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The Trust commits to promote and safeguard these assets for all the residents of, and visitors to, Herefordshire and Worcestershire
Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove, once a centre for linen and woollen cloth industries, then later nail making, also had a largely forgotten industry of quarrying sandstone for building. The sandstone on which Bromsgrove stands was deposited during the Triassic Period, roughly 250 million years ago, in a braided river system flowing northward from a mountain range across Northern France. The climate was arid with seasonal mega-monsoons.
Back in the late 18th Century, it was noted that there is “an excellent kind of sandstone” that “is easily got out by manual labour”…”is easily worked, but being exposed to the air it becomes hard and durable”.
The presence of very occasional but internationally significant fossils led to Bromsgrove giving its name to beds of sandstone of the same age across the midlands.
Despite the abundance of building stone, Bromsgrove is not known for its stone buildings. Few examples remain, Grafton Manor, St John’s Parish Church, St Peter’s RC Church plus All Saints on the Birmingham Road, St Godwalds in Finstall and St Bartholomew’s at Tardebigge being notable.
Records show an explosion in the numbers of quarry workers from around1870 probably due to the demands of church building and the fashion for imposing stone boundary walls around the Victorian villas. The early ordnance survey maps of Bromsgrove’s Hill Top and Rock Hill areas give a fascinating insight into a changing landscape at the turn of the 20th century. The maps show the expansion of the quarries and, following the decline of quarrying in the 1920’s and 30’s, their steady infill and building over with houses (some of which later suffered significant subsidence).
Today, there are few traces of this industry but they have left a lasting, if largely hidden, legacy in the streets and gardens of the area. Many of the old access trackways have had their courses preserved as modern streets and passageways. These include Quarry Lane, Forelands Grove, the road and footpath from Fox Lane to Carnoustie Close and the alleyway between Rock Hill and Enfield Close.
Near to this location there is a small track that affords excellent views of the Clent, Waseley and Lickey Hills to the North and beyond the cattle grid further along the track, the Bredon, Malvern, and Abberley Hills to the South. Waypoint at N52 19.626 W002 04.682
The Earthcache
The cache coordinates are for Griffin North Quarry (location 1), there are various potential parking locations nearby, the parking waypoint indicating the general area. For a pleasant circular walk, you could park at Sanders Park, and head along Battlefield Brook where a couple of local traditional caches are located.
Griffin North (Top) Quarry.
At N52 19.625 W002 04.695, you will find a small ‘rock face’, part-covered by foliage. This exposed sandstone is a remnant of the top section of the former Griffin North quarry. It covered much of the green space that you can see around you. There were other quarries to the south and east too.
Heading down the hill you will encounter Quarry Lane; N52 19.620 W002 04.475. This is a roadside location, so please take care at this spot.
The vertical faces of the rock either side of the end of the lane indicate that it was cut to achieve access to the quarries. On one side are distinct toolmarks, on the other numerous layers in the sandstone show how the rock was laid down in layers in a river environment.
You can find more about the EHT building stone project here
Questions:
In order to claim this earthcache, please answer the following questions, sending the answers through the account link above:
Location 1, Top Quarry:
Approximately how high is the rock outcrop? What is the predominant colour and what causes this colouration? Briefly describe the differences between the upper and lower sections of the exposed vertical face; which do you think would make the better stone for building, and why?
Location 2, Quarry Lane:
Look at the layering of the rock on the right hand side looking up Quarry Lane. It is no longer uniform and nearly horizontal like that at location 1. Briefly describe the layering that you can see. What might be the cause for the patterns that you can see in the rock?
