Tuthill Quarry is a Site of Special Scientific Interest

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

 in the Easington

Easington (district)

Easington was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district in eastern County Durham, England. It contained the settlements of Easington, Seaham, Peterlee, Murton, Horden, Blackhall, Wingate and Castle Eden...

 district of north-east County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It lies just over 1 km east of the village of Haswell

Haswell, County Durham

Haswell is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated between Durham and Peterlee.It is notable as the birthplace of English world champion road racing cyclist Tom Simpson, born 30 November 1937....

.

The site occupies part of a disused quarry, in which have developed areas of primary and secondary magnesian limestone grassland. Such grassland is largely confined to County Durham and increasingly scarce even there. The grasslands at Tuthill Quarry are typical of the type, being characterised by the presence of blue moor-grass, Sesleria albicans, and small scabious, Scabiosa columbaria, but a number of less common species are also present, including common butterwort, Pinguicula vulgaris

Pinguicula vulgaris

Pinguicula vulgaris, the Common butterwort, is a perennial carnivorous plant in the Lentibulariaceae family. It grows to a height of 3–16 cm, and is topped with a purple, and occasionally white, flower that is 15 mm or longer, and shaped like a funnel. This butterwort grows in damp...

, and adder's-tongue fern, Ophioglossum vulgatum

Ophioglossum vulgatum

Ophioglossum vulgatum, commonly known as the Southern adderstongue, is a species of the plant genus Ophioglossum. It is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with a scattered distribution in Europe, Asia, northwestern Africa, and eastern North America.This plant grows from a...

. There is a small patch of the nationally scarce bird's-eye primrose, Primula farinosa

Primula farinosa

Primula farinosa, the bird's-eye primrose, is a small perennial plant in the family Primulaceae, native to northern Europe and northern Asia, and farther south at high altitudes in the mountains of southern Europe. This primrose thrives on grazed meadows rich in lime and moisture.-Growth:This...

, and one of the few records from lowland Durham of lesser clubmoss, Selaginella selaginoides

Selaginella selaginoides

Selaginella selaginoides is a non-flowering plant of the spikemoss genus Selaginella with a wide distribution around the Northern Hemisphere. It resembles a moss in appearance but is a vascular plant belonging to the division Lycopodiophyta...

, is from this site.