Wensley Quarry

Wensley Quarry

Wensley Quarry
Location
Wensley Quarry Wensley Quarry
Location	Preston-under-Scar
County	North Yorkshire
Country	England
Coordinates	54°19′23″N1°54′00″W / 54.323°N 1.900°W / 54.323; -1.900
Production
Products	Industrial carbonate Crushed rock aggregate Agricultural lime
History
Opened	1947 (1947)
Owner
Website	Official webpage

Wensley Quarry is an active limestone quarry near to Preston-under-Scar, North Yorkshire, England. Products from the quarry include industrial carbonate, crushed rock aggregate, and agricultural lime. The quarry used to send out regular trainloads of sinter dust to the steelworks on Teesside until 1992, when the railway loading point closed.

History

Wensley quarry did not start producing limestone until 1947, however, the adjacent quarry (Redmire Quarry) was sending out industrial lime as sinter dust to the ironworks on Teesside since 1912. When Redmire closed in 1992, Wensley Quarry increased its output of industrial carbonate, ^[1] though it had been producing this commodity for British Steel in the 1970s and 1980s anyway. ^[2] All of Wensley Quarry's current output goes by lorry along what is known locally as the Tank Road, ^{[note 1]} but that from Redmire was taken by an aerial ropeway to the loading sidings at Redmire railway station to be moved to Teesside via Wensleydale Railway until the loading point closed in 1992. ^{[4] [5]}

Wensley Quarry covers 124 hectares (310 acres), and is 1-kilometre (0.62 mi) north of the village of Preston-under-Scar. ^[6] The quarry lies outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park, with the park boundaries being about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) to the west, north, and south. ^[7] The quarry is at an altitude of 300 metres (980 ft) above sea level and works a carboniferous limestone of the Alston Formation, producing rock for aggregate, industrial carbonate, and agricultural lime. ^{[8] [9]}

Whilst many limestone workings have historically been active in the area, Wensley Quarry was not developed until the 20th century, with planning permission granted in 1947. The permission covers an area of 322 hectares (800 acres) and had no time limit, something which prompted the residents of nearby Preston-under-Scar to clarify through an appeals process. ^{[10] [11]} A decision from the House of Lords means that a section of the quarry is free from being developed as part of the workings. ^[12] Currently, the owners (Tarmac) have permission to work the quarry face until 2042. ^[13] English Nature and the local parish councils have raised concerns about the quarry as it borders the Lovely Seat SSSI to the north. ^[14]

The quarry produces around 450,000 tonnes (500,000 tons) of limestone per year. ^[15]

Notes

1. The road Classified as C34 from Scarth Nick eastwards towards Catterick Garrison is used by tanks from the British Army base at Catterick Garrison. The road has been widened, flattened and re-surfaced to enable it to take tanks, and it is known locally as The Tank Road. ^[3]

References

1. Johnson, David (2016). Quarrying in the Yorkshire Pennines: an illustrated history. Stroud: Amberley. p. 30. ISBN   978-1-4456-5367-9.
2. Turner, Ben; Robinson, Gav (2016). Wensley Quarry, North Yorkshire (PDF). archaeologydataservice.ac.uk (Report). Barnard Castle: Northern Archaeological Associates Ltd. p. 6. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
3. Willis, Joe (27 February 2014). "Two teenagers still in critical condition after two-car smash at Bellerby Camp, near Leyburn". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
4. PAWQ 2015, p. 9.
5. Shannon, Paul (2019). British railway infrastructure since 1970 : an historical overview. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword. p. 86. ISBN   978-1-52673-479-2.
6. PAWQ 2015, p. 1.
7. "OL30" (Map). Yorkshire Dales - Northern & Central Area. 1:25,000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey. 2016. ISBN   978-0-319-26335-8.
8. Directory of Mines and Quarries (11 ed.). Keyworth: British Geological Survey. 2020. p. 1–52. ISBN   978-0-85272-789-8.
9. PAWQ 2015, p. 3.
10. "Judgments - Regina v. North Yorkshire County Council Ex Parte Brown and Another". publications.parliament.uk. 11 February 1999. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
11. "Setting conditions is development consent". The Times. No. 66435. 12 February 199. p. 43. ISSN   0140-0460.
12. PAWQ 2015, p. 2.
13. PAWQ 2015, p. 4.
14. "New quarry plan prompts fears for Dales landscape". The Northern Echo. 6 September 2002. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
15. PAWQ 2015, p. 5.

Sources

• Planning application for the purposes of the Review of Old Mineral Permissions on land at Wensley and Cote Pasture, Richmondshire (PDF). edemocracy.northyorks.gov.uk (Report). Northallerton: North Yorkshire County Council. July 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2024.

External links

• Drone footage of the abandoned and current workings at Wensley Quarry, hosted on YouTube
• SSSI map