Church Quarry
Church Quarry is situated in the woods behind the Wizard Inn (fig. 1) and is so named because the extracted stone was used to build local churches [17]. The quarry is thought to have been worked during the period 1740-1800 [17] with the Wood Mine Conglomerate comprising the excavated rock. The conglomerate was removed by blasting and the remains of shot holes can be seen at regular intervals on the quarry's walls (fig. 2). Although the conglomerate was sometimes extracted for construction purposes, it was the layer of sandstone at ground level which was the primary reason for the quarry's existence [17]. The tunnel found in the corner of the quarry was probably dug for exploratory purposes.
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Figure 1: Church Quarry |
Figure 2: Remains of the shot holes in the walls of Church Quarry |
A small room excavated in an outcrop of sandstone is located between Church Quarry and the Wizard (fig. 3). It was here that the powder used for blasting was kept. The room is L-shaped and at one time had a shielded doorway which when combined would have deflected any accidental explosions [17].
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Figure 3: The powder room situated near Church Quarry |
Mottram Quarry (Alderley Red Moulding Sand Quarry)
Mottram Quarry is the largest and also the youngest quarry at Alderley Edge (fig. 4). The quarry was worked between 1872-1950 with the Wilmslow Sandstone being extracted and used as moulding sand [17]. During this period the quarry was worked on two levels but because the sandstone is very soft the features created by quarrying have largely disappeared [17].
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Figure 4: Mottram Quarry is the largest quarry at Alderley Edge |
Old Alderley Quarry (The Great Quarry)
The Old Alderley Quarry is situated a short distance to the north of Engine Vein Mine. It is believed that quarrying began around 1775 and continued until 1840 [17]. Blasting did not take place at this quarry, possibly because there was little overburden. Instead the rock was excavated manually and the quarry walls display excellent examples of herring-bone pick work [17]. A washed out or excavated clay band can be seen in the north walls of the quarry (fig. 5) and it is here that specimens of the brachiopod Euestheria minuta have previously been discovered [6]. Beam slots can also be seen at several points in the quarry walls which were used to hold up scaffolding [17].
To the south of the entrance is an exposure of Engine Vein Conglomerate which displays several beam holes (fig. 6). It is possible that at the time of quarrying a wooden shelter of dressing shed was located here [17].
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Figure 5: The washed out or excavated band of clay |
Figure 6: The beam holes located in the southern wall of the Old Alderley Quarry |
The Opencast
The Opencast is a surface excavation found a short distance to the northeast of the Old Alderley Quarry (fig. 7). The Engine Vein Conglomerate here is mineralised with cerrusite, galena, pyromorphite, barite, malachite and azurite [2]. A small level was excavated to connect the surface workings with those underground but this is now infilled [2].
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| Figure 7: The Opencast is a surface working near the Old Alderley Quarry |