Visited with Rigsby and Root.
This was my second visit to Westwood but I needed to get back to see the rest of the old workings and to see the place lit up coz I didn't realise the electricity was on
It's a great place with a fantastic old office and loads of old car parts to look at. It was a nice site to end the day on but we were knackered after we'd done 4 sites in 12 hours.
Here's a bit of history from Mr. Higgypop at Nettleden:
Westwood Quarry is situated 6 miles South East of Bath, it is a fairly large quarry which originally started as two quarry, one known as The Tump. After quarrying stopped a large part of the quarry was cleared out by the Agaric Mushroom Company who used the quarry as an underground mushroom farm cleared large part of the quarry for the purpose of growing mushrooms.
During the Second World War roughly half of the mushroom farm area was used by Royal Enfield. It was turned in to an underground factory making anti-air craft predictors. After the War, Royal Enfield remained at the site and used as a workshop for their bikes up until 1970. The workshop was then taken over by two ex-Enfield employees who ran a servicing and repair workshop from the quarry for another 20 years.
In a totally separate and isolated area of the quarry, accessible via only one entrance from the main drift, an area of the quarry was put aside for one very important reason. Following the London Blitz, the contents of all the London Museums and Galleries were moved to safe hideaways deep underground or in remote rural areas. The 20,000 sq feet area of Westwood Quarry was converted into an immensly secure underground vault for the treasures of the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum and priceless artefacts from many private collections including the crown jewels, in fact Queen Mary came to visit the quarry in 1943.
So here's some pics
This was my second visit to Westwood but I needed to get back to see the rest of the old workings and to see the place lit up coz I didn't realise the electricity was on
It's a great place with a fantastic old office and loads of old car parts to look at. It was a nice site to end the day on but we were knackered after we'd done 4 sites in 12 hours.Here's a bit of history from Mr. Higgypop at Nettleden:
Westwood Quarry is situated 6 miles South East of Bath, it is a fairly large quarry which originally started as two quarry, one known as The Tump. After quarrying stopped a large part of the quarry was cleared out by the Agaric Mushroom Company who used the quarry as an underground mushroom farm cleared large part of the quarry for the purpose of growing mushrooms.
During the Second World War roughly half of the mushroom farm area was used by Royal Enfield. It was turned in to an underground factory making anti-air craft predictors. After the War, Royal Enfield remained at the site and used as a workshop for their bikes up until 1970. The workshop was then taken over by two ex-Enfield employees who ran a servicing and repair workshop from the quarry for another 20 years.
In a totally separate and isolated area of the quarry, accessible via only one entrance from the main drift, an area of the quarry was put aside for one very important reason. Following the London Blitz, the contents of all the London Museums and Galleries were moved to safe hideaways deep underground or in remote rural areas. The 20,000 sq feet area of Westwood Quarry was converted into an immensly secure underground vault for the treasures of the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum and priceless artefacts from many private collections including the crown jewels, in fact Queen Mary came to visit the quarry in 1943.
So here's some pics
