Upton Pyne Manganese Mine

Overview

The site of England's first recorded use of a domestic manganese source: a small mine near Exeter, first excavated in 1788, that for a time was the country's chief supplier of manganese for the glass trade before it was worked out and abandoned by the mid-1820s, leaving behind a pond still known locally as the Black Pit.

History

Manganese ore was recognised in the parish of Upton Pyne, a few miles north-west of Exeter, from around 1770, but formal excavation did not begin until March 1788. As far as is documented, Upton Pyne represents the first use of an English source of manganese for industrial purposes — earlier manganese minerals used in England had been imported, and no other English deposit is recorded as having been worked before this one. The mine was small and simple: an open working reached by ladders, dug with picks and shovels, its ore hauled out by horse and cart. Once raised, the manganese ore was shipped from Exeter Quay to London and Bristol, where it was used almost entirely by the glass trade — added in small quantities to molten glass to counteract the discolouring effect of residual iron oxide in the sand, and in larger quantities to colour glass deliberately, from purple through to black. Upton Pyne and two lesser workings on the same lode at nearby Newton St Cyres were, for a period around the turn of the 19th century, the principal source of manganese for the whole of England, and remained the chief producers in south-west England until around 1810. The mine's output declined steadily after its early promise, and it had probably closed by the mid-1820s as the accessible ore ran out; workings at Newton St Cyres, opened up a short distance to the north, continued a little longer into the middle of the century, after which the centre of Devon's manganese industry shifted west to the Teign Valley and around Milton Abbot, near Tavistock, where the Chillaton Mine became by far the largest English producer. Devon's manganese mines were in turn eclipsed after the 1880s by much larger deposits worked in north-west Wales.

Geology

The Upton Pyne deposit occurs as a secondary replacement mineralisation within Permian red sandstone and conglomerate, quite unlike the granite-related hydrothermal veins that produce most of Devon and Cornwall's metal ores; an early account by the geologist Dr Berger described a bed of red argillaceous sandstone several feet thick from the surface, underlain by a conglomerate puddingstone, with the ore-bearing vein running east-west and dipping north. The true origin of these Devon manganese deposits is still described by specialists as uncertain, predating the emplacement of Devon and Cornwall's granite by a considerable margin.

Workings

A small open working, worked from the surface down to at least 26ft depth over an extent of more than 100ft, using ladders, picks, shovels, horses and carts rather than any powered machinery — reflecting the genuinely small scale of English manganese mining as a whole compared with the county's tin, copper and lead industries.

Closure

The mine had probably closed by the mid-1820s once its output declined and the accessible ore was exhausted; the workings at Newton St Cyres, opened nearby, continued a little longer before the centre of Devon's manganese industry shifted west.

What remains

The abandoned open working gradually filled with water to form a pond, known locally as the Black Pit, which survives today as the site's only visible trace — since made the subject of a photographic study, The Pond at Upton Pyne, by the photographer Jem Southam.

The flooded former working, known locally as the Black Pit, is the only visible remnant of the mine.

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.

• As far as is documented, there is no evidence of an English source of manganese being used before the development of mining at Upton Pyne from the late 18th century, making it the first English manganese deposit worked for industrial use. ¹
• The worked deposit extended to at least 26ft in depth over more than 100ft, in an east-west trending vein dipping north, before the mine was abandoned and further workings opened at Newton St Cyres. ²
• Upton Pyne, together with lesser workings at Newton St Cyres on the same lode, was the principal English source of manganese and the chief producer in south-west England until around 1810; the mine had probably closed by the mid-1820s. ¹
• Manganese from Upton Pyne was shipped via Exeter Quay to London and Bristol for use in glassmaking, added in small quantities to counteract iron-oxide discolouration or in larger quantities to deliberately colour glass. ¹

Sources

1. (secondary) Manganese (rapid mineral assessment) — National Association of Mining History Organisations
2. (primary) Magna Britannia, vol. 6: Devonshire (geographical and geological description) — British History Online

Record created: 26 August 2026 · Last researched: 26 August 2026