1. The History
Lime quarrying has been common to this part of Derbyshire throughout the 19th Century. In 1891, fierce competition saw thirteen quarry owners consolidate their seventeen quarries under the collective umbrella of Buxton Lime Firms. Controlled by four directors, they disingenuously tried to create a monopoly of supply and raise the price of lime.
Around the turn of the 20th century, they were on average producing 280,000 tons of lime per year and dominated the industry in Derbyshire. The Cowdale quarry was initially established in 1898 by the New Buxton Lime Co and originally listed as 'Staden Quarry'. The large stone-built kilns standing 50-foot-high included a network of railway sidings above the A6. The four shaft kilns were taken over by the Buxton Lime Firms in 1908 and, shortly afterwards in 1909, three concrete buildings (the gatehouse, power-house and ancillary building) were built close to the A6 in a highly unusual 'neo-Egyptian' style. The firm supplied high quality lime to Brunner Mond who finally bought BLF in 1918.
O/S map detail of the quarry and kilns as at 1920 (pre-buttressing). You can clearly see the standard gauge tracks at the bottom of the quarry (including two sets of holding sidings) that linked the lime works to the main railway line to the east and the narrow gauge tram tracks in the quarry itself, used to transport the rocks to the top of the crusher system and the kilns.
Index:
A - Neo-Egyptian buildings (only two of which are now extant)
B - Lime Kilns
C - Crusher, hopper and loading system
D - Powder store
E - Main quarry
In the mid-1920s concrete buttresses were added to the kilns, shortly before the works were merged in 1927 to form I.C.I. Ltd. However, this contradicts the archive picture of the buttresses being added to the extant shaft kilns which is dated 1931:
Photographer: unknown
Quarry worker loading one of the tipper carts circa (date unknown):
Photographer: unknown
Quarrying ceased in 1948, but the works remained in operation until 1955 in order to store stone. In the latter part of the 20th century the tramlines were removed and some of the mine's buildings were demolished with the remaining works left to slowly decay.
In 1997 English Heritage assessed the quarry as part of its 'Monument Protection Plan', concluding that the site contained 'very impressive remains'. In 2010 a development proposal by Buxton Water to use the site as a water bottling plant and for storage was tabled. It also included plans for the development of a heritage visitor's centre and heritage trail. This required the need for the establishment of improved road access and required the demolition of the powerhouse. The planning application was refused in June 2011 and again on appeal in September 2012. However, the powerhouse was demolished, in controversial circumstances, in May 2011 just prior to the first planning application on the grounds that the structure was considered 'dangerous' by High Peak Borough Council (Section 80). A pretty tall story given it was built like the proverbial brick sh*thouse.
This was seen by many as a significant loss in terms of the site’s heritage. The BLF logo on the building was the last that bore such a mark and shortly after English Heritage scheduled the remaining structures on the site, ensuring the two other BLF buildings and the buttressed kilns were now, thankfully, under statutory protection.
2. The Explore
This was one of my first ever explores back in August 2014. I returned back here to show a friend in 2020. More recently, I was returning from a couple of explores and we passed Cowdale. My mate had not seen it, so we stopped off. Not too much has changed. There has been a bit of tree clearance plus this time of yesr the site is less overgrown. Really like this place as if you hunt around, there is still quite a lot to see. Plus, I found a few bits I’d not seen before. The big loss continues to be the former powerhouse which is now a pile of broken concrete block. Recently it seems to have attracted a number of YouTubers. but when we went, we didn’t see a soul. It remains a very interesting rurally located industrial explore that is pretty relaxed.
3. The Pictures
The first thing you come to just by the road is the first of two remaining Egyptian-brutalist buildings:
Not too much of interest on the inside:
Then you pass a second building in a similar style, but we’ll come back to this one:
This looks like a little storage niche:
Sadly, this is all that remains of the former powerhouse:
Next up is the main attraction - are impressively buttressed lime kilns:
Good from the outside:
But equally interesting on the inside too:
Further along we come to this crusher, hopper and loading complex tumbling down the hill:
Love the remnants of the old pulley system here:
Not seen this little power store before:
Lee apparently got here before me:
Steps back up to the top:
This grey-brick building looks newer:
Not too sure what it was for though:
Some sort of iron pulley:
And part of an old lever system:
And some sort of banking:
Lime quarrying has been common to this part of Derbyshire throughout the 19th Century. In 1891, fierce competition saw thirteen quarry owners consolidate their seventeen quarries under the collective umbrella of Buxton Lime Firms. Controlled by four directors, they disingenuously tried to create a monopoly of supply and raise the price of lime.
Around the turn of the 20th century, they were on average producing 280,000 tons of lime per year and dominated the industry in Derbyshire. The Cowdale quarry was initially established in 1898 by the New Buxton Lime Co and originally listed as 'Staden Quarry'. The large stone-built kilns standing 50-foot-high included a network of railway sidings above the A6. The four shaft kilns were taken over by the Buxton Lime Firms in 1908 and, shortly afterwards in 1909, three concrete buildings (the gatehouse, power-house and ancillary building) were built close to the A6 in a highly unusual 'neo-Egyptian' style. The firm supplied high quality lime to Brunner Mond who finally bought BLF in 1918.
O/S map detail of the quarry and kilns as at 1920 (pre-buttressing). You can clearly see the standard gauge tracks at the bottom of the quarry (including two sets of holding sidings) that linked the lime works to the main railway line to the east and the narrow gauge tram tracks in the quarry itself, used to transport the rocks to the top of the crusher system and the kilns.
Index:
A - Neo-Egyptian buildings (only two of which are now extant)
B - Lime Kilns
C - Crusher, hopper and loading system
D - Powder store
E - Main quarry
In the mid-1920s concrete buttresses were added to the kilns, shortly before the works were merged in 1927 to form I.C.I. Ltd. However, this contradicts the archive picture of the buttresses being added to the extant shaft kilns which is dated 1931:
Photographer: unknown
Quarry worker loading one of the tipper carts circa (date unknown):
Photographer: unknown
Quarrying ceased in 1948, but the works remained in operation until 1955 in order to store stone. In the latter part of the 20th century the tramlines were removed and some of the mine's buildings were demolished with the remaining works left to slowly decay.
In 1997 English Heritage assessed the quarry as part of its 'Monument Protection Plan', concluding that the site contained 'very impressive remains'. In 2010 a development proposal by Buxton Water to use the site as a water bottling plant and for storage was tabled. It also included plans for the development of a heritage visitor's centre and heritage trail. This required the need for the establishment of improved road access and required the demolition of the powerhouse. The planning application was refused in June 2011 and again on appeal in September 2012. However, the powerhouse was demolished, in controversial circumstances, in May 2011 just prior to the first planning application on the grounds that the structure was considered 'dangerous' by High Peak Borough Council (Section 80). A pretty tall story given it was built like the proverbial brick sh*thouse.
This was seen by many as a significant loss in terms of the site’s heritage. The BLF logo on the building was the last that bore such a mark and shortly after English Heritage scheduled the remaining structures on the site, ensuring the two other BLF buildings and the buttressed kilns were now, thankfully, under statutory protection.
2. The Explore
This was one of my first ever explores back in August 2014. I returned back here to show a friend in 2020. More recently, I was returning from a couple of explores and we passed Cowdale. My mate had not seen it, so we stopped off. Not too much has changed. There has been a bit of tree clearance plus this time of yesr the site is less overgrown. Really like this place as if you hunt around, there is still quite a lot to see. Plus, I found a few bits I’d not seen before. The big loss continues to be the former powerhouse which is now a pile of broken concrete block. Recently it seems to have attracted a number of YouTubers. but when we went, we didn’t see a soul. It remains a very interesting rurally located industrial explore that is pretty relaxed.
3. The Pictures
The first thing you come to just by the road is the first of two remaining Egyptian-brutalist buildings:
Not too much of interest on the inside:
Then you pass a second building in a similar style, but we’ll come back to this one:
This looks like a little storage niche:
Sadly, this is all that remains of the former powerhouse:
Next up is the main attraction - are impressively buttressed lime kilns:
Good from the outside:
But equally interesting on the inside too:
Further along we come to this crusher, hopper and loading complex tumbling down the hill:
Love the remnants of the old pulley system here:
Not seen this little power store before:
Lee apparently got here before me:
Steps back up to the top:
This grey-brick building looks newer:
Not too sure what it was for though:
Some sort of iron pulley:
And part of an old lever system:
And some sort of banking:
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