Description and History of Site:-
Fletcher Bank Grit is the bedrock here and it was worked in five discrete quarries for many years on both sides of Hill Top Lane. The two northern quarries (called Little Quarries) have been infilled with landfill and are landscaped, the three southern ones eventually merged into one huge deep quarry hole called Whittle Hills Quarry - this has no public access whatsoever and is very overgrown but glimpses of its size can be had in winter from the lane. It is said that stone was quarried here in Roman times but no hard evidence has been found to confirm this.

A survey in 1322 noted millstones' from the " wood of Horwich" valued at 60s: this may have included Whittle-le-Woods.

In 1536 Leland wrote that he had seen on a hillside, probably at Whittle-le-Woods, a "great quarry out of which men dig very great and good millstones" - this can only have been here (John Leland, 1503-52, antiquary, poet and traveller.)

Archival sources do confirm quarrying for millstones here in 1666 when the then lord of the manor gifted his estates and manor but reserved to himself the right to take millstones out of the "roaches" or "delphs" at the rate of 13s 4d per millstone.

In 1816 the southern arm of the Lancaster canal was opened, from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Johnsons Hillock to Whittle-le-Woods specifically for sending out millstones for overseas export. In 1825 a Trade Directory noted "four valuable millstone quarries" here with Thomas Colton being the chief "millstone maker". In 1911 a source noted "There are excellent quarries, from which millstones are obtained".

The canal terminated in a basin in the middle of the village and this has been preserved with a display of four Whittle millstones acting as a fitting memorial to an important and major but now lost industry, at SD5818 2195. Diameters 1.23m to 1.8m, thicknesses 150-230mm.

Further Reading and References:-
Baines, E. 'History, Directory and Gazetteer of the County Palatine of Lancaster', vol. 2, 1825, p. 648.
Farrer, W. and Brownbill, J. 'A History of the County of Lancaster', vol. 6, Victoria County History, 1911, pp. 32-36; 129-49.
ibid, vol. 5, 1911, pp.6-9.
Johnson, D.S. 'Millstone and grindstone production in the Pennines and North-west England. A historical and archaeological survey', Industrial Archaeology Review, 44 (2), 2022, pp. 120-32.

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Key Words :- millstone production sites

Viewing the Site :- extant evidence is seen on the main village road opposite the Co-op

Address :- A6, Whittle-le-Woods, Chorley, Lancashire
Grid Ref :- SD 585 217
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.690089 , Long -2.629913
Local Authority :- Chorley Borough Council
Pre 1974 County :- Lancashire
Site Condition :- Site conserved and open to the public
Site Dates :- unknown - unknown
Record Date :- 8 December 2022

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