Newspaper articles about the South Devon Mining Company that operated the mine at Little Comfort. North Devon Journal 13th December 1860
Harper the next Mine Captain
After the departure of Richard Hackaday, the disastrous Mine captain, who eventually ran off with the local miller`s wife and niece, taking £40 of the Miller`s money with him, the next Mine Captain, in charge of day-to-day operations, was a man called Harper. Mr Braund, the owner of a shop at Westdown, successfully, sued Harper for money owed for goods obtained from his shop and not paid for. Harper had refused to pay because of a dispute between them, in that, the shop keeper had agreed to buy from Harper`s wife, 200 bundles of furze (gorse) at 8 shillings per hundred which she was meant to deliver by cart to his house, however, she failed to do so but, oddly, still expected the shop keeper to pay for.
North Devon Journal 13th December 1860 states that:
Damages were awarded to Mr Slocombe of Westdown, who owned the adjourning land to Little Comfort Mine, for damages caused by the Mine Captains allowing their wagons to cross his land to get to the mine.
North Devon Journal 13th December 1860
The South Devon and General Mining Company
The South Devon and General Mining company was started in the 1850`s with great promise. They were involved in mining various minerals throughout the South West including iron, tin and gold. The company originally started with capital of £100,00 but this had been reduced a few years later to £65,000. The newspaper extract below shows information about the company.
It is not known whether the mining company were using any large locomotives at the Westdown
Mine. As this extract shows below they had introduced one at their mine near Newton Abbot.
Portsmouth Times and Naval Gazette 30th July 1859
The Newspapers even as late as 1861 were full of regular optimistic forecasts for various mines in the group. However Little Comfort Mine didn`t ever get a mention. However by 1862 The South Devon and General Mining Company failed. It was reported in the 17th December London Daily News that the company had gone into liquidation.
The local newspapers don`t show when mining stopped at Little Comfort, however it would have been between the last court case reported in the North Devon Journal in December 1860 and 1862 when the parent company failed.
The Fullabrook Mining Company
The newspaper articles below detail the collapse of The Fullabrook Mining Company owned by Mr McCullock, a mining engineer, living in London, but originally from Bolton in Lancashire. He thought, he had bought the rights to a manganese mine at Westdown, which had been sold to him as such. However Mr McCullock claimed that it was really a iron ore mine of much less value. A newspaper extract from July 1885 records however that there was a total of 635 tons of Manganese mined in Devonshire at the two mines Fullabrook and Chillaton. Chillaton returned 535 tons and Fullabrook 100 tons.
The mine was on land at owned by a William Parkin, a farmer, who according to the 1881 census was living and farming at Tucker`s Tenement with his wife Sarah and family. When the company failed owing a great deal of rent to Mr Parkin, the Parkin family left the area and moved permanently to farm in the Crediton area near Newton St Cyres.
North Devon Journal 24th of July 1884
Claim against a mining company
William Parkin v the Fullerbrook Mining Company
In this case plaintiff, who resides at Westdown, claimed off defendants the sum of £7 5s for rent and surface damage alleged to have been committed. By the mutual consent of the parties the case was settled out of court. The solicitors engaged were Mr H K Thorne for the plaintiff: and Mr J P Finch for the defendants.
20th of August 1885 North Devon Journal
The Affairs of Henry Johnson McCulloch.
At the London Bankruptcy Court yesterday the first meeting of the creditors in this bankruptcy was held before Mr Chapman, Assistant Receiver. The receiving order was made on the 22nd of June in the Barnstaple County Court, the bankrupt being described as of Finsbury Circus, mining engineer. The petitioning creditors are Mr J Greek and A Lancey of Barnstaple; W Croucher of Combe Martin; John Lewis of Knowle; H Wensley, of Georgeham, their debts being incurred in connexion with a manganese mine at Fullerbrook near Barnstaple. The accounts filed show debts unsecured £10,518 17 s 8d. Debts partly secured £1,592 11s 8d, the value of the securities being £1.100 and the assets £600 consisting of bad and doubtful book debts £8,768 2 s 7d, estimated to produce £800 and other property £300 . The failure is attributed to unsuccessful speculation, and liabilities incurred through a son of the debtor using his name without authority. The Official Receiver reports that the debtor having sworn his assets would not exceed £300, an order for summary administration had been made. The proofs were gone through and it was found that they were only two creditors in attendance. In reply to Mr. Jones, on behalf of a creditor, the bankrupt states that his slate quarries were all wound up. He was part owner of one ( Guervor Quarry) which was wound up two years ago. He had had property in Devonshire. The last he had was an ironstone mine , which had been sold. The official receiver reports that the debtor having sworn that his assets would not exceed £300. He had had property in Devonshire. The last he had was an ironstone mine which had been sold to him as a manganese mine. He had not sold it but having a lease of it and owing a lot of rent he had surrendered the lease. He had spent a lot of money over the mine, but it turned out to be utterly worthless. He had one share in a steamer which he had not entered in his statement, because Mr Jones’s clients, (Messrs Thompson and co), had attached it.
Mr Jones: We wanted to protect the estate for the creditors. We think it is worth £60 or £70.- The Chairman said that there was nothing for the meeting to do, the debtor having been adjudicated a bankrupt. An order for summary administration having been made, the estate would be wound up by the official Receiver steps will be taken to transfer the proceedings to the London Bankruptcy Court. Mr H C Barker appeared for the bankrupt.
Five local people from North Devon lost money in this venture.
This seems to be the last mention of mining at Westdown in the newspapers.