Dulcote Quarry
Encyclopedia
Dulcote Quarry, was a limestone
quarry
at Dulcote, near Wells
on the Mendip Hills
, Somerset
, England. The quarry measures around 600 metres (1,968.5 ft) from West to East and around 350 metres (1,148.3 ft) from North to South, with an area of 18 acres (7.3 ha), which is surrounded by 80 acres (32.4 ha) of woodland. The floor of the quarry is 61 metres (200.1 ft) to 67 metres (219.8 ft) above Ordnance Datum
.
The site has been used for quarrying since the mid 19th century. The Foster Yeoman
Company was founded at Dulcote, in 1923, and later became part of Aggregate Industries
. The site achieved an output of approximately 0.25M tonnes per year of Carboniferous Limestone
, for general purpose construction aggregates. Much of the stone was moved on a branch line of the Great Western Railway
by an independent company which became known as Mendip Rail
.
A Geodiversity
audit of the site was carried out in 2004, which highlighted the limestone strata and fossils identified. These include Carboniferous Limestone overlain by Triassic
Mercia Mudstones and Sandstones with geodes, which were formed by siliceous mineral replacement.
In 2007 the quarry was bought by the Kilbride group a subsidiary of Kilmartin Holdings, which itself became part of Hansteen Holdings
. When the parent company went into receivership the part owning Dulcote survived and has put the worked out quarry site up for commercial redevelopment with outline planning permission for a price of £1.5million.
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
at Dulcote, near Wells
Wells
Wells is a cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. Although the population recorded in the 2001 census is 10,406, it has had city status since 1205...
on the Mendip Hills
Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running east to west between Weston-super-Mare and Frome, the hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Avon Valley to the north...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England. The quarry measures around 600 metres (1,968.5 ft) from West to East and around 350 metres (1,148.3 ft) from North to South, with an area of 18 acres (7.3 ha), which is surrounded by 80 acres (32.4 ha) of woodland. The floor of the quarry is 61 metres (200.1 ft) to 67 metres (219.8 ft) above Ordnance Datum
Ordnance Datum
In the British Isles, an Ordnance Datum or OD is a vertical datum used by an ordnance survey as the basis for deriving altitudes on maps. A spot height may be expressed as AOD for "above ordnance datum". Usually mean sea level is used for the datum...
.
The site has been used for quarrying since the mid 19th century. The Foster Yeoman
Foster Yeoman
Foster Yeoman Limited, based in the United Kingdom, is one of Europe's largest quarrying and asphalt companies, owned by Swiss construction materials conglomerate Holcim.-Company history:...
Company was founded at Dulcote, in 1923, and later became part of Aggregate Industries
Aggregate Industries
Aggregate Industries, a member of the Holcim Group, is an aggregates, construction and building materials group, with its base in the United Kingdom. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Holcim in 2005.-History:...
. The site achieved an output of approximately 0.25M tonnes per year of Carboniferous Limestone
Carboniferous limestone
Carboniferous Limestone is a term used to describe a variety of different types of limestone occurring widely across Great Britain and Ireland which were deposited during the Dinantian epoch of the Carboniferous period. They were formed between 363 and 325 million years ago...
, for general purpose construction aggregates. Much of the stone was moved on a branch line of the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
by an independent company which became known as Mendip Rail
Mendip Rail
Mendip Rail Ltd is an independent freight operating railway company in Great Britain. It is composed of the rail-operation divisions of Aggregate Industries and Hanson Aggregates ....
.
A Geodiversity
Geodiversity
Geodiversity is the variety of earth materials, forms and processes that constitute and shape the Earth, either the whole or a specific part of it. Relevant materials include minerals, rocks, sediments, fossils, soils and water. Forms may comprise folds, faults, landforms and other expressions of...
audit of the site was carried out in 2004, which highlighted the limestone strata and fossils identified. These include Carboniferous Limestone overlain by Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
Mercia Mudstones and Sandstones with geodes, which were formed by siliceous mineral replacement.
In 2007 the quarry was bought by the Kilbride group a subsidiary of Kilmartin Holdings, which itself became part of Hansteen Holdings
Hansteen Holdings
Hansteen Holdings plc is a European industrial REIT that invests in properties with high yields, low financing costs and opportunity for value improvement across the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France and the UK...
. When the parent company went into receivership the part owning Dulcote survived and has put the worked out quarry site up for commercial redevelopment with outline planning permission for a price of £1.5million.
External links
See also
- Quarries of the Mendip HillsQuarries of the Mendip HillsThe Mendip Hills are the most southerly Carboniferous Limestone Upland in Britain and are found in northern Somerset.They are composed of three major anticlinal structures, each with a core of older Devonian sandstone and Silurian volcanic rocks...