Bowers Quarry/Mine is an active stone quarry on the west side of the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. The quarry is operated by Albion Stone and became the site of the first Portland Stone mine. In October 2002 the firm successfully initiated Portland's first ever underground mining operation, which was a precursor to Jordans Mine, which would start in 2008. [1] It has also been the selected site for the planned Mass Extinction Memorial Observatory.
The quarry has been in operation since the late 1700s, when it was made up of various small individual family run quarries. [2] In 1979 Albion Stone secured the lease for the quarry from the Crown Estate. From this time the quarry gradually extended south towards the Weston Estate. [3] Bowers had long become a deep quarry and, as a result of an 8-metre stand-off of untouched ground alongside the boundary and the gentle slope of up to 15 metres of overburden above the Portland Stone beds, a significant quantity of dimension stone was to be potentially wasted alongside the boundary.
In 1998 the firm received planning permission for the first Portland Stone trial mine at Bowers Quarry. As an experiment, the mining technique was to reduce the environmental impact of the stone industry on Portland. [4] The Bowers Mine trials began in 2002, and were completed in 2005. [5] In the spring of 2006 the High Wall extraction in Bowers Quarry commenced. [6] The extraction from Bowers Quarry today is completely underground through mining. Bowers is largely quarried for Bowers Roach, Whitbed and Basebed. [7] In 2005 Albion Stone revealed a new mining plan for the Jordans Quarry, which started in 2008 and was also a success. [8]
In 2013, Dorset County Council approved a new planning application, allowing Albion Stone to extend the existing mine under the playing fields to the south. The ground is now on a long lease from the county to Albion Stone and new portals have been dug into the faces of Bowers Quarry to access the extended area. These reserves of Portland stone are estimated to last 20–30 years. As part of the application, a phased restoration plan has been agreed covering the entire quarry. [9]
In 2006 the MEMO project was established by Sebastian Brooke. The project aims to create a Mass Extinction Memorial Observatory on the western clifftops at Portland - at Bowers Quarry. The monument is to pay homage to the world's extinct species. [10] The lease for the site was successfully agreed with the Crown Estate, and the project given the go-ahead by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council. As part of the project, almost half of Bowers Quarry is to be restored to limestone grassland. The costs of MEMO have been estimated at being £20-£25 million, with fundraising efforts continuing to date. Once open, the attraction will generate funds by charging an entry fee of up to £9 and it is expected to attraction 140,000 annual visitors within three years of launch. [11] [12]
In August–September 2012 Pierre Sauvegeot's Harmonic Fields, an ensemble of more than 500 instruments played by the wind, was set up near the cliff-edge within a disused section of Bowers Quarry. Harnessing the natural energy of the wind, the orchestra of instruments created a symphonic soundscape. Harmonic Fields was part of the London 2012 Festival, a 12-week nationwide celebration bringing together artists from across the world with those in the UK. [13]
Portland Admiralty Roach is a kind of stone from the Isle of Portland used to construct "The Cobb", the well-known seawall at Lyme Regis in Dorset. The stone is rich in fossils often consisting of almost fifty percent fossilized remains with an average size of approximately 35 mm. The stone, which was quarried by Albion Stone, has a maximum bed height of 2 metres. The stone is renowned for being highly frost resistant and being able to withstand the chemical effects of seawater. The stone is an open textured oolitic limestone from the Portlandian formation formed during the Tithonian age, of the Late Jurassic epoch. It is formed from ooliths in a micrite matrix. There are many voids in the stone, caused by percolating rainwater dissolving all or parts of its many shell fossils, mainly bivalves and gastropods.
Portland stone is a limestone geological formation dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major public buildings in London such as St Paul's Cathedral and Buckingham Palace. Portland stone is also exported to many countries, being used for example at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
The Isle of Purbeck is a peninsula in Dorset, England. It is bordered by water on three sides: the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the north. Its western boundary is less well defined, with some medieval sources placing it at Flower's Barrow above Worbarrow Bay. John Hutchins, author of The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset, defined Purbeck's western boundary as the Luckford Lake steam, which runs south from the Frome. According to writer and broadcaster Ralph Wightman, Purbeck "is only an island if you accept the barren heaths between Arish Mell and Wareham as cutting off this corner of Dorset as effectively as the sea." The most southerly point is St Alban's Head.
Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its 520-hectare (1,300-acre) surface area made it the largest human-made harbour in the world, and it remains one of the largest in the world today. It is naturally sheltered by Portland to the south, Chesil Beach to the west and mainland Dorset to the north. It consists of four breakwaters: two southern and two northern. These have a total length of 4.57 km (2.84 mi) and enclose approximately 1,000 ha of water.
Portland Bill is a narrow promontory at the southern end of the Isle of Portland, and the southernmost point of Dorset, England. One of Portland's most popular destinations is Portland Bill Lighthouse. Portland's coast has been notorious for the number of shipwrecked vessels over the centuries. The dangerous coastline features shallow reefs and the Shambles sandbank, made more hazardous due to the strong Portland tidal race.
Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance. An important feature of Bath Stone is that it is a 'freestone', so-called because it can be sawn or 'squared up' in any direction, unlike other rocks such as slate, which form distinct layers.
Weston is a village in Tophill on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It abuts the main village Easton. As with the rest of Portland's villages and settlements, Weston has been designated as a conservation area, as it is a place of special architectural and historic interest. The village was designated in 1994.
Silksworth is a suburb of the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. The area can be distinguished into two parts, old Silksworth, the original village and township which has existed since the early middle ages, and New Silksworth, the industrial age colliery village which expanded north west of the original settlement. The former colliery being situated to the north west of the village near to the Gilley Law. The population of the ward was 10,931 at the 2011 census.
Purbeck stone refers to building stone taken from a series of limestone beds found in the Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Purbeck Group, found on the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset in southern England. The best known variety of this stone is Purbeck Marble. The stone has been quarried since at least Roman times up to the present day.
Balaclava Bay is a bay situated on the edge of Portland Harbour, where the breakwater meets the island, at the northern end of the Isle of Portland, Dorset, in southern England. The bay is part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site. The bay is overlooked by the Victorian East Weare Battery, built in the 1860s to protect the harbour. The nearest road within the dockyard of Portland Port is named Balaclava Road.
Portland Bowers Basebed is a type of limestone from Bowers Quarry at the Isle of Portland in Dorset, southern England, on the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site.
Broadcroft Quarry is an active stone quarry and part butterfly nature reserve located on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is located towards the eastern side of the island, where it lies to the east of the village Easton and close to The Grove village. The reserve section is now a valued home for a number of butterfly species, while the working quarry area is one of the largest active quarries on Portland and has supplied London with natural Portland stone for many years. The quarry is owned by Portland Stone Firms Ltd, along with Perryfield and Coombefield Quarries. The firm is the largest landholder on the island. The nature reserve is managed by Butterfly Conservation.
Jurassica was a planned visitor attraction in a disused quarry on the Isle of Portland, near Weymouth in Dorset, southern England. It was based on the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site, and as a subterranean geological park, would have largely presented the prehistoric world. The attraction's location was chosen as Yeolands Quarry, a now disused quarry that was operational until the 21st century by Portland Stone Ltd. The quarry is 36 metres (120 ft) deep, 90 metres (300 ft) wide, and is on the eastern side of the island just south of The Grove village.
Folly Pier is a disused stone shipping quay, located on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England; part of the Jurassic Coast. It is found on the east side of the island within the area of East Weares. Other piers within the area include King's Pier and Durdle Pier respectively. Folly Pier dates from the 17th century.
Yeolands Quarry is a disused stone quarry located on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is located on the eastern side of Portland, where it lies east of the village Easton and south of The Grove village. The quarry is one of the largest on Portland, at 120 feet (37 m) deep, 300 feet (91 m) wide. It is now abandoned for extracting stone, though the adjacent Broadcroft Quarry to the west, which links to Yeolands, is still in some use, as well as being a butterfly reserve.
Perryfield Quarry is an operational stone quarry and part butterfly nature reserve located on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is situated towards the middle of the island, east of the village of Weston and south of the hamlet of Wakeham. The reserve section is now a valued home for a number of butterfly species, while the working quarry area is one of the largest active quarries on Portland. The quarry is owned by Portland Stone Firms Ltd, along with Broadcroft and Coombefield Quarries. The firm is the largest landholder on the island.
Stonehills Mine is the first completely new mine on Portland. Albion Stone Plc began the process to open this mine began in 2015 and reserves are estimated to last for 50 years (2066). The planning application to begin work on Stonehills was submitted to the Dorset County Council in February 2001 and was finally approved in February 2005. The site is owned by the Crown Estate and the leased by Albion Stone plc who extract Portland Stone Whitbed and Portland Stone Basebed. Albion Stone Plc use room and pillar mining method of extraction which is already being carried out in their Jordans mine and Bowers Mine.
