Morwellham Quay - a Tamar mining port

Morwellham is strategically sited at the centre of the Tamar Valley Mining District. It is some 3km below the tidal limit near Gunnislake and 32 km from Plymouth. The port occupies the floodplain of a wide meander and is backed by sharply rising and thickly wooded valley sides which rise to over 180m. It was connected to Tavistock (6.5km away) via the Tavistock Canal completed in 1817. Morwellham was also connected to Devon Great Consols by a standard gauge mineral railway (and incline-plane) in 1859.

 

Morwellham (Listed Grade II). This was the busiest inland river port west of Exeter, taking vessels up to 300 tonnes. During the mid-nineteenth century it became the greatest copper ore port in the world due to the extraordinary output of Devon Great Consols which was discovered in 1844. © HES.

Much of this transport infrastructure is represented by substantial archaeological remains. Between the slate-fronted former harbour master’s house and the Ship Inn are the iron rails (1817) on slate sleepers that linked the canal incline with the old copper ore quays. Copper ore chutes survive in the rear retaining wall.

Beyond the mine is New Quay (extended to supplement the Devon Great Consols copper ore quay at Morwellham during the 1840s).

 

The Morwellham and Tamar Valley Trust (established 1969) have restored much of Morwellham as a museum of living history. Cottages, a school and a Wesleyan Chapel (1859) are amongst the buildings that have been restored. © Barry Gamble.

 
 

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