Combe Martin Silver Mines

Overview

Combe Martin, on the north Devon coast, was worked for silver-bearing lead from the reign of Edward I to the late 19th century, at times profitable enough to help fund England's wars with France and to furnish silver for royal plate.

History

Silver mining at Combe Martin is first recorded in 1292 under Edward I, who is said to have brought 337 miners from Derbyshire and Wales to work the deposits; under Edward III the mines produced enough silver to materially help fund the wars against France. The workings lapsed into neglect for long periods before being revived under Elizabeth I, when the engineer Sir Bevis Bulmer introduced improved pumping technology to reach deeper ore and had commemorative cups made from Combe Martin silver, one of which survives in the London Mansion House collection. A further revival between 1790 and 1802 saw 9,293 tons of lead and silver ore shipped to Wales for processing, and a further 203 tons were sent to Bristol in 1813, before the mines closed temporarily in 1817. An 1837 venture backed by £30,000 of capital attempted another revival, and ore from Combe Martin was exhibited at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, but production declined through the following decades — echoing a wider collapse in British lead mining — and working at Combe Martin finally ceased around 1880.

What remains

The Old Combmartin Mine Tenement on Bowhay Lane is preserved by the Combe Martin Silver Mines Society, which opens it for public tours on selected days and has rediscovered and partially excavated two mine shafts since the 1980s.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Recorded claims

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

• Under Edward I, 337 miners were reputedly brought from Derbyshire and Wales to work the Combe Martin silver mines from 1292; under Edward III the mines produced enough silver to materially help fund the wars against France. ¹
• The Elizabethan engineer Sir Bevis Bulmer introduced improved pumping technology at Combe Martin to reach deeper ore, and had commemorative cups made from its silver — one of which survives in the London Mansion House collection. ¹
• Between 1790 and 1802, 9,293 tons of lead and silver ore from Combe Martin were shipped to Wales for processing; a further 203 tons were sent to Bristol in 1813. ¹
• Ore from Combe Martin was exhibited at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. ¹
• The Old Combmartin Mine Tenement on Bowhay Lane is preserved by the Combe Martin Silver Mines Society, which has rediscovered and partially excavated two mine shafts since the 1980s. ²

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this mine.

Sources

1. (secondary) Early Silver Mining in Combe Martin — Combe Martin Village History
2. (secondary) Combe Martin Silver Mines — Combe Martin Silver Mines Society

Record created: 20 August 2026 · Last researched: 20 August 2026