Box Freestone Quarry - Wiltshire - Jan 2014
After a very quick
solo visit to the
Cathedral back in 2012 I was hooked on seeing more of the
place so I asked if a few members would be up for a trip to Box Quarry so just
after the New Year. I met up with FaZY, Kira, Reef, The Devil Child & Steve for
a fun packed few hours down said mine. It was a good day and we saw quite a bit
spending about five hours down there altogether. It had been raining fairly a
few days previously so the mine was soaking wet when we toured so everything got
covered in mud but I guess that goes with the territory eh?
A short history
The ready availability of limestone in the Cotswolds had made it a convenient
building material since at least Roman times. Corsham sits on the Greater
Oolitic Seam which, since it extends in about a 20 mile radius of Bath, has been
termed 'Bath Stone'. This stone differs from the Cotswold seams further north by
having a lower ironstone content and therefore being lighter in colour. It is
also less friable and so suitable for producing the dressed blocks of stone so
common in the buildings of towns like Corsham and Bath.
Until the 19th century, the Corsham area had been quarried chiefly for local
use. The construction of the Box Hill railway tunnel by the great engineer
Brunel, however, brought the means of transporting stone easily further afield
at the same time, coincidentally, as uncovering huge new deposits. So much stone
was shipped from Corsham now that Bath Stone was sometimes also known as 'Corsham
Stone'.
After the First World War, the expense of extracting stone and the development
of cheaper building materials almost brought quarrying for Bath Stone to an end.
With the renewed interest in conservation and building design sympathetic to its
context, high quality limestone is again much in demand and quarries are being
worked again, not only in the Corsham area, but also at Limpley Stoke near Bath.
It is understood that stone is currently being extracted regularly from up to
three different quarries in Corsham.
Moon rise in the cathedral.
Not sure what this was looks like a sort of pick sharpening area?
Pictures of deads.
A random part somewhere.
A grilled bit.
The entrance to the long tunnel that leads to the red door.
A re-enforced area.
Another re-enforced bit.
A bit of vintage graffiti.
Some nice "brickwork".
Old railway tracks.
Another odd random part.
The spooky Scooby Doo stairs to who knows where.
Yet another random part.
A nice "tunnelly" bit. Check the crack in the roof.
This part has of the mine has only one entrance and one exit, so I'm told, so a
collapse here and it's game over. The rusting iron used to be a hut.
The crab winch, here are a couple of close ups...
Apparently the rocks above fell on the mined stone below after they had been
stacked up there. I expect that ruined someones day.
Calling it day, we pay a quick visit to this crane...
Junction.
