Description and History of Site:-
Cragg Wood lies on steep, heavily wooded slopes between Cliffe Drive and Woodlands Drive and it is peppered with small outcrops of Rough Rock coarse sandstones (not Rough Rock Flags) and with hundreds of tumbler blocks strewn across the slopes. Though it is heavily wooded in places, it is clear that there are a number of (early) shallow delphs from which stone has been removed and also rocks with tooling marks plus obvious spots where stone has been taken from surface deposits.

Anecdotal evidence suggests there are 12 millstone roughouts in the woods; this contributor logged six but made a note that there could well be more hidden in thickets or within areas that are not open to the public.

The roughouts logged have diameters ranging from 1.3-1.6m and thicknesses from 160-180mm.All have the eye partially chiselled out confirming that none were late-stage roughouts: they had only been worked on the currently visible face. Tooling marks are rough, suggesting an early date of work. One roughout was split in half, two were fractured. One was domed. Three of them were seen re-purposed as drive revetments, set in a near-vertical position: they most likely had been rolled downhill from wherever they had been abandoned higher up the slope. It is suggested that the others are more or less in situ. The only references found relate to the 14th century when three sets of accounts note payments for millstones sourced from Rawdon - it is most likely that Cragg Wood was their source.

Further Reading and References:-
The National Archives (TNA): DL29/507/8227, 47 & 48 Edw III, 1373-74; /8228, 7&8 Ric III, 1383-84; /8229: 23 Ric III & 1 Hen I, 1394-1400.

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Key Words :- millstone production sites

Viewing the Site :- from public footpaths and permissive paths

Address :- Rawdon, Leeds, West Yorkshire
Grid Ref :- SE 20543 38891
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.845858 , Long -1.689248
Local Authority :- Leeds Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Site extant - Protected status unknown
Site Condition :- Earthworks only
Site Dates :- unknown - unknown
Record Date :- 21 December 2022

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