Visited with Mr pink and none member and again with Motionless Escapes a few weeks later.
History……..
Spent a while googling this place and didn’t find a right lot…………
Basically it was mainly extracting sandstone flagstones.
Quarlton Vale Print & Bleachworks and other local print works used massive stone printing tables in the early 19th century (the term ‘off stone’ still being used at printers today – Ed). The early methods of cloth printing was carried out by pressing onto the cloth, inked wooden blocks, usually made of sycamore, which had the required design carved into the block face. To carry out the process the length of cloth needed to be held flat onto the table top for a reasonable ‘run’, thus enabling the blocks to print a continuous design.
John Horrocks, a Quaker, of Bradshaw Hall, leased a sandstone quarry in Edgeworth for the production of millstones. A speciality of his firm was the manufacture of stone block printing tables which he supplied to Quarlton Vale Print & Bleachworks and other Bolton district calico printers. Horrocks also extracted flagstones out of Round Barn Quarry, Entwistle. Very much a local quarrying entrepreneur at both quarries, he laid down waterwheel powered, mechanical, grinding and polishing machinery for the production of the stone tables, the finish of which had to be dead smooth. The water for powering the waterwheels was conveyed to the works by leats from Bradshaw Brook.
Another local worthy, Thomas Thomasson, also a Quaker, owned a quarry on his estate in Edgeworth, out of which he extracted huge flagstones. When cut to size, and the top surface rubbed smooth by waterwheel powered machinery, these massive sandstone flags were then crafted into the same type of block print tables as sold by his rival, John Horrocks.
Many of these print tables consisted of huge slabs of sandstone measuring 10ft long x 5ft wide and between 6in and 8in thick. In 1832, a local newspaper reported on a number of stone printing tables being acquired by Quarlton Vale Print & Bleachworks which included, ‘a short table of 68in and two long tables’: the long tables could have measured 12ft x 5ft wide and up to 9in thick!!
Iv visited this quarry on numerous occasions checking out which routes are still possible to climb as this place had very good sections of mainly the higher grade trad routes, it was severely fractured/shattered then and still is. I never ended up climbing here as there only seems to be a handful of routes that I would like to climb given the nature of the rock.
We located the entrance to the first mine, went in and was pleasantly surprised to find quite a big opening and it all looks the same as its all square cut (pillar and stall) technique but this isn’t that big and getting lost in here just wouldn’t happen, the roof is so fragmented I would advise wearing a helmet, we witnessed some small fragmented pieces of rock falling from the roof, it really does make you keep an eye on the roof, the place feels unstable but a nice wander, once you have gone round a couple of turns I felt that I was further away than I was, especially as it all looks the same.
It doesn’t smell that nice either, although its really dry in places it kinda smells damp and slightly discusting.
The 2nd one we found is no where near as big and has a pool/flooded section, it smells worse than the first one, and feels more unstable than the first on especially when you see how rotten the wooden beams are holding up the roof, I do recall Mr pink touching one of the beams and his finger disappearing into the soft rotten wood!! Now that’s not reassuring at all. Im going back here soon, its worth a look round on a rainy night. Happy reading…
Anyway on with the pics……
One of the rotten structual roof beams.
Second mine
I didnt want to crawl in there!
Thanks for looking!
Stonemonkey
History……..
Spent a while googling this place and didn’t find a right lot…………
Basically it was mainly extracting sandstone flagstones.
Quarlton Vale Print & Bleachworks and other local print works used massive stone printing tables in the early 19th century (the term ‘off stone’ still being used at printers today – Ed). The early methods of cloth printing was carried out by pressing onto the cloth, inked wooden blocks, usually made of sycamore, which had the required design carved into the block face. To carry out the process the length of cloth needed to be held flat onto the table top for a reasonable ‘run’, thus enabling the blocks to print a continuous design.
John Horrocks, a Quaker, of Bradshaw Hall, leased a sandstone quarry in Edgeworth for the production of millstones. A speciality of his firm was the manufacture of stone block printing tables which he supplied to Quarlton Vale Print & Bleachworks and other Bolton district calico printers. Horrocks also extracted flagstones out of Round Barn Quarry, Entwistle. Very much a local quarrying entrepreneur at both quarries, he laid down waterwheel powered, mechanical, grinding and polishing machinery for the production of the stone tables, the finish of which had to be dead smooth. The water for powering the waterwheels was conveyed to the works by leats from Bradshaw Brook.
Another local worthy, Thomas Thomasson, also a Quaker, owned a quarry on his estate in Edgeworth, out of which he extracted huge flagstones. When cut to size, and the top surface rubbed smooth by waterwheel powered machinery, these massive sandstone flags were then crafted into the same type of block print tables as sold by his rival, John Horrocks.
Many of these print tables consisted of huge slabs of sandstone measuring 10ft long x 5ft wide and between 6in and 8in thick. In 1832, a local newspaper reported on a number of stone printing tables being acquired by Quarlton Vale Print & Bleachworks which included, ‘a short table of 68in and two long tables’: the long tables could have measured 12ft x 5ft wide and up to 9in thick!!
Iv visited this quarry on numerous occasions checking out which routes are still possible to climb as this place had very good sections of mainly the higher grade trad routes, it was severely fractured/shattered then and still is. I never ended up climbing here as there only seems to be a handful of routes that I would like to climb given the nature of the rock.
We located the entrance to the first mine, went in and was pleasantly surprised to find quite a big opening and it all looks the same as its all square cut (pillar and stall) technique but this isn’t that big and getting lost in here just wouldn’t happen, the roof is so fragmented I would advise wearing a helmet, we witnessed some small fragmented pieces of rock falling from the roof, it really does make you keep an eye on the roof, the place feels unstable but a nice wander, once you have gone round a couple of turns I felt that I was further away than I was, especially as it all looks the same.
It doesn’t smell that nice either, although its really dry in places it kinda smells damp and slightly discusting.
The 2nd one we found is no where near as big and has a pool/flooded section, it smells worse than the first one, and feels more unstable than the first on especially when you see how rotten the wooden beams are holding up the roof, I do recall Mr pink touching one of the beams and his finger disappearing into the soft rotten wood!! Now that’s not reassuring at all. Im going back here soon, its worth a look round on a rainy night. Happy reading…
Anyway on with the pics……
One of the rotten structual roof beams.
Second mine
I didnt want to crawl in there!
Thanks for looking!
Stonemonkey
