Local Quarries, Mines & Pits

Contents:

General points

Commercial stone quarrying is recorded in 1341.

Before the industrial revolution, stone was worked by hand – using wedges and crowbars – and by chemical methods – using quicklime – and frost and ice to split the stone in the quarry.

Many of the early sources were simple stones which were exposed by weathering and agriculture, and natural outcrops.

Elland flags have been quarried in several areas of Calderdale. Thakstones were recorded in the 15th century.

From the 18th century, there were many stone quarries in the district where the local York stone sandstone and millstone grit are extracted.

The industry reached its high point in the 19th century when the need for more mills and more housing – and the implied churches, public buildings, bridges, and road – demanded an efficient stone industry. The need to move the stone then led to a need for better turnpike roads.

In 1822, there were 22 quarries in the Brighouse area – of which 11 were in Southowram.

Many of these quarries are still in operation today, east of the geological fault from Ogden to Salterhebble along which the Hebble Brook flows, including – Hipperholme, Lightcliffe, Hove Edge, Northowram, and Southowram where Marshalls produce their famous Yorkshire Stone.

There was also some quarrying at Mount Tabor.

The local stone has been widely-used for building and paving.

Small stones – such as would be of no use as flags or for other purposes – were often crushed to make gravel.

In the 18th century, brick became popular and was used for some buildings such as Square Chapel.

In the 1830s, representatives from Toronto came to England to recruit stone masons and market gardeners which were in great demand in Canada. Many local workers emigrated about this time.

During the worldwide depression of the 1870s, a large number of local workers involved in the stone and quarrying industry emigrated to the US and elsewhere.

See Baring, Billy Wobble, Cliffs, Delver, Dual economy, Elland stone, Gomersall & Bentley, Gravel working, Great Acre Quarry, Southowram, Hove Edge Quarry, Judd wall, Kinderscout Grit, Kitchen & Carter, Master-taker, Maude & Dyson, Millstone grit, Pillar & Stall, Plug & feathers, Ring the gavelock, Sandstone, Stone Dresser, Stone miner, Thakstone and York stone

Other Local Quarries & Collieries

Ainley Main Colliery Angel Quarry, Halifax Bankwell Colliery, Cornholme Barker Royd Quarry, Southowram Blackburn & Sugden Colliery, Shelf Boothtown Colliery Bowood Quarry, Triangle Bradley Quarry Brierly Hill Quarry, Godley Joseph Briggs & Sons Castle Quarry, Ripponden Cinder Hills Colliery, Southowram Clock Face Quarry, Barkisland Cockhill Farm Colliery, Shelf Conway Stone Quarries Copy Pit Colliery, Todmorden Cote Hill Quarry, Warley Cromwell Bottom Delph, Southowram Crow Nest Park, Lightcliffe Dam Head Colliery, Northowram Delph End Quarry, Pecket Well Eaves Top Quarry, Stainland Fall Spring Wood Quarry, Stainland Five Acre Quarries, Elland Flat Head Quarry, Soyland Ford Hill Colliery, Queensbury Four Lane End Colliery, Shibden Grange Hall Quarry, Brighouse Greenhouse Quarry, Blackshawhead Greenroyd Quarry, Mount Tabor George Greenwood & Company Halifax Building & Quarrying Company Limited Halifax Coal Company Halliday's Sir Thomas Hanbury Hartshead Colliery Hell Hole Quarry, Hebden Bridge Heptonstall Quarry Highfield Coal Pit, Southowram Highroad Well Moor Hollins Estate Quarry, Sowerby Bridge Hollins Grove Quarry Holmes & Company R. Holt & Company Hunter Hill Quarries, Wainstalls S. Illingworth & Sons Intake Quarry, Norland Jail Hole Quarry, Langfield

Knowlwood Delph Quarries, Walsden Lane Top Quarry, Norland Law Hill Quarry, Stansfield Limed House Soft Bed Colliery, Northowram Listerwick Colliery, Shibden Lob Mill Delph, Todmorden Long Wall Quarry, Elland Lutz & Armitage Maiden Cross Colliery, Todmorden Marsh Quarry, Sowerby Bridge Moor End Quarry, Mount Tabor Mount Skip Quarry, Old Town Mountain End Colliery, Northowram Nab End Quarry, Cragg Vale Norwood Green Colliery Ogden Kirk Quarries Park Quarry, Pellon Pinfold Quarries, Norland Pinfold Quarry, Elland Rake Bank Quarry, Mixenden Rattenclough Quarry, Holmfield Resting Hill Quarry, Highroad Well Ringby Quarries J. G. Robinson Rock Edge Quarry, Old Town Rushton Hill Quarries, Pellon J. Savile & Company Scotland Quarry, Midgley Scout Quarry Shibden Hall Colliery Skircoat Moor Quarries, Halifax Spring Bank Quarry, Mixenden Springhill Quarry, Greetland Stannary Quarry, Halifax Stoodley Pike quarry Storth Colliery, Elland Swan Bank Colliery Top o' th' Hill Delph, Northowram Turgate Quarry, Norland Upper Pule Quarry, Swalesmoor Vicar Park Quarry, Pellon Victoria Quarry, Elland Wall Nook Quarry, Greetland White Rock Quarry, Sowood Julius Whitehead & Company Wicken Hill Quarry, Cragg Vale

Page Ref: MMS214

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