Devon Colliery engine house
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Devon Colliery engine house by Chris Allen as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Devon Colliery engine house
Image: © Chris Allen Taken: 25 Mar 2024
This was built c1854 to house a 72" Cornish beam engine by Neilson & Co of Glasgow, works No. 189. The cylinder stroke was 9' and the stroke in the shaft 10', as the beam is unequal. This was for the Devon Iron Company but apparently the pitwork was not installed before the production was stopped. In around 1857 the parent Devon Iron Works also ceased operations. The pit was re-opened in 1879 by the Alloa Coal Co and the engine was fitted with pumps and commenced work. In 1932 it was superseded by electric pumps and largely scrapped, leaving the beam and pump rod. The colliery closed in 1960. More recently the house was converted to offices but they too were later abandoned and the locked house is now on an SSPCA site. We were granted access as part of a tour following the third International Early Engines Conference.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
56.142933
Longitude
-3.775612