Quarries of the Mendip Hills

The Mendip Hills, (Mendips) in northern Somerset, are the most southerly Carboniferous Limestone uplands in Britain.

The Mendips comprise three major anticlinal structures, each with a core of older Devonian sandstone and Silurian volcanic rocks. The latter, after crushing, is use in road construction and concrete. Devonian Sandstone is visible around Black Down and Downhead. Carboniferous Limestone, dominates the hills and surround the older rock formations.^[1] An outcrop of basalt is also quarried at Moon's Hill.

For centuries the stone of the Mendips, and the Cotswolds to the north, have been used to build the cities of Bristol and Bath, and many Somerset towns. As stone transportation is expensive, the Mendips, and Leicestershire, are important as the nearest sources of hard stone for London and the South East.

The Mendip quarries produce twelve million tonnes of stone a year, employ two thousand people, and have an annual turnover of £150m.^[2] Five million tonnes of stone per year is transported by Mendip Rail.

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	Aggregate Industries
Doulting Stone Quarry	Doulting	ST648436	Independent business.
Dulcote Quarry (closed)	Dulcote near Wells	ST565445	Foster Yeoman – Bardon Aggregates
Halecombe	Leigh-on-Mendip	ST697474	Tarmac
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 (Merehead)	East Cranmore / Downhead	ST695446	Foster Yeoman – Aggregate Industries
Whatley Quarry	Whatley	ST731479	Hanson PLC

Disused quarries

Barnclose Quarry
Brambleditch Quarry
Cliff Quarry, Compton Martin
Cloford Quarry — geological Site of Special Scientific Interest
Cloud Quarry
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
Waterlip Quarry
Westbury Quarry
Windsor Hill Quarry — geological Site of Special Scientific Interest

References

^ "The Aggregate Landscape of Somerset: Predicting the Archaeological Resource" (PDF). Retrieved 14 February 2007.
^ "What is the significance of quarrying to the local economy?". Retrieved 11 November 2010.

[1] "The Aggregate Landscape of Somerset: Predicting the Archaeological Resource" (PDF). Retrieved 14 February 2007.

[2] "What is the significance of quarrying to the local economy?". Retrieved 11 November 2010.

[1]

[2]

v t e Mendip Hills
Settlements	Ashwick Axbridge Banwell Bishop Sutton Blagdon Bleadon Burrington Charterhouse Cheddar Chewton Mendip Churchill Compton Bishop Compton Martin Cross Draycott East Harptree Easton Hinton Blewett 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	River Axe Cheddar Yeo River Chew River Yeo Lox Yeo River Blagdon Lake Cheddar Reservoir Chew Valley Lake Litton Reservoirs
Hills	Axbridge Hill Black Down Bleadon Hill Burledge Hill Crook Peak Fry's Hill Pen Hill Purn Hill Shute Shelve Hill Wavering Down
Caves and gorges	Attborough Swallet Aveline's Hole Axbridge Ochre Mine Banwell Caves Banwell Ochre Caves Burrington Combe Charterhouse Cave Cheddar Gorge 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 Picken's Hole Pierre's Pot Priddy Caves Read's Cavern Reservoir Hole Rhino Rift Rod's Pot Shatter Cave Shute Shelve Cavern Sidcot Swallet St Cuthbert's Swallet St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Stoke Lane Slocker Swildon's Hole Thrupe Lane Swallet Tyning's Barrow Swallet Upper Flood Swallet W/L Cave Wookey Hole Caves
Quarries	Batts Combe Callow Rock Cloford Cloud Colemans Cook's Wood Doulting Stone Dulcote Emborough Fairy Cave Gurney Slade Halecombe Hobbs Holwell Moon's Hill Torr Works Viaduct Whatley Windsor Hill
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
History	Priddy Circles Cheddar Man Drove Cottage Henge Dolebury Warren Charterhouse Roman Town Fosse Way King John's Hunting Lodge, Axbridge Priddy Mineries Somerset Coalfield Somerset Coal Canal Cheddar Valley line East Somerset Railway
Transport	Mendip Rail Mendip Way Monarch's Way National Cycle Route 24 A37 road A39 road A368 road A371 road
Councils	Bath and North East Somerset North Somerset Somerset
Surrounding areas	Chew Valley Somerset Levels North Somerset Levels