Carlisle Record Office item reference DX 1447/1 (titled "Midland Railway plans of stone quarries and sand pits") consists of a roll of six plans, drawn in ink, approximately foolscap size.
The plans are mostly undated except for one, which gives a date of October 1910. They are all of an identical style and it seems reasonable to assume they were all prepared at the same time (and the 1910 date has been assigned to the whole collection).
The locations shown are:-
- Ribblehead
- Hawes Junction
- Crosby Garrett
- Lazonby (Sand Pit)
- Lazonby (Stone Quarry)
- Armathwaite
Whilst some are of known quarry locations, others appear to be localised excavations into cutting faces.
In the following notes the term “1910 Quarry plan” is used to denote these plans and each plan is described under a separate heading.
Ribblehead
The quarry is named as Salt Lake Ballast Quarry and is on the west side of the line between Bridge SAC/63 and Bridge SAC/64, opposite Milepost 246¾.
The quarry is marked as Salt Lake Quarry on land plan sac -17 - 1912 and the area covered by the 1910 quarry plan is very similar to the outline of the 1912 land plan.
It is possible that this quarry was used for materials during the construction of the railway.
Land plan sac-16-1912 also shows a Salt Lake Quarry to the south of Bridge SAC/63 but notes that it is disused. There is no mention of this southern quarry on the 1910 quarry plan.
The bedrock geology found at the location of this quarry is mostly limestone deposited as part of the Yoredale Group of the Carboniferous era (between 337 and 319 million years ago). This would have been suitable for use as ballast or material for building uses.
Hawes Junction
This is described as a 'Stone Quarry on Hawes Branch'. The location shown on the 1910 Quarry plan, around Milepost 1¾ on the Hawes Branch, does not indicate any quarry, neither do land plans sac-hb-2 & 3 - 19xx.
The current OS 1:25,000 map marks a disused quarry at grid reference SD80829228. Aerial photography of this location shows a horseshoe shaped feature on the hillside which is very likely to be the outline of a quarry.
It is likely that this quarry pre-dates the construction of the railway since the 1910 quarry plan shows a lime kiln located to the south of the main quarry area.
The bedrock geology found at the location of this quarry is limestone with some sandstone, siltstone and mudstone deposited as part of the Alston Formation of the Carboniferous era (between 337 and 328 million years ago). The limestone would have been suitable for use as ballast or material for building uses, whilst softer materials would more likely have been used as a general fill.
Crosby Garrett
This is Griseburn Ballast Quarry (Location ID 271970). The 1910 quarry plan is very similar to land plan sac-50 – 1911, showing the extent of the quarry and the associated siding and buildings.
The bedrock geology found at the location of this quarry is limestone deposited as part of the Simonside Limestone Formation of the Carboniferous era (between 331 and 329 million years ago). The limestone would have been suitable for use as ballast or material for building uses.
It is known that the quarry was principally used as a source of ballast and probably in use from the late 1880s until World War 1.
This quarry most likely dates from the construction of the railway as there is no evidence of it on the First Edition of the Ordnance Survey 25 inch to 1 mile plan published in 1861 (Westmorland sheet XXII.4). It is shown on the Second edition (1898) and labelled as a Quarry and Griseburn Ballast Siding.
Lazonby (Sand Pit)
This is described as a Sand Pit. The extent on the 1910 Quarry plan is very similar to land plan sac -77 – 1912 and figure 69 of Anderson & Fox. The 1910 plan shows the siding (Location ID 292270) but none of the structures within the sand pit area that are shown on the other two references.
This sand pit most likely dates from the construction of the railway as there is no evidence of it on the First Edition of the Ordnance Survey 25 inch to 1 mile plan published in 1863 (Cumberland sheets XL.10 & 14). It is shown on the Second edition (1900) but not labelled.
The sand pit was operated by the railway until it closed in 1963.
Lazonby (Stone Quarry)
This is described as Lazonby Stone Quarry. It is located in the down side cutting face at Milepost 294¼ (Location ID 294250). It is also shown on the land plan (sac 80 – 1912) as a section where the cutting face is set back from the track but is not marked as a quarry.
This quarry would not have existed prior to the construction of the railway.
The quarry is shown on the Second Edition of the Ordnance Survey 25 inch to 1 mile plan published in 1900 (Cumberland sheets XL.5) but not marked as such.
The bedrock geology found at the location of this quarry is Sandstone formed as part of the Penrith Sandstone Formation between 299 and 272 million years ago during the Permian period. This type of rock would not be suitable for use as ballast (it would not be sufficiently resistant to abrasion) and given the very limited extent of this quarry it would most likely have provided small quantities of material for building or walling maintenance.
Armathwaite
This is described as Armathwaite Stone Quarry. It is located in the down side cutting face just to the north portal of Baron Wood No.2 Tunnel. Excavation has been carried out moving the cutting face away from the railway track and two structures are known to have been sited on the resulting area of level ground: a platelayers' hut (Location ID 295920) and a blacksmith's shop (Location ID 295930).
On the land plan (sac 82 – 1912), it is shown as a section where the cutting face is set back from the track and is marked as a quarry. It is also shown on the Second Edition of the Ordnance Survey 25 inch to 1 mile plan published in 1900 (Cumberland sheets XXXiX.4) but not marked as such.
This quarry would not have existed prior to the construction of the railway.
The bedrock geology found at the location of this quarry is Sandstone formed as part of the Penrith Sandstone Formation between 299 and 272 million years ago during the Permian period. This type of rock would not be suitable for use as ballast (it would not be sufficiently resistant to abrasion) and given the very limited extent of this quarry it would most likely have provided small quantities of material for building or walling maintenance.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the Carlisle Archive Centre for conserving these plans and for making them available for us to review.
These notes were researched and written by David O'Farrell specifically for the SCRCA web-portal.
Details of the local geology were obtained from the BGS Geology Viewer website:
https://www.bgs.ac.uk/map-viewers/bgs-geology-viewer/