Description and History of Site:-
This was a large and deep quarry hole cut into a natural hillside of The Haw and it was worked as single-height faces without benches. In the early 1990s it became a landfill site and is now completely filled with waste and there is nothing to be seen at all. An estate map of 1757 showed four lime kilns in two small quarries at what became Skibeden Quarry and the OS First Edition, from the 1840s, marked 'Skibeden Limekilns' so by that time it was already a commercial operation, leased from Skipton Castle Estate by William Nightingale. By the 1880s or 90s the kilns had been shut down and the by then combined quarry was also given up. In 1931 it was reopened by the Embsay Rock Co, because the strength and purity of its 'blue' limestone made excellent hydraulic lime and also made it a good hard-wearing roadstone. Two of the kilns were derelict but the other pair was used for a while until lime burning was stopped here. New crushing and screening plant was installed in 1931. Production was maintained until the depletion of its reserves brought it to an end.

Further Reading and References:-
Johnson, D. 2010. Limestone industries of the Yorkshire Dales. Stroud: Amberley, pp. 88-89, 94-96, 234-35, 243.

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Key Words :- disused limestone quarry

Viewing the Site :- nothing to see now

Address :- A59, Skibeden, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23
Grid Ref :- SE 019 531
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.973964 , Long -1.972522
Local Authority :- Craven District Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Site extant - Protected status unknown
Site Condition :- Site in alternative industrial use
Site Dates :- unknown - 1980s
Record Date :- 15 January 2018

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © David Johnson