Whiteworks
| Whiteworks | |
|---|---|
 Remains of tin mining at Whiteworks |
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 Whiteworks
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| Whiteworks shown within Devon | |
| OS grid reference | SX 612710 |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PRINCETOWN |
| Postcode district | PL20 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
Whiteworks (or White Works) is a former mining hamlet near the town of Princetown, within Dartmoor National Park, in the English county of Devon. Tin mining is central to the history of settlement at Whiteworks, which was once home to one of Dartmoor's largest tin mines. The original cottages and their inhabitants were related to this industry, until the area became used increasingly for farming in the 20th century. The site has now largely been abandoned, although Whiteworks is still on the route of many walks including Abbots Way Walk passes 500mts to the west.
Whiteworks is situated in an area of open moorland about 3 kilometres (2 mi) south-east of Princetown, overlooking the notoriously dangerous Fox Tor Mires. A difficult path leads across the mires to Fox Tor itself, which lies about 1.5 kilometres (1 mi) south-east of the hamlet. Vehicle access to Whiteworks is via a narrow dead-end road branching off from the B3212 at Princetown. This road is an extension of the one constructed by Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt to his property at Tor Royal.
The granite at Whiteworks has been subject to a process of kaolinisation: the feldspar minerals have decomposed to form a white clay known as kaolin. As a result, when the tin ore cassiterite was mined there, it was white in colour, giving the name 'White Works' to the site.
There are a few species of moss particular to the Whiteworks area, namely Polytrichum urnigerum, which is found in streams, and Bryum turbinatum.
According to the evidence of stannary rolls, tin working at the Whiteworks mine site dates back to 1180, when it was associated with mediaeval field systems on the eastern edge of Fox Tor. More active mining began around 1790, when the Industrial Revolution began to fuel demand for tin, while also providing the technology to move from opencast mining to subsurface methods, previously impossible on the difficult Dartmoor terrain. Initially, there were no tin smelting houses operating in Devon, so Whiteworks sent tin ore to Calenick Smelting House, near the Cornish town of Truro.
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Wikipedia