This is my first report, hopefully it is up to standard! Any feedback is welcome.
History
From what I have read and seen on old ordnance survey maps, Round Barn Quarry was initially a smaller stone delf that occupied the left side of the quarry as it is today. It was then extended to the right side and the rock face now is quite sizable.
Some history from the website, "About Rivington" -
"Working from at least the early part of the 19th Century stone was hauled down an inclined plane from Round Barn Delf, to a small railway siding in the valley below, marked Walton’s Siding on maps. It seems the quarry was disused for a while towards the end of the century. In the early part of the 20th Century the Delf was worked once more and a tramway was installed down to the railway. I believe the old haulage and later tramway where situated above the current footpath on the tall stone structure on the left leading up to the quarry. A few years later the tramway was abandoned and a “mineral railway” was installed probably on the site of the actual footpath, below the stone causeway. More sidings where added both within the quarry -which was extended to its current size - and at Walton’s Sidings down the hill.
At the height of it’s production the quarry contained several large buildings, some structures being supported on towers of large stone blocks. I’d imagine this was to enable stone to be loaded into train carts below. The stone blocks are probably examples of the produce of the quarry and the some of the buildings were probably used for processing and dressing stone. Stone quarried at Round Barn included the Rough Rock or Sand Rock as it is known locally and below this the Upper Haslingden Flags; both used extensively as building materials."
My Visit
I have visited the quarry and the mines within a couple of times and taken pictures on two separate occasions. The first time was a very wet, foggy day and the second a cold, sunny day. I am planning another visit - on my second visit my torches and camera were starting to run out of battery so I would like to get some more pictures of the larger mine and have a better look around.
The quarry itself is really lovely for a wander around, especially on a sunny day. The top of the quarry consists of expansive moorland and is covered in heather and, at the bottom of the quarry, there are a lot of remnants of buildings, what looks like the mount of a crane, railway sidings etc as well as the mines themselves so there are some interesting things to see.
I found three entrances to the mines and three "separate" mines which I'm sure all linked up at one point in time. Two of the mines are small, and one quite large, but you reach dead ends fairly quickly in all of them.
The mines are an enjoyable wander - easy to navigate and I would say difficult to get lost in, and dry except for one dead-ended section of the largest mine. The ceilings seem mostly stable now (about as stable as you can expect in a mine) and the floor is easy to negotiate despite some spoil/rockfall.
The ceiling of the largest mine is covered in fossilized sea bed (as I have now learnt thanks to some smart people on here) and is amazing to see.
I've read other reports where people have said that the mines have an awful smell, but I can't say I noticed anything too bad. Overall a nice, easy mooch
On to the pictures-
The first mine.
The second, larger mine.
The third (very small) mine.
Some bits in the quarry itself.
Thanks for reading/looking
History
From what I have read and seen on old ordnance survey maps, Round Barn Quarry was initially a smaller stone delf that occupied the left side of the quarry as it is today. It was then extended to the right side and the rock face now is quite sizable.
Some history from the website, "About Rivington" -
"Working from at least the early part of the 19th Century stone was hauled down an inclined plane from Round Barn Delf, to a small railway siding in the valley below, marked Walton’s Siding on maps. It seems the quarry was disused for a while towards the end of the century. In the early part of the 20th Century the Delf was worked once more and a tramway was installed down to the railway. I believe the old haulage and later tramway where situated above the current footpath on the tall stone structure on the left leading up to the quarry. A few years later the tramway was abandoned and a “mineral railway” was installed probably on the site of the actual footpath, below the stone causeway. More sidings where added both within the quarry -which was extended to its current size - and at Walton’s Sidings down the hill.
At the height of it’s production the quarry contained several large buildings, some structures being supported on towers of large stone blocks. I’d imagine this was to enable stone to be loaded into train carts below. The stone blocks are probably examples of the produce of the quarry and the some of the buildings were probably used for processing and dressing stone. Stone quarried at Round Barn included the Rough Rock or Sand Rock as it is known locally and below this the Upper Haslingden Flags; both used extensively as building materials."
My Visit
I have visited the quarry and the mines within a couple of times and taken pictures on two separate occasions. The first time was a very wet, foggy day and the second a cold, sunny day. I am planning another visit - on my second visit my torches and camera were starting to run out of battery so I would like to get some more pictures of the larger mine and have a better look around.
The quarry itself is really lovely for a wander around, especially on a sunny day. The top of the quarry consists of expansive moorland and is covered in heather and, at the bottom of the quarry, there are a lot of remnants of buildings, what looks like the mount of a crane, railway sidings etc as well as the mines themselves so there are some interesting things to see.
I found three entrances to the mines and three "separate" mines which I'm sure all linked up at one point in time. Two of the mines are small, and one quite large, but you reach dead ends fairly quickly in all of them.
The mines are an enjoyable wander - easy to navigate and I would say difficult to get lost in, and dry except for one dead-ended section of the largest mine. The ceilings seem mostly stable now (about as stable as you can expect in a mine) and the floor is easy to negotiate despite some spoil/rockfall.
The ceiling of the largest mine is covered in fossilized sea bed (as I have now learnt thanks to some smart people on here) and is amazing to see.
I've read other reports where people have said that the mines have an awful smell, but I can't say I noticed anything too bad. Overall a nice, easy mooch
On to the pictures-
The first mine.
The second, larger mine.
The third (very small) mine.
Some bits in the quarry itself.
Thanks for reading/looking
