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Report - - Box Freestone Quarry, Wiltshire. Nov 2014 | Mines and Quarries | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Box Freestone Quarry, Wiltshire. Nov 2014

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wellingtonian

Subterráneo
Regular User
Box Freestone Quarry​

Visited with Rigsby, Seffy, WhoDaresWins and non member Amy during the daytime of the recent Brizzle meet.

For those of you who don't know....

Box Freestone Quarry is the largest of the bathstone quarries its name is a combination of its location beneath Box hill and the type of stone it produced. a free stone is one which can be worked with a chisel to produce architectural moldings and tracery. The fine lime stone produced in the Bath area is prime example of a freestone. Quarrying on Box hill dates back to medieval times when the stone was extracted from pits in the hillside where the stone reached the surface. Later quarrying would take place around vertical shafts and it is this method of mining which lead to the construction of one of Box Freestone's most spectacular features, The Cathedral which was quarried via vertical shaft between 1830 and 1850.

The last section of the quarry to be worked was Cliftworks quarry in the northern district which closed in 1969, These working branched off a single long passage which open out of the hillside at Cliftworks Entrance over looking the A4. The passages in the northern district still retain the largest number of artifacts including number of complete cranes, Stone saws and an intact crab winch. Throughout the Cliftworks passages the floor is uneven with the pits left behind by the rotten sleepers which once supported the rail network in this part of the quarry, Clift works was the most modern part of the quarry with stone hauled out by a small locomotive, a water tank near Cliftworks entrance was built to service the engine and the passage roofs are still stained by the locomotives exhaust.

(the above shamelessly lifted from The Kwan's report, who shamelessly lifted it from Landsters) :D

Just a few snaps for your entertainment......


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Big thanks to Rigsby on this one for taking the time to navigate us around. Cheers mate :thumb
 

Seffy

SWC
Staff member
Moderator
Shame we didn't see all those DALEKS and shit…

Nice flicks mate, enjoyed getting back here again. Cheers to Rigsby for being our tour guide too!
 
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