Alderton Hill Quarry

Alderton Hill Quarry
Site of Special Scientific Interest
	The location - Alderton Hill
	Location within Gloucestershire
Location	Gloucestershire
Grid reference	SP006345
Coordinates	52°00′34″N1°59′31″W / 52.009382°N 1.991941°W
Interest	Geological
Area	0.34 hectare
Notification	1997
	Natural England website

Last updated April 22, 2024

Alderton Hill Quarry (grid reference SP006345 ) is a 0.34-hectare (0.84-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1997. It is a Geological Conservation Review (GCR) site.^[1]

Location and geology

The site is located on Alderton Hill to the south west of Dumbleton Wood, approximately 2 kilometres south west of Dumbleton village which is in north Gloucestershire.^[1]

The site is a significant location for research because of its well preserved Lower Jurassic insect fauna. There is a range of publications which detail the findings on this site, which include fossil insects. Particular findings are specimens of dragonflies ( Gomphites ) and a large cockroach. Fish remains have been found, and well-preserved cephalopods.^[1] The strata exposed are part of the Whitby Mudstone. In April 2024, Swaby et al. published the first comprehensive taxonomic and taphonomic analysis of the entire insect assemblage from Alderton Hill, based on all known museum specimens. Through comparison with the Lower Jurassic insect fauna of Strawberry Bank, Ilminster, Somerset, this study concluded that the Alderton Hill palaeoentomofauna is the best-preserved and most representative insect assemblage from the Toarcian strata of the UK.^[2]

The site is located in hedges which are species-rich. They include ash, oak, holly, hawthorn, hazel and spindle. The common blue butterfly is recorded.^[1]

Related Research Articles

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Jackdaw Quarry is a 4.78-hectare (11.8-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1985.

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New Park Quarry is a 1.3-hectare (3.2-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1987. The site is listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001-2011 as a Regionally Important Geological Site (RIGS).

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Rodborough Common is a 116.0-hectare (287-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954. The site is listed in the ‘Stroud District’ Local Plan, adopted November 2005, Appendix 6 as an SSSI and a Regionally Important Geological Site (RIGS). The Common is also a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the EU Habitats Directive

References

SSSI Source

External links

Natural England (SSSI information)

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[NE_citation-1] 1 2 3 4 Natural England SSSI information on the citation

[2] ttps://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0299551

[1]

[2]

v t e Geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire
Summarised data for all sites (biological and geological)
Alderton Hill Quarry Bull Cross, The Frith and Juniper Hill Campden Tunnel Gravel Pit Cleeve Common Coaley Wood Quarries Crickley Hill and Barrow Wake Easter Park Farm Quarry Edgehills Quarry Foss Cross Quarry Garden Cliff Hampen Railway Cutting Haresfield Beacon Harford Railway Cutting Hobbs Quarry Hornsleasow Quarry Huntsman's Quarry Jackdaw Quarry Kemble Railway Cuttings Knap House Quarry, Birdlip Land Grove Quarry, Mitcheldean Leckhampton Hill and Charlton Kings Common Longhope Hill Lower Woods Lower Wye Gorge Lydney Cliff May Hill Meezy Hurst Minchinhampton Common New Park Quarry Nibley Knoll Notgrove Railway Cutting Oakenhill Railway Cutting Puddlebrook Quarry River Wye Robin's Wood Hill Quarry Rodborough Common Salmonsbury Meadows Scully Grove Quarry Severn Estuary Slade Brook Stenders Quarry Stony Furlong Railway Cutting Swift's Hill Upper Severn Estuary The Malvern Hills Purton Passage Selsley Common Upper Wye Gorge Veizey's Quarry Wainlode Cliff Wellacre Quarry Wood Green Quarry & Railway Cutting Wotton Hill
Neighbouring areas Avon Herefordshire Oxfordshire Wiltshire Worcestershire