Mines
Historically there has been a lot of mining activity in and around Doddiscombsleigh.
The village of Doddiscombsleigh, geologically speaking, is placed on the outer perimeter of what is known as the 'metamorphic aureole' surrounding Dartmoor. This is the region of rock which was altered by the heat of the neighbouring intrusive magma mass which eventually cooled and solidified into the present granite batholith which millions of years of erosion have finally exposed, producing Dartmoor as we know it today.
There’s a wealth of information like this from by Andrew Westcott that you can see here: "A study of the remains of the old undocumented manganese workings [around Doddiscombsleigh] in South-West England." Like us, Andrew is looking for contributions from anyone interested further.
But did you know there was also treacle mines somewhere in the vicinity of Doddiscombsleigh? No, we don’t know how true this is either! Perhaps you’d like to get the bottom of this mine story? Would you like to research it, extract the interesting details and write content for this page? Or do you have an interest in another mining, treacle or other historical "facts" relating to Doddiscombsleigh that you’d like to contribute? Contact us.
Ore bearing lodes were formed in this metamorphosed region by the action of fluids, principally water, carrying dissolved minerals from the magma into cracks and fissures in the surrounding rock where they were deposited. As a temperature gradient existed through these rocks, different minerals became deposited in the rock according to the distance they were from the magma body with, for example, tin being deposited at high temperatures in or next to the granite. A little further out copper would be found, with manganese being deposited at the low temperature outer edges of the aureole.