Quarrying
Here at Pule Hill the long colsed quarry produced large quantities of hard stone, mainly used for buildings and also flag stones (as can still be seen in most towns in the surrounding area. The quarries (called Pule Edge Quarries) were very abandoned after being very heavilt quarried, remains can be seen of the loading bay that was used to get the heavy stone down to the road and onto its onward transport. Also near to the Quarry can be seen spoil tips rising from the ground, these contain the materials removed during the construction of the Standedge tunnels which run right underneath this area (you can clearly see the air shafts between the Quarry and the road.
What type of stone was Quarried here?
The stone that was quarried and much sought after here was formerly known as the Pule Hill Grit, the modern geological term for it being Upper Carboniferous Midgley Grit, this is one of the types of gritstone found around Yorkshire & Derbyshire areas, often commonly referred to as 'Millstone Grit' the reason being its toughness and 'gritty' coarse exterior making it ideal for making millstones to grind flour, and also grindstones used in knife sharpening
Millstone Grit
Millstone Grit was laid down in the late (upper) Paleozoic era, in the Carboniferous period, in deltaic conditions. The Carboniferous was a time of glaciation, low sea level and mountain building; a minor marine extinction event occurred in the middle of the period. The name comes from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous literally translates to "coal-bearing". During this period numerous beds of coal were laid down worldwide, giving the period this name, this period was approximately 350 million years ago.
Gritstone is a sedimentary rock composed of coarse sand grains with inclusions of small pebbles. It is a coarser version of sandstone. Gritstone is a fluvial sedimentary rock, and because of this it often will show signs of cross-bedding or current bedding, it is still quarried today nearby in the Huddersfield area.
The Area
The quarry face here at Pule Hill extends approximately 100m along the western slopes. Plant fossils have been found in the quarry spoil and also in the fallen rocks, although Pule Hill is not regarded as a high find area for fossils. Further along just below the crest of Pule hill is a naturally formed Archway and tiny cave (53.35.542 / 001.57.215) Gritstone although tough is not a very resistant rock, making it subject to erosion - in exposed moorland areas like this with frequent wet and windy weather this will take place at a fast rate, the arch will have been formed over many thousands of years, been constantly battered by the wind and rain in its exposed location jutting out from the hillside
There are various ways to get to the areas mentioned, the quickest way would be to park in the layby at 53.35.546 / 001.57.466 and walk up the track leading you towards the quarry area - from here you will need to climb up onto the top of the hill, you can walk back away from the arch and pick up a footpath which will take you on the hilltop, it is not reccomended to scramble up the quarry as the rocks can be unstable. Taking this route you will also be able to incorporate the Stonefielders traditional caches en route, care should be taken where you walk as there is slippery rock sections, the path you require to ascend the hill from either side is well marked, and shown as the 'Standedge trail' on the OS map care should also be taken when dropping down to the natural arch as it is below the crest of the hill, I found the best way to approach it was from above as you approach from the direction of the quarry, it isn't a difficult descent, you will see the best and also easiest route upon approach.
To claim this Earthcache please perform the following tasks:
1. At the given coords estimate the height of the highest point of the gritstone cliff face.
2.Describe the texture of the gritstone in the quarry
3.Take a photo of yourself or GPS at the Natural arch.
4.Estimate the height and width of the natural arch
All answers via email please, and photo's posted in your logs, any logs without these requirements may be deleted
Have fun !
Once again please do not climb on the quarry as it could be unstable and therefore dangerous.
PLEASE NOTE: I receive a very high number of Earthcache emails, I can’t reply to them all otherwise I’d be doing nothing else all day, as has always been the case there is no need to await a reply from me regarding your answers…. However due to numerous people thinking they can just log these caches without emailing any answers, and/or completing the required tasks these will be picked up, and the logs will be deleted without further communication. To facilitate this Please email your information either before, or AT THE SAME TIME OF LOGGING THE CACHE, Thanks.