Knack Mine

Overview

A tin mine in the upper Taw valley below Steeperton Tor, on medieval workings, known as Wheal Virgin in the 1830s and as Steeperton Tor Mine in the 1870s, when a company re-equipped it with Gobbett mine's old waterwheel; it was in liquidation by 1879.

History

Knack Mine lies on the western slopes of the upper River Taw at the foot of Steeperton Tor, on northern Dartmoor. Tin lodes were worked from the surface here around the sixteenth century, and the openworks were probably worked at depth from the late eighteenth. A Wheal Virgin was 'raising tin fast' for Gill and Company in 1799, perhaps this mine. It was first called Nack or Knack when it started in 1835, and in 1836 three Tavistock men took a licence for a sett measured from 'Wheal Virgin Shaft'; shares in Wheal Virgin tin mine were auctioned in 1837. A one-year licence for the Steeperton Tor sett was granted to Michael Stevens of Lydford in 1853, with no evidence of production.

The mine's main period came in the 1870s. Deserted and dangerous in 1875-76, it was taken up in 1877 by the Steeperton Mining Company, which built the plant whose remains survive and bought a waterwheel, stamps and other equipment from Gobbett mine near Hexworthy for £65, hauled some 25 miles by horse and cart; men built a wheelpit, a dam and a tailrace. In 1878 the mine sold a ton of black tin and employed 27, 13 underground and 14 at the surface, but by 1879 it was in liquidation, and a successor company held it idle until 1882. The remains include a reservoir, gullies, adits, shafts, part of a dam across the Taw, a leat, a wheelpit and buddles, and a two-roomed building, probably the smithy and mine office.

Geology

Tin lodes in the Dartmoor granite, first worked by openworks.

Workings

Openworks, adits and shafts, a reservoir, a dam across the Taw, a leat, a wheelpit for a waterwheel and stamps bought from Gobbett, and buddles.

Closure

In liquidation by 1879; held idle by the Steeperton Tor Mining Co. until 1882.

What remains

The mine building, wheelpit, dressing floor, dam remains, adits and shafts survive by the Taw.

A two-roomed stone building (smithy and office), wheelpit, buddles, dam remains, leat and reservoir.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Gobbett Tin Mine — Knack's waterwheel and stamps were bought from Gobbett in 1877.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• In 1799 a mine called Wheal Virgin owned by Gill & Co was 'raising tin fast'; it may have been this mine or one at Beardown Hill. (uncertain) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• The mine was first referred to as Nack or Knack when it started operating in 1835. ¹
• In 1877 the partnership bought a water wheel, stamps and other equipment from the Gobbett mine at Hexworthy for £65. ^2,1
• In 1878 one ton of black tin was sold and 27 men were employed, 13 underground and 14 at surface. ¹
• In 1879 the mine was in liquidation. ¹
• In 1877 men were building a wheel pit, a dam and a tailrace for the new waterwheel. ²
• In 1799 a mine called Wheal Virgin owned by Gill & Co was 'raising tin fast'; it may have been this mine or one at Beardown Hill. (uncertain) ¹

Sources

1. (secondary) Knack Mine (aka Steeperton Tin Mine and Wheal Virgin) — Dartmoor Explorations
2. (secondary) Wheal Virgin — Legendary Dartmoor

Record created: 17 October 2026 · Last researched: 17 October 2026