Quarries of the Mendip Hills
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The Mendip Hills are the most southerly Carboniferous Limestone Upland in Britain and are found in northern Somerset.
They are comprised of three major anticlinal structures, each with a core of older Devonian sandstone and Silurian volcanic rocks. The latter are quarried for use in road construction and as a concrete aggregate.
In recent centuries the hills, like the Cotswolds to the north, have been quarried for stone to build the cities of Bath and Bristol, as well as smaller towns in Somerset. The quarries are major suppliers of road stone to southern England, between them producing around twelve million tonnes a year, employing over two thousand people with an annual turnover of £150m.[1]
There are two main rock types on the Mendips: the Devonian Sandstones visible around Blackdown and Downhead and the Carboniferous Limestones, which dominate the hills and surround the older rock formations.[2]
A large proportion of the stone (about 5 million tonnes per year) is moved by rail company Mendip Rail.
Contents |
[edit] Active quarries
| Name | Location | Map | owners/operators | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batts Combe quarry | Cheddar | ST460550 | Hanson Aggregates | |
| Callow Rock quarry | Cheddar | ST442558 | Bardon Aggregates | |
| Colemans quarry | Holwell near Nunney | ST726452 | ||
| Dulcote quarry | Dulcote near Wells | ST565445 | Foster Yeoman | |
| Halecombe | Leigh-on-Mendip | ST697474 | Anglo American | |
| Gurney Slade quarry | Gurney Slade between Binegar and Holcombe | ST626497 | Morris & Perry (Gurney Slade) Ltd | |
| Moon's Hill Quarry | Stoke St Michael | ST665460 | John Wainwright & Co Ltd | Geological Site of Special Scientific Interest |
| Torr Works | East Cranmore | ST695446 | Foster Yeoman | |
| Whatley quarry | Whatley | ST731479 | Hanson plc |
[edit] Disused quarries
- Barnclose Quarry
- Cloford Quarry - geological Site of Special Scientific Interest
- Cook's Wood Quarry - geological Site of Special Scientific Interest
- Draycott Quarry
- Emborough Quarries - geological Site of Special Scientific Interest
- Fairy Cave Quarry
- Hobbs Quarry - geological Site of Special Scientific Interest
- Holwell Quarries - geological Site of Special Scientific Interest
- Shipham Quarry
- Underwood Quarry (near Wells)
- Viaduct Quarry - geological Site of Special Scientific Interest
- Westbury Quarry
- Windsor Hill Quarry - geological Site of Special Scientific Interest
[edit] References
- ^ Mendip Quarry Producers. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
- ^ The Aggregate Landscape of Somerset: Predicting the Archaeological Resource. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
[edit] External links
Settlements: Ashwick | Axbridge | Banwell | Bishop Sutton | Blagdon | Bleadon | Burrington | Charterhouse | Cheddar | Chewton Mendip | Compton Bishop | Compton Martin | Cross | Draycott | East Harptree | Easton | Hinton Blewitt | Hutton | Leigh-on-Mendip | Litton | Oakhill | Priddy | Rodney Stoke | Rowberrow | Sandford | Shepton Mallet | Shipham | Ubley | Webbington | Wells | West Harptree | Westbury-sub-Mendip | Winscombe | Wookey Hole
Rivers and lakes: Blagdon Lake | Cheddar Reservoir | Chew Valley Lake | River Chew | River Yeo | Litton Reservoirs
Caves and gorges: Aveline's Hole | Axbridge Ochre Mine | Banwell Caves | Banwell Ochre Caves | Burrington Combe | Cheddar Gorge and Caves | Compton Martin Ochre Mine | Cox's cave | Eastwater Cavern | Ebbor Gorge | Fairy Cave Quarry | GB Cave | Goatchurch Cavern | Gough's Cave | Hunter`s Hole | Lamb Leer | Longwood Swallet | Manor Farm Swallet | Priddy Caves | Shatter Cave | Sidcot Swallet | St Cuthberts Swallet | St. Dunstan's Well Catchment | Stoke Lane Slocker | Swildon's Hole | Thrupe Lane Swallet | Tyning`s Barrow Swallet | Upper Flood Swallet | Wigmore Swallet | Wookey Hole Caves
Quarries: Barnclose Quarry | Batts Combe quarry | Callow Rock quarry | Cloford Quarry | Colemans quarry | Cook's Wood Quarry | Draycott Quarry | Dulcote quarry | Emborough Quarries | Fairy Cave Quarry | Gurney Slade quarry | Halecombe | Hobbs Quarry | Holwell Quarries | Moon's Hill Quarry | Shipham Quarry | Torr Works | Viaduct Quarry | Westbury Quarry | Whatley quarry | Windsor Hill Quarry |
SSSIs: Asham Wood | Axbridge Hill and Fry's Hill | Banwell Caves | Banwell Ochre Caves | Barns Batch Spinney | Blagdon Lake | Bleadon Hill | Brimble Pit and Cross Swallet Basins | Burledge Hill | Burrington Combe | Chancellor's Farm | Cheddar Complex | Cheddar Reservoir | Cheddar Wood | Chew Valley Lake | Cloford Quarry | Compton Martin Ochre Mine | Cook's Wood Quarry | Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill | Dolebury Warren | Draycott Sleights | Ebbor Gorge | Emborough Quarries | Harptree Combe | Hobbs Quarry | Holwell Quarries | Kingdown and Middledown | Lamb Leer | Priddy Caves | Priddy Pools | Perch | Rodney Stoke | St. Dunstan's Well Catchment | Sandpit Hole and Bishop's Lot | Shiplate Slait | Viaduct Quarry | Windsor Hill Quarry | Wurt Pit and Devil's Punchbowl
Councils: Bath and North East Somerset | Mendip | North Somerset | Sedgemoor
Surrounding areas: Chew Valley | Somerset Levels | North Somerset Levels
