![]() Rock pinnacles in West Quarry | |
Coordinates | 50°38′56″N4°45′32″W / 50.649°N 4.759°W Coordinates: 50°38′56″N4°45′32″W / 50.649°N 4.759°W |
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West Quarry is a disused open cast slate quarry between Tintagel and Trebarwith on the north coast of Cornwall, South West England. The quarry ceased operations towards the end of the nineteenth century.
The quarry is one of at least eight coastal quarries that lie between Tintagel Castle and Trebarwith Strand. West quarry is the southernmost of these and adjoins Lanterdan. It can be hard to determine where Lanterdan ends and West begins and so a convenient demarcation is a row of slate pinnacles running roughly east to west. These towers are composed of inferior slate, which is why they have not been worked, and everything due south can be considered West Quarry. The quarry workings can be seen easily from the South West Coast Path.
Two rock faces appear to have been worked, both around 50 m (165 ft) in length. The quarry floor is around 30 m (100 ft) below the cliffs. [1] There are virtually no remains of buildings. The ruined walls of small sheds that can still be seen may have been built after the quarry ceased operations, and it is unclear what function they served.
The quarry provided a source of Upper Devonian slate and Lower Carboniferous slates of a greyish green colour used predominantly for roofing.
According to OS map history, the quarry was already disused by 1883 The quarries on this stretch of coast possibly date back to the 17th century [2] -nearby Lanterdan was in use as early as the fifteenth century. [3]
Tintagel or Trevena is a civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, England. The village and nearby Tintagel Castle are associated with the legends surrounding King Arthur and in recent times has become a tourist attraction.
Tintagel Castle is a medieval fortification located on the peninsula of Tintagel Island adjacent to the village of Tintagel (Trevena), North Cornwall in the United Kingdom. The site was possibly occupied in the Romano-British period, as an array of artefacts dating from this period have been found on the peninsula, but as yet no Roman-era structure has been proven to have existed there. It was settled during the early medieval period, when it was probably one of the seasonal residences of the regional king of Dumnonia. A castle was built on the site by Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall in the 13th century, during the High Middle Ages. It later fell into disrepair and ruin.
North Cornwall is an area of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is also the name of a former local government district, which was administered from Bodmin and Wadebridge 50.516°N 4.835°W. Other towns in the area are Launceston, Bude, Padstow, and Camelford.
Boscastle is a village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Forrabury and Minster. It is 14 miles (23 km) south of Bude and 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Tintagel. The harbour is a natural inlet protected by two stone harbour walls built in 1584 by Sir Richard Grenville and is the only significant harbour for 20 miles (32 km) along the coast. The village extends up the valleys of the River Valency and River Jordan. Heavy rainfall on 16 August 2004 caused extensive damage to the village.
Treknow is a small village in Tintagel civil parish, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom: it is the second largest settlement, and is located between Trevena and Trebarwith. It is situated 19 miles (31 km) north of Bodmin, 4 miles (6.4 km) north-west of Camelford, and 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Tintagel, grid reference SX056869
Trebarwith Strand is a section of coastline located near the coastal settlement of Trebarwith on the north coast of Cornwall, England, UK, 2+1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) south of Tintagel. It has 800m of sandy beach contained by cliffs in which natural caves are found. The beach can only be accessed at low tide. The strand was once used to land ships to export slate from the nearby quarries while sand from the beach was used for agricultural purposes. The view from the beach is dominated by rocks 300m offshore known as Gull Rock or Otterham Rocks.
Rocky Valley is a small valley in the parish of Tintagel, north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.
The geology of Cornwall, England, is dominated by its granite backbone, part of the Cornubian batholith, formed during the Variscan orogeny. Around this is an extensive metamorphic aureole formed in the mainly Devonian slates that make up most of the rest of the county. There is an area of sandstone and shale of Carboniferous age in the north east, and the Lizard peninsula is formed of a rare section of uplifted oceanic crust.
Stepper Point is a headland on the Atlantic coast in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at grid reference SW911781. Stepper Point and Pentire Point stand at either side of the mouth of the River Camel; Stepper to the south-west, Pentire to the north-east.
Gillow State Quarry is a small, disused slate quarry between Tintagel and Trebarwith on the north coast of Cornwall, South West England. The quarry was abandoned by the turn of the 20th century.
Long Grass Quarry is a small, disused slate quarry between Tintagel and Trebarwith on the north coast of Cornwall, South West England, which was worked up until 1937. It was the last of the slate quarries on this stretch of coast to be abandoned.
Lambshouse and Gull Point Quarries are two disused slate quarries between Tintagel and Trebarwith at Lambshouse Cove on the north coast of Cornwall, South West England. The quarries were latterly worked jointly as one site and were abandoned by the turn of the 20th century. It is likely that Lambshouse Quarry originated at the cliffs at the north of the cove while Gull Point was to the south.
Bagalow Quarry is a disused slate quarry between Tintagel and Trebarwith at Bagalow Cove on the north coast of Cornwall, South West England. The quarry was worked from the 1830s into the early part of the twentieth century.
Tintagel Slate Quarries fall into two categories: the series of quarries lying between Tintagel Castle and Trebarwith Strand on the north coast of Cornwall, South West England and the open cast quarries further inland. There are around eight cliff-edge quarries as well as two wharfs, all of which are now disused as well as four inland sites, two of which are still in operation. The first quarry to be worked appears to have been Lanterdan at some point in the fifteenth century, while the last of the coastal quarries, Long Grass ceased operations in 1937. The remains of the coastal quarries occupy coastal land owned by the National Trust and most are easily accessible from the South West Coast Path. The Prince of Wales Quarry has been turned into a country park by North Cornwall District Council.
Hole Beach is a bathing and surf beach just north of Trebarwith Strand on the North Coast of Cornwall, South West England. The beach can be accessed from Trebarwith at low tide or by a zigzagging quarryman's track from the village of Treknow. The beach is sandy and the water is good for surfing. The sheer cliffs to the north of the beach form part of the now disused Caroline Slate Quarry and were created by quarrymen suspended by ropes attached to strongpoints some 75m on the clifftop above. A cave 15m above sea level is artificial and is also the result of quarrying- this is the "hole" that gives the beach its name. There is also a natural sea cave at the rear of the beach. One of the stone strong points still perches on top of the near vertical cliffs 75m above the beach, as does a second building which was possibly used as a toolshed.
The Prince of Wales Quarry is a disused open cast slate quarry in Trebarwith Valley on the outskirts of Tintagel in Cornwall, South West England. The quarry is known for its engine house, the only one of its kind in North Cornwall.
Bowithick Quarry is a disused nineteenth century open cast slate quarry situated in Trebarwith Valley on the outskirts of Tintagel in Cornwall, South West England. The quarry ceased operations in 1913.
Lanterdan Quarry is a disused open cast slate quarry between Tintagel and Trebarwith on the north coast of Cornwall, South West England. The quarry is the oldest, largest and most spectacular of Tintagel’s coastal quarries and was worked from the fifteenth until the early twentieth century. A distinguishing feature of the quarry is a 25m high pinnacle of inferior slate.
Tintagel Haven also known as Castle Cove is a small beach on the north side of Tintagel Island on the north coast of Cornwall, South West England.
Penhallick Wharf is a disused coastal loading dock between Tintagel Castle and Trebarwith Strand on the north coast of Cornwall in South West England. The wharf served the Tintagel Slate Quarries, particularly those without easy access to the loading beach at Tintagel Haven. These include Caroline, Dria, Bagalow and possibly Lambshouse and Gull Point quarries.