real time web analytics
Report - - Barnsley Quarry, Gloucestershire - April 2016 | Mines and Quarries | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Barnsley Quarry, Gloucestershire - April 2016

Hide this ad by donating or subscribing !

Bertie Bollockbrains

There is no pain
Regular User
A small working that is alongside the B4425 between the villages of Barnsley and Bibury. Never been reported in here and I guess that’s because its tiny, surrounded by huge big green fence and access is via a 12-15ft deep shaft that requires a little bit of ropework.

HISTORY

Very little info I can find on the interweb, save to say that to the south of the road is another quarry, called Quarry Hill Quarry, that is said to have a 70ft shaft access. I didn’t look at this one because, as you can tell from the photos below, I did this after my bedtime and was getting tired.

The quarries described above were in existence in some form or the other by the early 18th century. A mason Richard Norris, not the first of his family to follow that trade at Barnsley, took a lease of one of the quarries in 1725. One was being worked for stone tiles in 1757. In the 1770s they were said to have been producing stone almost equal in quality to Bath Stone. The Poole family followed the trade at Barnsley between the 1830s and the First World War.

(Source for the above: A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 7. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1981.)

The quarries were still around in 1870-72 for in those years John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Barnsley like this:

BARNSLEY, a parish in Cirencester district, Gloucester; near the river Colne, 4 miles NE of Cirencester r. station. It has a post office under Cirencester. Acres, 2,090. Real property, £1,852. Pop., 327. Houses, 64. The chief property belongs to Sir W. Musgrave, Bart. The manor belonged formerly to the Perrots and the Bourchiers; and the old mansion of the latter still stands. Barnsley Park, the seat of the present proprietor, is extensive; and the mansion is in the Italian style, and contains some frescoes and antiques. Freestone is quarried. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value, £320.* Patron, Sir W. Musgrave, Bart. The church is transition Norman, and was recently restored. Charities, £15.



THE VISIT

The quarry is on the side of a surprisingly busy B road and surrounded by a difficult to climb green fence. After taking these recce photos, I decided a night-time visit was best for here.
DSC03887_zpsznkl34ez.jpg


DSC03884_zpsnfipgosc.jpg


I had an hour to kill and converted an old retired climbing rope into a 11-runged ladder (if anyone wants to copy, don’t make the rungs so far apart as I did and the instructions are here).
01_zpsz1x8xcvi.jpg


Returning late at night, the rope ladder seen in-situ. It was a bit scary stepping onto it for the first time, but in the end we had no drama. Following the theme of “safety is paramount”, I had a second rope running down alongside it – the logic being something to grab onto if the ladder failed.
28_zpsfeqhrvg9.jpg


From the bottom of the shaft, the obvious passage leads to the west and is initially high with neat stacks of deads
04_zpsnkj2e8bt.jpg


06_zpsfta8qbhl.jpg


08_zps4lwxasxs.jpg


But the passage soon becomes a low stoop. A couple of junctions lead to dead-end workings. Eventually the main passage circles back round to the main shaft. I guess about 500m of passageway down there.
15_zpsilxeknqp.jpg


13_zpsvhslgfdh.jpg


12_zpssysycxxj.jpg


Very little graffiti down here, although scorch marks can be seen on the ceilings dating from 1839.
22_zpsrntxxgyt.jpg


24_zpsj7vdgmc4.jpg


“D. Bick surveyed this mine 1st March 1970”
25_zpsz21emtfr.jpg


And then it was time to get out
26_zpsf6n0i1ci.jpg


27_zpsusj5js8b.jpg


Finally Mrs BB was very concerned to hear of people recently getting lost in a famous Wiltshire mine and suing the local pub for compensation. So again in the theme of “safety is paramount” and to protect the local pub from financial ruin, here’s her survey. Be safe people.
29_zpssvsduhk1.jpg
 

Bertie Bollockbrains

There is no pain
Regular User
Barnsley, Gloucestershire, is a quaint scenic Cotswold village which is on the tourist trail. Famous for it's annual Garden Festival, it's high-end gourmet restaurants and the exclusive luxurious Barnsley House spa.

I assume Barnsley, Yorkshire, is a nice place too?
 

Fudge

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Barnsley, Gloucestershire, is a quaint scenic Cotswold village which is on the tourist trail. Famous for it's annual Garden Festival, it's high-end gourmet restaurants and the exclusive luxurious Barnsley House spa.

I assume Barnsley, Yorkshire, is a nice place too?

I'll let you research that and make your own judgement.
 

Lord Oort

Fear is the little death
Regular User
Loving the survey. Not to sure about that rope thing though, looks dangerous.
 

Nope

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Impressive stuff! Lovely pictures, great (and very funny) diagram and awesome use of rope ladder. Next time use a rope descender and wear a black tailored suit whilst you do it.Then you'll be the true 007! Best documented report I've seen in a while.
 

trailboss99

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
What a nice little quarry. Well documented report, good pics so not much to not like here. Thanks for sharing.

PS: no Dragon pics? :(
 

Bertie Bollockbrains

There is no pain
Regular User
Manged to obtain a real survey for this place:

Barnsley%20Quarry%20Survey_zpsbmpg0iqc.jpg


I think the wife did a good job considering she took no notes and drew her survey by memory the day after. Bertrina I'm not worthy of you and you need to find a better man in your life :Not Worthy
 

Mike422062

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Appreciate I am very late to reply... I am new here.

Just wanted to say thanks for this. I drive by this site regularly and always assumed it was a train or canal tunnel airshaft but could find no sign of a track/canal anywhere near by so was puzzled. You've answered my question so thanks a lot.

Kudos to you for the nerve to go down there.
 
Top