1. The History
Bole Hill Millstone Quarry is located in the Upper Padley gorge, just above Grindleford Station in Derbyshire. Millstones have been produced in the county since at least the 13th century and the eastern edges of Millstone, Burbage and Stanage were all extensively quarried for that purpose. Bole Hill was chosen for quarrying due to the quality of the rock and millstones, grindstones and crushing stones were made here for over 600 years. In medieval times the local stone was used for millstones for grinding flour but then when the move to white bread came, gritstone fell out of favour due to it resulting in the flour have a grey tinge. From then on, the stones were used for industrial grinding, however, eventually this market collapsed too due to cheaper imports from France. The quarry was almost abandoned overnight and the pulp-stones we see here today were left in-situ as a result of this. They were due to be exported to Scandinavia for use in crushing wood into pulp for the paper industry. There would have been some wooden structures at the quarry, but these have long since rotted away.
However, the quarry was given a new lease of life in 1901, with the passing of the Derwent Valley Water Act and its commitment to construct new dams at Howden and Derwent. Initially, the stone was going to come from Ladybower Clough, but objections forced the Derwent Valley Water Board (DVWB) to source the stone from elsewhere. Hence, in November 1901, the Board purchased 52 acres of land at Bole Hill from Mr Shuttleworth of Hathersage, and the incumbent tenant at the time, Mr Cooper, paid the princely sum of £20 in compensation. The area was chosen as the beds of stone were near to the surface at an average depth of approximately 65 feet and the quarry face an impressive 1,200 yards long. The estimated 2.4 million tons building stone was considered to be top grade due to the silica and feldspar composition of the millstone grit, making it both perfect and plentiful for the construct the two aforementioned dams.
A standard gauge railway was constructed along the quarry face, which culminated in marshalling area for the trucks. A cutting then led to the summit of a steep 300-foot incline which ran down the hill to link with the Midland Railway Hope Valley Line. An army of workers were brought in from Sheffield on early morning special trains while workers from further afar were put up in tin bungalows adjacent to the site, and also provided with a library, recreation room and mess rooms. The quarry commenced operation in 1903 and in its seven-and-a-half years life, more than 1.25 million tons of stone were extracted. Workshops for dressing the large blocks, which weighted between 20 and 30 tons, were built adjacent to the quarry face. Meanwhile the rubble and filler stone was loaded by two steam-powered cranes straight into specially built trucks, which were then lowered down the incline. Its 1-in-3 gradient made this a hazardous operation and was controlled by a brakeman on the drum of the winding wheel. As each loaded truck was lowered, it raised an empty truck up from the bottom. Once at the bottom the wagons were shunted into the sidings before being hauled up the Hope Valley line to the specially constructed "Waterworks Sidings" at Thornhill. They were then taken up the Bamford and Howden Railway by the DVWB-owned locomotives to the construction sites.
OS Map extract showing the incline in relation to Grindleford Station:
By October 1905, there were some 439 men employed at the quarry, operating two 12-ton cranes, nine 7-ton cranes, one 5-ton crane, three locomotives, the winding drum and the almost 100 tipper wagons. Disaster struck on two occasions leaving two men dead whilst working in the quarry. One fell and died from concussion while the other man died in a cutting when three loaded trucks broke loose and careered into an area where around 20 men were working. Production ceased in December 1910, although some small quantities of stone continued to be quarried and sent up to Derwent up to April 1914. The majority of the heavy plant was removed from the site in early 1911. The quarry formally closed in September 1914 and the final plant and materials removed. The DVWB had planned to build a housing estate in the quarry workings but this never came to fruition, possibly to allow them the option to quarry the still extensive resources of stone, should further demand arise. There were future developments in 1935, with the construction of the Ladybower Reservoir, but the mainly earth dam meant little stone would be required. Hence the old quarry proved to be of little worth to the DVWB who very generously gifted the area to the National Trust in 1947.
The winding drum circa 1904 and to the right, two of the quarry's three locomotives standing back-to-back
Looking up the incline with a loaded truck coming down on the left. circa 1904:
The quarry's extensive marshalling sidings, circa 1910:
2. The Explore
Been coming here for a number of years. Only really dawned on me recently that this place might be worth a report. Looking into the history of the site it made me realise there was much more there than I first thought. I also came across some really interesting archive pictures from the early 1900s, which really bought the place alive. It's a fantastic place to wander round and although nature has taken the quarry back, with a bit of imagination, you can start to piece together what the quarry would have looked like in its heyday and marvel at its sheer size.
So a bit different and probably not for everyone but worth an hour or so's stroll and a mug of coffee and sausage sandwich in the excellent Grindleford Station Cafe afterwards (once it re-opens).
3. The Pictures
Starting at the top of the quarry, there are literally hundreds of old millstones piled up::
Possibly the biggest millstone I saw:
Old stone trough:
And the upper quarry itself:
Stone gable end of an old quarryman's hut:
Slightly further down we come to the old powder house:
Moving on to where the stone for the dams was quarried:
This was either a crane base or a loading platform:
The cutting heading towards the top of the incline:
Bole Hill Millstone Quarry is located in the Upper Padley gorge, just above Grindleford Station in Derbyshire. Millstones have been produced in the county since at least the 13th century and the eastern edges of Millstone, Burbage and Stanage were all extensively quarried for that purpose. Bole Hill was chosen for quarrying due to the quality of the rock and millstones, grindstones and crushing stones were made here for over 600 years. In medieval times the local stone was used for millstones for grinding flour but then when the move to white bread came, gritstone fell out of favour due to it resulting in the flour have a grey tinge. From then on, the stones were used for industrial grinding, however, eventually this market collapsed too due to cheaper imports from France. The quarry was almost abandoned overnight and the pulp-stones we see here today were left in-situ as a result of this. They were due to be exported to Scandinavia for use in crushing wood into pulp for the paper industry. There would have been some wooden structures at the quarry, but these have long since rotted away.
However, the quarry was given a new lease of life in 1901, with the passing of the Derwent Valley Water Act and its commitment to construct new dams at Howden and Derwent. Initially, the stone was going to come from Ladybower Clough, but objections forced the Derwent Valley Water Board (DVWB) to source the stone from elsewhere. Hence, in November 1901, the Board purchased 52 acres of land at Bole Hill from Mr Shuttleworth of Hathersage, and the incumbent tenant at the time, Mr Cooper, paid the princely sum of £20 in compensation. The area was chosen as the beds of stone were near to the surface at an average depth of approximately 65 feet and the quarry face an impressive 1,200 yards long. The estimated 2.4 million tons building stone was considered to be top grade due to the silica and feldspar composition of the millstone grit, making it both perfect and plentiful for the construct the two aforementioned dams.
A standard gauge railway was constructed along the quarry face, which culminated in marshalling area for the trucks. A cutting then led to the summit of a steep 300-foot incline which ran down the hill to link with the Midland Railway Hope Valley Line. An army of workers were brought in from Sheffield on early morning special trains while workers from further afar were put up in tin bungalows adjacent to the site, and also provided with a library, recreation room and mess rooms. The quarry commenced operation in 1903 and in its seven-and-a-half years life, more than 1.25 million tons of stone were extracted. Workshops for dressing the large blocks, which weighted between 20 and 30 tons, were built adjacent to the quarry face. Meanwhile the rubble and filler stone was loaded by two steam-powered cranes straight into specially built trucks, which were then lowered down the incline. Its 1-in-3 gradient made this a hazardous operation and was controlled by a brakeman on the drum of the winding wheel. As each loaded truck was lowered, it raised an empty truck up from the bottom. Once at the bottom the wagons were shunted into the sidings before being hauled up the Hope Valley line to the specially constructed "Waterworks Sidings" at Thornhill. They were then taken up the Bamford and Howden Railway by the DVWB-owned locomotives to the construction sites.
OS Map extract showing the incline in relation to Grindleford Station:
By October 1905, there were some 439 men employed at the quarry, operating two 12-ton cranes, nine 7-ton cranes, one 5-ton crane, three locomotives, the winding drum and the almost 100 tipper wagons. Disaster struck on two occasions leaving two men dead whilst working in the quarry. One fell and died from concussion while the other man died in a cutting when three loaded trucks broke loose and careered into an area where around 20 men were working. Production ceased in December 1910, although some small quantities of stone continued to be quarried and sent up to Derwent up to April 1914. The majority of the heavy plant was removed from the site in early 1911. The quarry formally closed in September 1914 and the final plant and materials removed. The DVWB had planned to build a housing estate in the quarry workings but this never came to fruition, possibly to allow them the option to quarry the still extensive resources of stone, should further demand arise. There were future developments in 1935, with the construction of the Ladybower Reservoir, but the mainly earth dam meant little stone would be required. Hence the old quarry proved to be of little worth to the DVWB who very generously gifted the area to the National Trust in 1947.
The winding drum circa 1904 and to the right, two of the quarry's three locomotives standing back-to-back
Looking up the incline with a loaded truck coming down on the left. circa 1904:
The quarry's extensive marshalling sidings, circa 1910:
2. The Explore
Been coming here for a number of years. Only really dawned on me recently that this place might be worth a report. Looking into the history of the site it made me realise there was much more there than I first thought. I also came across some really interesting archive pictures from the early 1900s, which really bought the place alive. It's a fantastic place to wander round and although nature has taken the quarry back, with a bit of imagination, you can start to piece together what the quarry would have looked like in its heyday and marvel at its sheer size.
So a bit different and probably not for everyone but worth an hour or so's stroll and a mug of coffee and sausage sandwich in the excellent Grindleford Station Cafe afterwards (once it re-opens).
3. The Pictures
Starting at the top of the quarry, there are literally hundreds of old millstones piled up::
Possibly the biggest millstone I saw:
Old stone trough:
And the upper quarry itself:
Stone gable end of an old quarryman's hut:
Slightly further down we come to the old powder house:
Moving on to where the stone for the dams was quarried:
This was either a crane base or a loading platform:
The cutting heading towards the top of the incline:
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Good work mate
