Carnarvon New Pit

Overview

One of the two most productive iron mines on the Brendon Hills, sunk in 1866 beside the West Somerset Mineral Railway and worked to more than 150 m on sixteen levels. Its ore went down the Comberow incline to Watchet and across the Channel to the South Wales furnaces; the mine closed in 1879, reopened briefly, and ended when the leases were surrendered in 1883.

History

By 1830 the ironmasters of South Wales were running short of local ore just as the railway boom was raising demand for wrought-iron rails, and for a few decades it paid to raise ore on the Brendon Hills and ship it across the Bristol Channel. The first Carnarvon pit was sunk in 1857 through older surface workings east of the present site but was abandoned in the early 1860s because the ore proved too hard to reach. The later pit was begun in 1866 by Morgan Morgans, and by 1867 Carnarvon and the neighbouring Raleigh's Cross mine together were raising 400 tons a week; a permanent winding engine was installed in 1872 and the levels were joined underground to Raleigh's Cross at the third level. Ore went by a short narrow gauge tramroad from the shaft collar to a loading platform over a siding of the West Somerset Mineral Railway, and thence to Watchet for shipment. Carnarvon and Raleigh's Cross were both very wet, and an interlocking system of drainage and flood prevention had to be kept up. The mine closed in 1879 with the collapse of the Brendon Hills trade, reopened briefly, and closed for good when the leases were surrendered in 1883.

Geology

The mine worked the high-quality iron ore lode of the Brendon Hills, which on these hills was most productive at Carnarvon New Pit and the adjacent Raleigh's Cross mine. Earlier workers had followed the same lode at the surface: a linear openwork and lode-back pits — extraction pits sunk along the outcrop of the lode — lie immediately west of the 19th-century shaft.

Workings

The main shaft is cut vertically for about 13 m and then angles south, reaching a maximum depth of more than 152 m with sixteen levels. Two air shafts lie west of it among the earlier surface workings. The winding engine house stood about 30 m north of the shaft, a building some 12 m square of local stone and brick; a smaller temporary winding engine base, 8 m by 4 m, stands much closer to the shaft. A tramroad ran from the shaft to a loading bank about 16 m long over a siding of the mineral railway, whose cutting curves round the south of the mine.

Closure

The whole Brendon Hills venture failed in the early 1880s, the ore costing far more to raise than it fetched. Carnarvon closed in 1879 and, after a short reopening, the leases were given up in 1883; the West Somerset Mineral Railway itself closed in 1898.

What remains

The remains lie in a neglected conifer plantation, which makes survey difficult; a scheduled monument condition assessment in 2009 gave the site a survival score of four. The main shaft is about 10 m across and at least 10 m deep, with a large block of masonry from the demolished engine house lying in its side; a second shaft nearby is 4 m across and at least 5 m deep, and the ventilation shaft 4 m across and 8 m deep with coursed stone walling round its top.

The three shafts, a 34 m by 20 m mound covering the demolished engine house with exposed masonry at either end, the temporary engine base, the tramroad cutting and loading bank, and a length of the mineral railway cutting.

Redevelopment

The site was planted with conifers in the mid-20th century and remains under forestry.

Related mines

• Burrow Farm Mine — Both were Brendon Hills Iron Ore Company pits served by sidings off the West Somerset Mineral Railway, which carried their ore to Watchet for shipment to South Wales.

Nearby mines

• Burrow Farm Mine — 1.2 km W

Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Work began on Carnarvon New Pit in 1866, the first Carnarvon pit having been sunk in 1857 and abandoned in the early 1860s because the ore was too difficult to reach. ^1,2
• By 1867 Carnarvon New Pit and the adjacent Raleigh's Cross mine together reached a production of 400 tons a week. ²
• The shaft exceeded 152 m in depth and had sixteen levels, joined underground to Raleigh's Cross mine at the third level. ^1,2
• The mine closed in 1879, reopened briefly, and closed finally when the leases were surrendered in 1883. ^1,2

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Carnarvon New Pit iron mine and section of mineral railway trackbed, 300m south west of Heather House, Brompton Regis (List entry 1021352) — Historic England
2. (secondary) MSO8864 — Carnarvon Mine New Pit — Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record
3. (primary) Mine plans catalogue: Brendon Hills (incl. Barrow Farm), item 21863618 — British Geological Survey

Record created: 22 September 2026 · Last researched: 22 September 2026