This view shows the area where most of the machinery was found. The structure in the centre appears to be some kind of hopper or delivery mechanism. It seems to feed the table in front of it. To the left can be seen a waterwheel with buckets. Behind this is the pond. To the right of the pond is what is left of the railtrack up to the tip. All around are sheets of corrugated iron which must blow around the site in windy weather.
Waterwheel to Drive Machinery
Although it cannot be seen in the photograph, there is a narrow channel in which the wheel sits, down which water would flow. The cog on the waterwheel was connected through gears and belts to other equipment. The fast moving wheel would then drive slow moving but powerful crushers. A large cog wheel and a belt drive can be seen.
An Unidentified Mechanism
It is not clear what this item did. There is a large gear ratio drive which suggests that it turns slowly. The blades on on the rotating drum are set at an angle similar to a cylinder lawn mover, so perhaps it had a slicing rather than a crushing action. No casing fixing points were noticed so if it worked uncased, what would prevent the cogs from jambing?
The Table
The wooden table is situated in front of what looks like a hopper. It is covered with leather nailed around the edges. It has many narrow metal strips tacked diagonally across the leather. At the back of the table running the whole length is a leather covered board. The front and end are open. At the back are two small fixing clamps.
The Table Mounting Blocks
The table is supported on wooden blocks connected to brackets on the iron sub-frame by strips of leather. This gives a small limited movement to the table.
Vibrating Machine
This mechanism is attached to one corner of the table to make it vibrate. This action would bring the larger pieces of ore and stone to the top. The rubbish may then have been picked by hand. Not knowing how the surface workers were employed this is a guess. However children were in the early years employed as lead dressers so this may be where they worked.
