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POWDER MILLS FARM
Powder
Mills Farm lies below Longaford Tor, near the Two Bridges to
Postbridge road (B3212). It is a lonely, bleak and boggy part
of the moor, which is what attracts Drake H3 to it. Its isolation
also proved attractive in the 19th century, but for a different
reason; for as the name implies, Powder Mills was once used for
making gunpowder. The mills opened in 1844 to supply gunpowder
to the numerous tin mines and quarries of the region. The invention
of dynamite in 1867 killed off its trade (in more ways than one!)
and it closed in 1887. At the far right of the picture is a chimney
which was used in the manufacturing process. The line of trees
near the chimney indicate the course of the Cherry Brook which
provided the water power for the mills.
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