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Report - - Pennine Sandstone Mines 3, Stags Fell and Carperby (Yorkshire, 2022 - 2023) | Mines and Quarries | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Pennine Sandstone Mines 3, Stags Fell and Carperby (Yorkshire, 2022 - 2023)

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urbanchemist

28DL Regular User
Regular User
A couple more sandstone mines/quarries, near some lead mines on the north side of Wensleydale.
These are both fairly well know, being on public footpaths although you won’t find many underground pictures - two for Stags Fell seems to be it (one on AditNow and one on Geograph).
I haven’t found much explicit history, but like Burtersett on the other side of the valley, these probably reached peak production towards the end of the 1800s after trains arrived in Hawes (then left again in 1959).
None of the underground sections are particularly long, about 50 yards or less.




Stags Fell. This is one of the more obvious signs of past industry in Wensleydale, visible as a long line of waste tips above the tree line when viewed from the valley.


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Satellite view.



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Old maps show it as an opencast quarry in 1854, with up to seven levels (adits/tunnels) indicated by 1910.



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Stone from here was apparently used for Manchester’s Victoria Station.
Roofing ‘slates’ were also produced until the 1930s, known as ‘Hadraw Slates’ after the nearest hamlet.

Starting at the northern end, people have been having fun making little piles of rock.
The hill in the distance is Wether Fell, where the previously reported mines are located.



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Heading down the first hole, it’s standard sandstone mine with waste rock everywhere.



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A collapse forces a crawl round a bend - this is looking back…



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…and on into the usual Jenga-like maze.



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The second hole is similar but without the crawl.



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Back out.



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The next few levels seem to be blocked - a tramway probably ran along here.



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The only other open level is one of the oldest and shortest, rapidly becoming quite low.



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Another level is shown further east round the hill, near the trees in the distance but that was blocked as well.



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continued
 

urbanchemist

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Carperby. About 12 km further east on the north side of the valley is another sandstone quarry, with just one underground entrance.
It’s at a slightly lower altitude but may be on the same band of sandstone since the sediments slope down in that direction.
The quarry is on the left on the map below, with a limestone quarry higher up on the right.




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I first had a look at the limestone one, but it’s just a featureless small excavation.



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Two limekilns are shown here and the lower one was still there - quite a well built affair with an oval hole lined with fire-reddened sandstone.



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Contouring round, the sandstone quarry and piles of leftover slabs come into view.
There’s a straight path of fairly constant gradient off to the left which may have been used to get product down to the valley floor.




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The underground section is quite lofty compared other quarries in the region, maybe about 15 ft.



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Going left under some dodgy ceiling soon leads to a collapse.



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Going straight on ends in a square room.



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Back out.



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There are more quarries in Wensleydale, both sandstone and limestone, but the six reported to date are the only ones I’ve found with any significant underground.
 

tigger

mog
Regular User
Mines, a tasty lime kiln and pumps earlier in the week... spoiling us ;)

Presume you've seen David's website about about lime kilns as well as the ones on the photo site where you found his Jumbles Quarry history?
 

urbanchemist

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Mines, a tasty lime kiln and pumps earlier in the week... spoiling us ;)

Presume you've seen David's website about about lime kilns as well as the ones on the photo site where you found his Jumbles Quarry history?
Don't know who David is - usually get what info there is on limekilns from the local HER.
 
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