The History:
Buxton Lime Firms was an amalgamation of seventeen quarries, BLF owned 1522 acres of land, 89 lime kilns, 21 large stone crushers and 3 collieries. They produced 360,000 tons of limestone and 280,000 tons of lime per year and dominated the industry in Derbyshire. Between 1895 and 1915 a further nine quarries were either started or bought and a limekiln building program started. By 1918 Brunner Mond's dependence on the limestone from BLF was so great that they bought a controlling interest in the firm. This was converted to total ownership in 1926 and all their businesses were merged to form I.C.I. Development of the quarry at Tunstead started in 1929 with the excavation of three cuttings in the valley side for access to the planned works. These were completed in 1932 and in 1935 the first three Patent Lime Kilns were commissioned and fed by stone from the now developing quarry. As production at Tunstead increased the smaller, less efficient quarries were closed down or switched to stone production only.
The Explore:
I used to regularly drive past the first building whilst out and about, however its only when you get up close and personal you realise the scale. Easy access and pretty relaxed explore, even though the first building's been claimed by homeless we didn't have any bother.
The Pictures:
Bit of a technical issue resulted in not all pictures being uploaded, just these edited pictures. I'm sure you can get the gist from these shots!
Buxton Lime Firms was an amalgamation of seventeen quarries, BLF owned 1522 acres of land, 89 lime kilns, 21 large stone crushers and 3 collieries. They produced 360,000 tons of limestone and 280,000 tons of lime per year and dominated the industry in Derbyshire. Between 1895 and 1915 a further nine quarries were either started or bought and a limekiln building program started. By 1918 Brunner Mond's dependence on the limestone from BLF was so great that they bought a controlling interest in the firm. This was converted to total ownership in 1926 and all their businesses were merged to form I.C.I. Development of the quarry at Tunstead started in 1929 with the excavation of three cuttings in the valley side for access to the planned works. These were completed in 1932 and in 1935 the first three Patent Lime Kilns were commissioned and fed by stone from the now developing quarry. As production at Tunstead increased the smaller, less efficient quarries were closed down or switched to stone production only.
The Explore:
I used to regularly drive past the first building whilst out and about, however its only when you get up close and personal you realise the scale. Easy access and pretty relaxed explore, even though the first building's been claimed by homeless we didn't have any bother.
The Pictures:
Bit of a technical issue resulted in not all pictures being uploaded, just these edited pictures. I'm sure you can get the gist from these shots!
