Hooten Wheals

Overview

Also known as Hexworthy Mine, a Dartmoor tin working on the O Brook with tin-streaming roots going back to at least 1240, revived commercially in the mid-19th century before finally closing in the early 20th century and later serving as a US Army training ground ahead of D-Day.

History

Hooten Wheals, later known as Hexworthy Mine, lies up the valley of the O Brook near the hamlet of Hexworthy on Dartmoor, at the site of much earlier tin streamworking; the earliest documented works nearby, at Dry Lake, date back to 1240. A licence for a mine called Wheal Unity was granted in 1845, with further tin-mining licences following between 1849 and 1854; activity resumed in the 1880s, and by 1891 the mine employed fifty men. Sources differ on exactly when work ended -- one Historic Environment Record states the lease was terminated in 1896, while another account has activity continuing a few years longer before a severe storm in 1920 finally put an end to it. In its later years, by then generally known as Hexworthy Mine, the site absorbed the smaller neighbouring Hensroost mine and the Skir Gut tin-streaming works, with ore processing carried out first at Hensroost and later back at Hooten itself. The site's final use had nothing to do with mining at all: in 1944 it was used by the US Army for artillery practice ahead of the D-Day landings.

Workings

Tin streamworking from at least 1240 (nearby Dry Lake); licensed mining from 1845 (as Wheal Unity), with a dressing floor featuring circular buddles for ore processing.

Closure

Sources disagree on the exact end date -- a Historic Environment Record gives 1896 (lease terminated), while another account has activity continuing for a few years longer before a severe storm in 1920 ended it for good; both are recorded here rather than silently reconciled.

What remains

The dressing floor retains the remains of two early-20th-century circular buddles, used in the ore-processing method introduced around 1848.

A dressing floor with surviving circular buddles, plus general mine ruins along the O Brook.

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.

• Tin streamworking near Hooten Wheals at Dry Lake is documented from 1240; a licence for 'Wheal Unity' was granted in 1845, with further licences 1849-1854, and by 1891 the mine employed fifty men. ¹
• Sources disagree on closure -- one Historic Environment Record states the lease was terminated in 1896, another account has activity continuing a few years longer before a 1920 storm ended it. (disputed) ²

Photographs & further reading

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

Images

Sources

1. (primary) Hooten Wheals / Hexworthy Tin Mine — Heritage Gateway (Historic Environment Record)
2. (secondary) Hexworthy, Devon. The Mines at Ringleshuttes and Hooten Wheals — Mindat

Record created: 1 September 2026 · Last researched: 1 September 2026