine made about 210 tonnes of lead ore that sold for about $2,882. This didn’t cover the cost of the new equipment. One hundred and twenty-eight people worked at the mine in 1868, many of whom came from the local area.

Wheal Betsy was sold to another company sometime in 1869. This company worked the mine on a very small scale until 1877, when it was shut down for good after at least 137 years of work.

Thankfully, this last engine house on Dartmoor, was saved from demolition by the army in 1954. The army is a heavy user of moorland.  It is now a National Trust property.

Note that parking is very poor and not formal. There is a small pull in on the main, and fast road. Blink and you miss it. The walk down is steep and not for the disabled. There are likely some unmarked shafts so keep to the paths, such as they are. Alternatively access from the Cholwich Farm & Stables road which has a parking area near the mine. Park there and walk up the track.