Chilmark Quarries

Last updated

Chilmark Quarries
Stone being worked at Chilmark - geograph.org.uk - 326533.jpg
Stone being worked at Chilmark, 2007
United Kingdom adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Chilmark Quarries in the UK
LocationWiltshire, South West England
Coordinates 51°4′48″N2°2′11″W / 51.08000°N 2.03639°W / 51.08000; -2.03639
Area9.65 ha (23.8 acres)
Established1977
Governing bodyNatural England
Website SAC at MAgiC

Chilmark Quarries (grid reference ST974312 ) is a 9.65 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), in the ravine south of the village of Chilmark in Wiltshire, England.

Contents

The SSSI was first notified in 1977. [1] Its importance as a home for bats led to the site being designated in 2005 (together with Fonthill Grottoes) as a European Special Area of Conservation. [2]

The western section of the site is in Chilmark civil parish, while the eastern section (separated by a minor road) is in Teffont parish.

History

Chilmark stone, a form of limestone, was mined here from medieval times and was used for buildings including Salisbury Cathedral. [3] [4] In 1936 the quarry and mines were bought by the Air Ministry and used as a storage area for RAF Chilmark, a munitions depot, until 1995. [5] Stone extraction continued on a small scale until the quarry closed c. 2007. In March 2019 the quarry re-opened (by Chilmark Stone (Properties) Ltd) and extraction of Ashlar and Walling stone has once again started.

Biological interest

Within the disused quarries on the western side of the valley, there is a system of caves in which up to 150 bats, of several species, roost in winter. Species which use the site include greater and lesser horseshoe bats, Daubenton's bat, Natterer's bat and Brandt's bat. The quarries have been suggested to be the largest British hibernation roost of the Bechstein's bat,[ citation needed ] but it remains uncertain whether Bechstein's bats hibernate in caves and mines. [6]

Geological interest

The quarry has exposures of Jurassic rocks, part of the Purbeckian beds. It is a fine building stone used for the main structure of Salisbury Cathedral and many other local buildings. Purbeckian limestones, possibly from Chilmark, were used for packing around at least one of the upright stones of Stonehenge, for houses on an Iron Age site at Fifield Bavant, and for Rockbourne Roman Villa and other Roman sites. [7] Chilmark stone is easy to work, but long-lived in use. Fossils are uncommon in the beds recently being extracted, but include ammonites and other shells.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater horseshoe bat</span> Species of bat

The greater horseshoe bat is an insectivorous bat of the genus Rhinolophus. Its distribution covers Europe, Northern Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Asia. It is the largest of the horseshoe bats in Europe and is thus easily distinguished from other species. The species is sedentary, typically travelling up to 30 kilometres (19 mi) between the winter and summer roosts, with the longest recorded movement being 180 km (110 mi). The frequencies used by this bat species for echolocation lie between 69–83 kHz, have most energy at 81 kHz and have an average duration of 37.4 ms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Browne's Folly</span> Site of a tower with the same name

Brown's Folly or Brown's Folly is a folly tower sitting within a 39.9 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near the village of Bathford in Somerset, notified in 1974: the site itself is known as the Farleigh Down Stone Quarry, and is managed as a nature reserve by the Avon Wildlife Trust (AWT). The tower was built in 1848 and is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines</span>

Combe Down and Bathampton Down Quarries make up a 6.22 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Bath and North East Somerset, England, important for its bat population. The disused quarries date from the 17th and 18th centuries and were the source of Bath stone for the city of Bath and elsewhere in the UK. A five-year project to stabilise the quarry workings was largely completed by November 2009.

Littledean Hall is a country house in the village of Littledean, Gloucestershire, England. It has been described as one of the most haunted houses in England and is thought to be the oldest house in the United Kingdom which is still occupied. Saxon and Celtic remains have been uncovered in the cellars. Part of the house is designated an SSSI as it is a proven breeding roost for the Greater Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum).

Fonthill Grottoes is a 0.69 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, in woodland adjacent to Fonthill Lake in Wiltshire, notified in 1994. Its SSSI designation is due to its roosting bats: the site is the sixth largest hibernaculum in Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Box Mine</span>

Box Mine is a 56.6 ha biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, near the village of Box in Wiltshire, England, notified in 1991.

Winsley Mines is a 1.48 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, near the village of Winsley in Wiltshire, England, notified in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sylvan House Barn</span>

Sylvan House Barn is a 0.005-hectare (0.012-acre) stone built barn near the village of St Briavels, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. Because of its breeding bats, the site was notified as a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilmark, Wiltshire</span> Human settlement in England

Chilmark is a Wiltshire village and civil parish of some 150 houses straddling the B3089 road, 11 miles (18 km) west of Salisbury, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Mooray and Portash, both close to the south of Chilmark village; and the dispersed hamlet of Ridge, to the southwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beer Quarry Caves</span> Man-made caves in Devon, England

Beer Quarry Caves is a man-made limestone underground complex located about a mile west of the village of Beer, Devon, and the main source in England for beer stone. The tunnels resulted from 2,000 years of quarrying beer stone, which was particularly favoured for cathedral and church features such as door and window surrounds because of its colour and workability for carving. Stone from the quarry was used in the construction of several of southern England's ancient cathedrals and a number of other important buildings as well as for many town and village churches, and for some buildings in the United States. Extraction was particularly intense during the Middle Ages, but continued until the 1920s. An adit to another set of workings can be seen from the South West Coast Path east of Branscombe, having been exposed by a landslip in the late 18th century. The quarry is part of the Jurassic Coast, and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Chicksgrove Quarry is a 14 acres (5.7 ha) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Upper Chicksgrove in Wiltshire, England notified in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blaisdon Hall</span>

Blaisdon Hall is a Grade II* listed building at Blaisdon. It includes a 0.07-hectare (0.17-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1995.

Buckshaft Mine & Bradley Hill Railway Tunnel is a 5.66-hectare (14.0-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1998. This site comprises two separate locations. One is Buckshaft Mine which is near the village of Ruspidge. The other location is Bradley Hill Railway Tunnel which is near the village of Soudley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caerwood and Ashberry Goose House</span>

Caerwood And Ashberry Goose House is a 0.01-hectare (0.025-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, England, notified in 1991. The site was previously notified as Caerwood, Tidenham and lies within the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devil's Chapel Scowles</span> Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, England

Devil's Chapel Scowles is a 44.79-hectare (110.7-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified England, in 1998. The site lies in the Forest of Dean and has four units of assessment by Natural England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Bow and Old Ham Mines</span>

Old Bow And Old Ham Mines is a 40.3-hectare (100-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westbury Brook Ironstone Mine</span>

Westbury Brook Ironstone Mine is a 15.69-hectare (38.8-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wigpool Ironstone Mine</span>

Wigpool Ironstone Mine is a 34.88-hectare (86.2-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bath and Bradford-on-Avon Bats SAC</span>

The Bath and Bradford-on-Avon Bats SAC is a Special Area of Conservation originally designated under the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora.

References

  1. ↑ "Chilmark Quarries" (PDF). Natural England. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  2. ↑ "Chilmark Quarries: Citation for Special Area of Conservation UK0016373". Natural England. May 2005. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  3. ↑ Crowley, D.A. (ed.). "Victoria County History - Wiltshire - Vol 13 pp114-125 - Parishes: Chilmark". British History Online. University of London. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Question: Chilmark stone". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. December 2004. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Planning Brief: RAF Chilmark" (PDF). Salisbury District Council. December 1999. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  6. ↑ "S1323. Bechstein’s bat Myotis bechsteinii" in Bath and Bradford-on-Avon Bats Special Area of Conservation (Natural England, 2019), p. 5: "Caves and abandoned mines may be used for hibernation, though it is possible that the bats also remain in woodland roosts during the winter."
  7. ↑ "Corrections to 1996 paper". Archived from the original on 6 August 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.