1. The History
Cliff quarry is located just north of the Derbyshire village of Crich on a small inlier of carboniferous limestone. Quarrying for limestone in the area goes back to Roman times but in more recent times, in 1791, Benjamin Outram and Samuel Beresford bought the land to the east of Crich to quarry limestone for their ironworks in Butterley. This became known as Hilt's Quarry and the Butterley gangroad was built in 1793 to link the quarry with the Cromford Canal at Bullbridge and was one of the first railways in the East Midlands (and maybe even in the world!) to successfully operate with steam locomotives. The gangroad descended approximately 300 feet in one mile and was at first worked by gravity. A brakeman would "spragg" (or apply a simple brake to) the wheels of the wagons, which were returned to the summit by horses. In 1812 the incline was the scene of a remarkable experiment when William Brunton, an engineer for the company, produced his steam horse locomotive.
Meanwhile, the nearby Cliff quarry started operations circa 1800. In 1840 George Stephenson leased the quarry and built twelve limekilns at Bullbridge and the quarry was used to provided lime to burn with coal slack. The original extent of the quarry in the late 19th century was at the southern end of the site where Crich Tramway Village is currently located. Over time the quarry extended north of here. A further eight kilns were added and following Stephenson's death in 1848, the company name was changed to the Clay Cross Company.
By 1857, Crich Cliff was producing superior quality lime and was employing around 120 men, aided by a steam engine. Annual sales of lime and stone were approximately 60,000 tons and slowing increasing.
The quarry in 1905:
Workers in quarry in the 1900s:
The quarry survived both World Wars but then was temporary closured in 1957 and the eastern end was bought in 1959 by the Tramway Museum. However, another part of the quarry reopened in the 1967 operated by RMC and Tarmac for the building of motorways across the country. In 1973 it supplied beaching stone for Empingham Reservoir in Rutland. Around 1985 the quarry was sold for £750,000 as part of the Clay Cross Group to Biwater Pipes and Castings Ltd and subsequently taken over by Bardon Aggregates in October 2000. A downturn in sales coupled with the limestone seemingly being contaminated with a substance that turned it a strange colour lead to the closure of the quarry in 2010. After that, it never reopened and a year later in 2011, plans were proposed to redevelop the 44-acre site at Crich Quarry into the Amber Rock Resort (a massive water park complex and hotel). However, this never case to fruition and at the present time (2021) the site remains derelict.
2. The Explore
Came here just over two year’s ago in April 2019. It was a bit of a rushed visit and never got down to see the quarry itself, so a revisit was always on the cards. After a fail by nearby Middle Peak Quarry at Wirksworth this place made good sense for a Plan B. There hasn’t been a report since the one I did in 2019 which is strange as there is quite a lot to see here and it’s a complete walk in.
3. The Pictures
Here we are!
Let’s start at the quarry end first:
All the hold switch gear:
Hoppertastic!
The photogenic Control Room:
Too many buttons!
Cliff quarry is located just north of the Derbyshire village of Crich on a small inlier of carboniferous limestone. Quarrying for limestone in the area goes back to Roman times but in more recent times, in 1791, Benjamin Outram and Samuel Beresford bought the land to the east of Crich to quarry limestone for their ironworks in Butterley. This became known as Hilt's Quarry and the Butterley gangroad was built in 1793 to link the quarry with the Cromford Canal at Bullbridge and was one of the first railways in the East Midlands (and maybe even in the world!) to successfully operate with steam locomotives. The gangroad descended approximately 300 feet in one mile and was at first worked by gravity. A brakeman would "spragg" (or apply a simple brake to) the wheels of the wagons, which were returned to the summit by horses. In 1812 the incline was the scene of a remarkable experiment when William Brunton, an engineer for the company, produced his steam horse locomotive.
Meanwhile, the nearby Cliff quarry started operations circa 1800. In 1840 George Stephenson leased the quarry and built twelve limekilns at Bullbridge and the quarry was used to provided lime to burn with coal slack. The original extent of the quarry in the late 19th century was at the southern end of the site where Crich Tramway Village is currently located. Over time the quarry extended north of here. A further eight kilns were added and following Stephenson's death in 1848, the company name was changed to the Clay Cross Company.
By 1857, Crich Cliff was producing superior quality lime and was employing around 120 men, aided by a steam engine. Annual sales of lime and stone were approximately 60,000 tons and slowing increasing.
The quarry in 1905:
Workers in quarry in the 1900s:
The quarry survived both World Wars but then was temporary closured in 1957 and the eastern end was bought in 1959 by the Tramway Museum. However, another part of the quarry reopened in the 1967 operated by RMC and Tarmac for the building of motorways across the country. In 1973 it supplied beaching stone for Empingham Reservoir in Rutland. Around 1985 the quarry was sold for £750,000 as part of the Clay Cross Group to Biwater Pipes and Castings Ltd and subsequently taken over by Bardon Aggregates in October 2000. A downturn in sales coupled with the limestone seemingly being contaminated with a substance that turned it a strange colour lead to the closure of the quarry in 2010. After that, it never reopened and a year later in 2011, plans were proposed to redevelop the 44-acre site at Crich Quarry into the Amber Rock Resort (a massive water park complex and hotel). However, this never case to fruition and at the present time (2021) the site remains derelict.
2. The Explore
Came here just over two year’s ago in April 2019. It was a bit of a rushed visit and never got down to see the quarry itself, so a revisit was always on the cards. After a fail by nearby Middle Peak Quarry at Wirksworth this place made good sense for a Plan B. There hasn’t been a report since the one I did in 2019 which is strange as there is quite a lot to see here and it’s a complete walk in.
3. The Pictures
Here we are!
Let’s start at the quarry end first:
All the hold switch gear:
Hoppertastic!
The photogenic Control Room:
Too many buttons!
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