Description and History of Site:-
This is a deep open quarry working with a vertical working face on the south and east sides over 20m high. It exploits beds within the Elland Flags for dimension stone, paving flags, roofing flags and aggregate. No explosives are used. The upper 19m are considered as baring, ie shattered sandstone and shale which have no commercial value - once dropped, this is removed by mechanical loaders and dumpers to be stockpiled in the southern half of the quarry which is being progressively backfilled for late restoration. The 3.6m-thick basal beds are removed in the same way and either fettled on site in corrugated dressing sheds to make flags and paving blocks, the latter entirely using traditional hand methods (maul, pitching tool, nicker, scutch, delving hammer, dressing hammer). Other large blocks are sent by lorry to the company's other quarry which has the necessary plant to saw and shape the stone. It is known to have been working by the 1850s and one method in use here in that century was to sink shafts down to the base of the baring and then to cut a 3m wide by 2m high tunnel away from the base of the shaft. Softwood timbers were used to shore up the roof. How stone blocks were moved along the tunnel to the shaft is not known. The quarry was abandoned and partly infilled in the mid 20th century but reopened around 1991 when much of the infill was taken out again.

Further Reading and References:-
Johnson, D. Quarrying in the Yorkshire Pennines. Amberley, 2016, pp. 53-54, 79.
Godwin, C G. Mining in the Elland Flags: a forgotten Yorkshire industry, British Geological Survey Report Vol. 16, No. 4, (Rep. Br. Geol. Surv., No 84/4) London, HMSO, 1984, pp. 5-7.
Walton, J. Some decadent local industries, 2 Quarrying, Transactions of the Halifax Antiquarian Society, 1938, pp. 41-59.

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Key Words :- open quarry flagstone still operational

Viewing the Site :- No public access

Address :- Lower Edge Road, Rastrick, West Yorkshire, HD6 3LE
Grid Ref :- SE 12927 21262
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.687653 , Long -1.805735
Local Authority :- Calderdale Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Site extant - Protected status unknown
Site Condition :- Operational site, in use for original purpose
Site Dates :- pre-1850 - still operational
Record Date :- 21 February 2017

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