Description and History of Site:-
Baines Crag is a 10m-high exposure of Millstone Grit which has been heavily quarried into over several centuries with the floor of the quarried ground level with the adjacent road. Scattered among the rock debris on the quarry floor, and just below the top of the rear working face, are five abandoned millstone - and possibly grindstone - roughouts, all of which are early-stage roughouts, three of them propped or chocked to facilitate working on them. A secondary source claimed there are far more but bracken infestation masks much of the ground even in winter when the site was visited so there could be a few more hidden from plain view.

Diameters range from 900mm to 1.4m, thicknesses from 200-280mm.One has the eye partially cut through. It is impossible to pin down any facts regarding this specific production site or to separate it in documentation from production sites on Clougha immediately to the south.

Further Reading and References:-
Hudson, P. 'Old mills, gritstone quarries and millstone making in the Forest of Lancaster' Contrebis, 8, 1980, pp. 35-58.

Johnson, D.S. 'Millstone and grindstone production in the Pennines and North-west England. A historical and archaeological survey', Industrial Archaeology Review, 44 (2), pp. 120-32.

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Key Words :- millstone production site

Viewing the Site :- Open Access land, adjacent to unclassified road

Address :- Littledale Road, Littledale, Lancaster, Lancashire
Grid Ref :- SD 5434 6179
Co-ordinates :- Lat 54.050038 , Long -2.698886
Local Authority :- Lancaster City Council
Pre 1974 County :- Lancashire
Site Status :- Site extant - No Protection
Site Condition :- Earthworks only
Site Dates :- unknown - unknown
Record Date :- 8 December 2022

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