Chilmark Quarries

Chilmark Quarries
Site of Special Scientific Interest

Country	England
Region	South West
Ceremonial county	Wiltshire
Location	Chilmark
- coordinates	51°4′48″N 2°2′11″W / 51.08000°N 2.03639°W / 51.08000; -2.03639Coordinates: 51°4′48″N 2°2′11″W / 51.08000°N 2.03639°W / 51.08000; -2.03639
Area	9.65 ha (23.85 acres)
Notification	1977
Managed by	Natural England
Area of Search	Wiltshire
Interest	Biological and Geological
Website : Map of Site

Chilmark Quarries (grid reference ST974312) is a 9.65 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest, in the ravine south of the village of Chilmark in Wiltshire, notified in 1977.

Chilmark stone, a form of limestone, is still mined at the site, subject to restrictions intended to protect the bats and other wildlife. The operator Chicksgrove Quarry Ltd also extracts Chilmark stone from Chicksgrove Quarry, a site 1.5 miles away.

Biological Interest

Within the disused quarries on the western side of the valley, there is a system of caves in which up to 150 bats, of several species, roost in winter. The largest British wintering roost of Bechstein's Bat is here. Other species which utilise the site include Greater and Lesser Horseshoe Bats, Daubenton's Bat, Natterer's Bat and Brandt's Bat.

Geological Interest

The quarry has exposures of Jurassic rocks, part of the Purbeckian beds. It is a fine building stone used for the main structure of Salisbury Cathedral and many other local buildings. Purbeckian limestones, possibly from Chilmark, were used for packing around at least one of the upright stones of Stonehenge, for houses on an Iron Age site at Fifield Bavant, and for Rockbourne Roman Villa and other Roman sites.^[1] Chilmark stone is easy to work, but long-lived in use. Fossils are uncommon in the stone presently being extracted, but include ammonites and other shells.

References

↑ Corrections to 1996 paper

External links

Biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire

Acres Farm Meadow River Avon System Baverstock Juniper Bank Bencroft Hill Meadows Bentley Wood Bincknoll Dip Woods Blackmoor Copse Botley Down Bowerchalke Downs Box Mine Bracknell Croft Bradley Woods Bratton Downs Brickworth Down and Dean Hill Brimsdown Hill Britford Water Meadows Burcombe Down Burderop Wood Calstone and Cherhill Downs Camp Down Chilmark Quarries Chickengrove Bottom Chilton Foliat Meadows Clattinger Farm Clearbury Down Cley Hill Cloatley Manor Farm Meadows Clout's Wood Coate Water Cockey Down Colerne Park and Monk's Wood The Coombes, Hinton Parva Cotswold Water Park Cranborne Chase Dank's Down and Truckle Hill Distillery Farm Meadows East Harnham Meadows Ebsbury Down Emmett Hill Meadows Figsbury Ring Fonthill Grottoes Fyfield Down Gallows Hill Goldborough Farm Meadows Great Cheverell Hill Great Yews Gutch Common Ham Hill Hang Wood Harries Ground, Rodbourne Haydon Meadow Heath Hill Farm Homington and Coombe Bissett Downs Honeybrook Farm Inwood, Warleigh Jones's Mill River Kennet Kennet and Lambourn Floodplain King's Play Hill Knapp and Barnett's Downs Knighton Downs and Wood Landford Bog Landford Heath Langley Wood and Homan's Copse Little Grubbins Meadow Long Knoll Loosehanger Copse and Meadows Lower Coombe and Ferne Brook Meadows Lower Woodford Water Meadows Midford Valley Woods Morgan's Hill The New Forest North Meadow, Cricklade Odstock Down Out Woods Parsonage Down Pewsey Downs Picket and Clanger Wood Piggledene Pike Corner Pincombe Down Porton Down Porton Meadows Prescombe Down Rack Hill Ravensroost Wood Restrop Farm and Brockhurst Wood Rotherley Downs Roundway Down and Covert Salisbury Plain Savernake Forest Scratchbury & Cotley Hills Silbury Hill Spye Park Starveall and Stony Down Steeple Langford Down Stockton Wood and Down Stoke Common Meadows Stratford Toney Down Sutton Lane Meadows Throope Down River Till Tytherington Down Upper Waterhay Meadow Upton Cow Down West Yatton Down Whiteparish Common Whitesheet Hill Win Green Down Winklebury Hill Winsley Mines Wylye and Church Dean Downs Yarnbury Castle

Neighbouring areas Avon Berkshire Dorset Gloucestershire Hampshire Oxfordshire Somerset

Geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire

Bratton Downs Charnage Down Chalk Pit Chilmark Quarries Corsham Railway Cutting Dead Maid Quarry Dinton Quarry Dinton Railway Cutting Fyfield Down Great Quarry, Swindon Gripwood Quarry Kellaways - West Tytherton, River Avon Lady Down Quarry The New Forest Okus Quarry Old Town Railway Cutting, Swindon Piggledene Seend Cleeve Quarry Seend Ironstone Quarry and Road Cutting Stanton St. Quintin Quarry & Motorway Cutting Steeple Ashton Stert Brook Exposure Teffont Evias Quarry and Lane Cutting Upper Chicksgrove Quarry West Harnham Chalk Pit Westbury Ironstone Quarry Wootton Bassett Mud Spring

Neighbouring areas: Avon Berkshire Dorset Gloucestershire Hampshire Oxfordshire Somerset

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