Geological Sites | Leeds
| Bradford | Calderdale
| Kirklees | Wakefield
 STATUS: RIGS
OTHER DESIGNATIONS:
COUNTY: West Yorkshire
DISTRICT: Bradford
OS GRID REF. SE 074 472
OS SHEET 1:50,000 Landranger 104 Leeds and Bradford
OS SHEET: 1:25,000 Explorer 297 Lower Wharfedale and Washburn Valley
BGS 1:50,000 Geological Sheet 69 Bradford (Solid and Drift edition)
FIRST DESIGNATED by West Yorkshire RIGS Group in 1996
DATE OF MOST RECENT SURVEY West Yorkshire Geology Trust in November 2007
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION produced by Neil Aitkenhead
SITE DESCRIPTION:
The Addingham Edge Grit, of Namurian age, crops out on Addingham High
Moor as a craggy escarpment along the 350m contour line between Nab End
and the outskirts of Ilkley. The millstone quarry, known as ‘Millstone
Lumps’ (SE 072 472) contains exposures of cross bedded, coarse
gritstones with pebble bands and impressions of large plant stems. The
slopes below the quarries include several mapped post-glacial landslips.
There are also  numerous scattered blocks of Addingham Edge Grit, up to
several metres in length and height, some of which have been fashioned
into millstones in various stages of completion. These blocks also show
various types of cross bedding and fossil plant remains.
There is a photo of the site looking from the slope below, featuring
a millstone, in the Sheet Description 2000 Plate 1 p40 (see details below).
HISTORICAL
ASSOCIATIONS:
The exposure has been quarried for millstones since the seventeenth
century and possibly from much earlier times, as Iron Age querns have
been found
in the fields below the escarpment.
EDUCATIONAL VALUE:
The site is suitable for observing sandstone structures, quarrying
of millstones and to observe the general geology of the district.
 AESTHETIC
CHARACTERISTICS:
It is an ideal viewpoint to observe the geological features of
Wharfedale and the Skipton anticline to the north with the Askrigg
Block beyond.
ACCESS AND SAFETY:
Good parking on Light Bank Lane (SE 061 470) or ascend from Addingham
Moorside which has limited parking facilities. The site is approximately
1km from either parking site using public footpaths. These are
not suitable for wheelchairs. |
