Old Cumbria Gazetteer - quarries, Cumbria: Postlethwaite 1877


included in:-	quarries, Cumbria
	quarries, Cumbria: Postlethwaite 1877
evidence:-	old text:- Postlethwaite 1877 (3rd edn 1913)
source data:-	Book, Mines and Mining in the English Lake District, by John Postlethwaite, Keswick, published by W H Moss and Sons, Whitehaven, Cumberland now Cumbria, 1877; published 1877-1913. page 133:- "SLATE QUARRIES OF THE VOLCANIC SERIES OF ENGLISH LAKELAND." "There are two beds at the base and seven or eight beds near the top of the Volcanic Series, in which there is more or less slaty cleavage, but in all the middle portion of the series, with the exception of one place, near Eagle Crag in Borrowdale, it appears to be altogether absent. The beds at the base have been, and are now being worked in Borrowdale and near Buttermere; and those near the top of the series in Kentmere, Kirkstone, Elterwater, Langdale and Tilberthwaite, also on Coniston Old Man. All these quarries are in the sea-green slate metal of the volcanic series of English Lakeland, and yield a quality of green slate equal to that obtained in Borrowdale, but the most important and prolific of all the quarries in the North of England are the Burlington Quarries, which occur in the sedimentary slate rock of the Upper Silurian formation. The slate is of a rich dark blue colour, and is equal in strength and durability to the green slate, while in the latter two qualities it is superior to Welsh sedimentary slate." "According to the General Report and Statistics for 1909, issued by the Chief Inspector of Mines, the quarries in Cumberland yielded 5,293 tons of slate, those in Westmorland 1,294 tons, and the Lancashire quarries 18,191 tons, green volcanic and blue sedimentary slate included." "During the same year, 1909, the Igneous Rock Quarries in the three Counties yielded as follows: Cumberland 108,596 tons, Westmorland 33,511 tons, and Lancashire 2,076 tons. The number of men employed in the mining and quarrying industries in 1909 were, Cumberland 6,428, Westmorland 418, and Lancashire 6,863, thus showing these industries to be amongst the most important in the North of England." "THE BORROWDALE QUARRIES." "The two beds of fine cleaved ash, called locally "Slate Metal," which occur at the base of the Volcanic Series, lie parallel to the great fault which separates that series from the Skiddaw Slates, the strike of the beds agreeing to a considerable extent with the strike of the fault, the lower bed varies from about 450 or 500 to 800 or more feet from it. The general dip of the Slate Metal also coincides with that of the fault and of the underlying and overlying beds, being about thirty degrees towards the south-east, the direction of the cleavage planes is nearly vertical. The beds of Slate Metal may be traced along the outcrop from Bouldering End, Borrowdale, by Rigg Head, and Honister to Scarf Gap, at the head of the Vale of Ennerdale, beyond these points they no doubt have an extension westwards towards Egremont, and eastwards towards Mellfell, but in these portions cleavage is only" page 134:- "very partially developed. Trials have been made at several points along the outcrop of the beds, and some slate has been obtained at Castle Crag and Dubs, but Honister, Yew Crag and Rigg Head are all that have proved to be really successful. The two beds of slate metal are from twenty-five to thirty fathoms apart, and the lower or northern one is about sixteen feet in thickness, its upper and under surface being clearly defined. The upper or southern one is much thicker, but not so well defined. The former has been worked extensively in Honister Crag, and the latter at Yew Crag on the opposite side of the Pass. Honister Crag has been pierced by ten, and Yew Crag by six levels, some of which are from 100 to 120 fathoms in length. The united length of the levels on both sides of the pass is near three miles, and the tramways in use in these levels, and from the levels to the head of the pass, where the slate is discharged, including the tramway to Dubs Quarry, measure about six miles." "The beds of slate metal are beds of volcanic dust and ashes that have been thrown out by successive eruptions of the great Cumbrian Volcano, and have fallen in successive showers into a quiet lake or lagoon. Most of the volcanic dust has been extremely fine, but occasionally there were showers of rather coarser materials, and these show clearly in the stratified condition of the rock. Occasionally a fragment of an older rock of the same character will be found embedded in the fine ash, with its bedding planes at a different angle from those of the rock in which it is embedded." "Near the top of the upper or southern bed of slate metal there is a thin band or stripe of very fine material of a pale purple colour, which varies in thickness from three-quarters of an inch to one-and-a-half or two inches. The lower edge of the band is more clearly defined than the upper edge, the material is also finer and the purple colour more intense near the lower edge. The cleavage planes are almost invariably more or less deflected in passing through the band, and the deflection is most acute at the lower edge. The author had some microscopic slides prepared from this band, and they were submitted for examination to Professor Bonney and the late J. G. Goodchild, the latter without any hesitation declared it to be sedimentary material similar to that composing the Skiddaw Slates, and the former stated that he had no doubt it was a volcanic dust, or muddy sediment. We may therefore conclude without doubt that the purple band is a sediment of fine mud that has been deposited on the bottom of the lake or lagoon in the same manner as that of the Skiddaw Slate, and that it represents a quiescent period in the history of the volcano, in the early portion of which no ashes were thrown out and pure deltaic mud alone was deposited, but in the later portion of the deposit fine ashes again mingled with the mud until another convulsion probably occurred, which diverted the course of the" page 135:- "brook or river, and finally stopped the supply of muddy sediment, after which ashes alone were showered upon that area." "..." page 136:- "THE WESTMORLAND AND LANCASHIRE (FURNESS) QUARRIES" "In the upper part of the Volcanic Series there are seven or eight distinct beds which yield slate in large quantities; they are all much alike in quality, the slate being somewhat finer than that obtained in Borrowdale. In thickness the beds vary from 10 to 120 feet, and the dip is towards the south-east, except in some places where it is changed by the curving and crumpling of the strata. A case of this kind occurs on the southern side of Little Langdale, where the dip is towards the north, and at Pennyrigg Quarry, near Tilberthwaite, where the bedding planes are vertical. Slaty cleavage has been well developed at a great number of points in these beds, extending from Cawdale Quarry, on the north-eastern side of Kirkstone Pass, to Walna Scar, about three miles south-west of Coniston. A large number of quarries have been opened and extensive excavations made, especially at Loughrigg, Elterwater, Hallgarth, Moss Rigg, Hodge Close, Tilberthwaite and Saddle Stone; the last-named is at a high elevation on Coniston Old Man. In some of the quarries, notably those worked by the Elterwater Green Slate Co., Ltd., powerful and well-equipped steam and hydraulic machinery has been erected for the purpose of raising the slate from the deep portions of the quarries, also self-acting and other tramways. Rock Drills and air compressors have been introduced into some of the quarries, and good results have been produced by their use. Most of the slate obtained from these upper beds is of the bright sea-green colour which is so prevalent in the rocks of the Volcanic Series; but in some localities the chloritic colouring matter is absent, and the slate is grey or drab. Narrow bands of still lighter colour, sometimes almost white, pass through it, and occasionally these light and darker portions are contorted and intermingled together in an extraordinary manner; they are also often broken up and shifted by miniature faults and not infrequently specimens may be found showing false bedding and ripple-marking." "In the uppermost beds of the Volcanic Series, the fine ashes are mixed with water-borne sediment, and there are beds of moderately pure ash interstratified with beds of equal pure water-borne sediment. The more or less pure ash retains its characteristic colours of green or drab, but the sedimentary beds are much darker; in some places they have a purple tint, and" page 137:- "in others are almost black. Some roofing slate is obtained from the darker beds, but generally the material is more suitable for flags." "..." "The principal slate quarries now being worked are:-The Burlington Quarries, Lancashire Old Man Quarries, Lancashire Hodge Close Quarries, Lancashire Moss Rigg Quarries, Lancashire The Wood Quarries, Lancashire Parrock Quarries, Lancashire High Fell Quarries, Lancashire Low Fell Quarries, Westmorland Peppers Quarries, Westmorland Lords Quarries, Westmorland Spout Crag Quarries, Westmorland Colt Howe Quarries, Westmorland Bankes Quarries, Westmorland Kirkstone Quarries, Westmorland Kentmere Quarries, Westmorland"
source data:-	page 157:- "IGNEOUS ROCK QUARRIES" "There are four quarries of Igneous Rock in English Lakeland, from which a large quantity of road-metal, kerbing, setts, concrete flags, and some polished stone-work are sent out annually, namely, Threlkeld Quarry, Shap Granite Quarry, Eskmeals Granite Quarry, and The Cumberland Granite Company's Quarry, near Bassenthwaite Lake. Threlkeld Quarry was probably opened as a public quarry by residents, from 70 to 100 years ago, but only for road-metal and building stone, until the commencement of the construction of the C.K. & P. Railway, about the year 1862, when a large quantity of stone was obtained from it by the contractors. After the line was fully opened, the quarry was taken by Messrs. Harkewitz &Bullen, and afterwards by the present proprietors, who have largely developed the quarry and its produce, until the present annual output is approximately 80,000 to 90,000 tons of Macadam, 4,000 to 5,000 of Setts, and from 60,000 to 80,000 super. yards of Granite Concrete Flags."

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