Description

ILSINGTON
SX 77 NE
3/274 Burning House in Middlecott
- Wood, about 400 metres south-west
of Middlecott Farmhouse
- II

Burning House. Probably mid to late C19. Built of large dressed granite blocks,
except for part of the western end which is of granite and slatestone rubble; red
brick dressings and internal finishings. Roof covered with corrugated iron.
Rectangular 3-cell plan, the middle cell rising the full height of the building and
having a doorway and 2 windows on the south side. The east and west cells each
contain a furnace with a storeroom for ore above it. Each furnace has an opening
with iron door leading out of the middle cell; above the opening is a flue which
originally had a stack on the roof-ridge, but a second horizontal flue leads out of
the first one to a detached stack (serving both furnaces) on the north side of the
building. Each furnace has a segmental brick vault containing a hopper, through
which ore could be shovelled in from the storeroom above. The fire was against the
gable wall with an external access in the north wall and an ashpit beneath. At the
opposite end, below the furnace, is a cooling chamber with external access in the
south wall. The storerooms each have a doorway in the gable wall, and a window in
the south wall. The simple roof-trusses, probably the original ones, survive.
The building continued in use until early C20; it is believed to have processed tin
ore from the nearby Atlas Mine. Immediately to the south (but not included in the
listing) is the water-wheel pit of a former stamping mill. The burning house is a
rare and unusually complete survival; it has been said that it "presents a textbook
picture, rendering the functioning of this type of furnace very easy to understand".
Sources: P H G Richardson in Plymouth Mineral and Mining Club Journal, Vol.7, No.3,
January 1977, (with plan and section), information from Mr A S Courtier (owner), Dr
T A P Greeves, Mr Dick Wills.

Listing NGR: SX7810376584

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26533420

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects - Includes Relevant ... ... Properties (Haynes Manual) (Haynes Manuals)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)