I didn't have much hope in this explore prior to turning up...wasn't even sure I'd be able to get in at one point - but this one turned out to be a pearler! Probably the best one I have done in a while...but fiiiirst, a little background.
HISTORY
Emborough Quarry is a dormant quarry and has been since I have no idea when. The limestone quarry is separated into two areas by an impressive 7-arched viaduct..unfortunately it is impossible to glimpse it in full nowadays due to how overgrown this area is. But the tram-line connecting the 2 quarries is very much intact. Along the top of the viaduct would have been the Somerset and Dorset railway.
The quarry was owned by the Emborough Stone Co. and registered in 1907, mining roadstone. This company was one of the original partners of the Roads Reconstruction Ltd in 1934. It continued to operate until after World War II.
Since its closure it has had various uses including military training (of which I could find no evidence unfortunately), waste recycling and concrete product manufacture. The latter still takes place today by the Penny Group which overlooks the western quarry. Unfortunately I don't have a photo but the building has a St. Georges Cross flying from it indicating the most northern part of the quarry is still very much in use. The eastern quarry appears to currently be used for machinery storage too - as we'll see later.
It was declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1971 due to the myriad of fossils found there including a reptile with flappy wings. The quarry is considered unlikely to ever reopen, though technically it still could.
EXPLORE
So at first I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it into this one, but a quick bit of google mappage yielded some possibilities and in the end it was easy enough. I dropped down into the somewhat sparse western quarry. There isn't a great deal of interest here aside from the tramline which I later found out connects the two sites. According to a sign I found on the ground this side of the quarry is known as quarry 2; or lake quarry...this was the most interesting feature here aside form a pretty cool tram bridge...
I kept following the tramline round and came across the viaduct into the next quarry which is when things started to get interesting!
Hand operated track switch - probably doesn't work does it?....Oh yes it does. It works just like the day is was installed and for the rest of the day every time I passed one I couldn't help but throw the lever over.. CLUNK. Very satisfying.
Where the magic happens
I found it very interesting to see how it all came together - it gave a real insight into how it all works. It is possible to climb the structure in the picture and in doing so I found a control room.. Have a look at this control panel... It gives a bit of an overview as to what is happening where. The storage bins are housed in the building on the tall building in the middle and is trans with a batch conveyer to the building on the right which houses the mixers and weigh bins.
More from the control room...
And below you can see the mixers with what I think are the weigh bins above
Here you can see where the aggregate would be dropped before making its way up the conveyor and into the storage bins seen here
View of the eastern quarry...
As you can see from the view above there is all sorts of interesting garbage strewn around the basin of the quarry...
A hamster wheel obviously
Sweet ride
The honeywagon
It was at this point in the explore I got rudely interrupted by a 4x4 approaching. So I did the brave thing...and hid in a bush. The chap got out with a clipboard a spent a bit of time in the shed below - I believe because it is used as machinery storage for the businesses up the road. I guess he was taking an inventory but I was surprised because it seemed like an odd thing to do on a Sunday arvo. He then did a tour of the entire eastern quarry as though he was looking for something... anyway, soon enough he drove off and I was left alone again to roam freely.
There are so many more photos I could post here but I think I've dragged this out long enough. If you have made it this far then very well done. I don't have any medals on me but that doesn't make you any less deserving!
I would thoroughly recommend a visit to Emborough Quarry...A proper photographer would have an absolute field day here.. Unfortunately I don't have the patience for it myself but hope to see some decent pics from one of the 28DL crew soon...
Cheers
HISTORY
Emborough Quarry is a dormant quarry and has been since I have no idea when. The limestone quarry is separated into two areas by an impressive 7-arched viaduct..unfortunately it is impossible to glimpse it in full nowadays due to how overgrown this area is. But the tram-line connecting the 2 quarries is very much intact. Along the top of the viaduct would have been the Somerset and Dorset railway.
The quarry was owned by the Emborough Stone Co. and registered in 1907, mining roadstone. This company was one of the original partners of the Roads Reconstruction Ltd in 1934. It continued to operate until after World War II.
Since its closure it has had various uses including military training (of which I could find no evidence unfortunately), waste recycling and concrete product manufacture. The latter still takes place today by the Penny Group which overlooks the western quarry. Unfortunately I don't have a photo but the building has a St. Georges Cross flying from it indicating the most northern part of the quarry is still very much in use. The eastern quarry appears to currently be used for machinery storage too - as we'll see later.
It was declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1971 due to the myriad of fossils found there including a reptile with flappy wings. The quarry is considered unlikely to ever reopen, though technically it still could.
EXPLORE
So at first I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it into this one, but a quick bit of google mappage yielded some possibilities and in the end it was easy enough. I dropped down into the somewhat sparse western quarry. There isn't a great deal of interest here aside from the tramline which I later found out connects the two sites. According to a sign I found on the ground this side of the quarry is known as quarry 2; or lake quarry...this was the most interesting feature here aside form a pretty cool tram bridge...
I kept following the tramline round and came across the viaduct into the next quarry which is when things started to get interesting!
Hand operated track switch - probably doesn't work does it?....Oh yes it does. It works just like the day is was installed and for the rest of the day every time I passed one I couldn't help but throw the lever over.. CLUNK. Very satisfying.
Where the magic happens
I found it very interesting to see how it all came together - it gave a real insight into how it all works. It is possible to climb the structure in the picture and in doing so I found a control room.. Have a look at this control panel... It gives a bit of an overview as to what is happening where. The storage bins are housed in the building on the tall building in the middle and is trans with a batch conveyer to the building on the right which houses the mixers and weigh bins.
More from the control room...
And below you can see the mixers with what I think are the weigh bins above
Here you can see where the aggregate would be dropped before making its way up the conveyor and into the storage bins seen here
View of the eastern quarry...
As you can see from the view above there is all sorts of interesting garbage strewn around the basin of the quarry...
A hamster wheel obviously
Sweet ride
The honeywagon
It was at this point in the explore I got rudely interrupted by a 4x4 approaching. So I did the brave thing...and hid in a bush. The chap got out with a clipboard a spent a bit of time in the shed below - I believe because it is used as machinery storage for the businesses up the road. I guess he was taking an inventory but I was surprised because it seemed like an odd thing to do on a Sunday arvo. He then did a tour of the entire eastern quarry as though he was looking for something... anyway, soon enough he drove off and I was left alone again to roam freely.
There are so many more photos I could post here but I think I've dragged this out long enough. If you have made it this far then very well done. I don't have any medals on me but that doesn't make you any less deserving!
I would thoroughly recommend a visit to Emborough Quarry...A proper photographer would have an absolute field day here.. Unfortunately I don't have the patience for it myself but hope to see some decent pics from one of the 28DL crew soon...
Cheers
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dying to get some pictures of this!!
