Geological Sites | Leeds
| Bradford | Calderdale
| Kirklees | Wakefield
STATUS: RIGS
OTHER DESIGNATIONS: Peak District National Park
COUNTY: West Yorkshire
DISTRICT: Kirklees
OS GRID REF. SE 113 068 (Digley Road Turnaround), SE 111 073 (Bingley
Quarry), SE 108 073 (Alison Quarry)
OS 1:50,000 Landranger 110 Sheffield and Huddersfield
OS 1:25,000 EXPLORER 288 Bradford and Huddersfield
BGS 1:50,000 SHEET 86 Glossop
FIRST DESIGNATED by West Yorkshire RIGS Group in 1996
DATE OF MOST RECENT SURVEY January 2008 by West Yorkshire Geology Trust
SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION produced by Ian Chisholm
SITE DESCRIPTION:
All three sites show Upper Carboniferous Namurian (Millstone Grit) rocks.
Digley Road Turnaround is at the foot of Digley Dam and exposes about
4m of massive Upper Kinderscout Grit, which is very coarse.
Bingley Quarry is on the north side of Digley Dam and is now a car park
which gives good views of the faces. The Readycon Dean Flags, of Upper
Carboniferous age, can be studied in some very large, stable blocks on
one side of the quarry. The sandstone beds show excellent cross-bedding,
with thin siltstones in places
Alison Quarry is adjacent to Bingley Quarry and has similar sandstones,
although they have very regular bedding which has allowed easy exploitation
of the rock for building stone. Plugs and feathers were used and the
drill holes for these can be seen. The quarry also shows how the stone
was worked as the hole has been only partly backfilled.
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS:
Bingley Quarry was operating at least from 1881 - 1894, with no records
after 1894. Proprietors
Frederick and Joseph Marsden probably provided wall stone and some building
stone for the local area. Bingley and Alison Quarries are recorded in
the 1933 Memoir (see reference below) as being actively worked for flagstones.
Drill holes are obvious on many beds, especially in Alison Quarry, as
the rock is well bedded and easy to work. The quarries were also used
in the 1940s to exploit building stone for building Digley Dam and associated
buildings and walls.
EDUCATIONAL VALUE AND INTERPRETATION:
These three localities are ideal to use as a geological trail, to study
different types of sandstones and their structures and to interpret
sedimentary environments. The general public would find the relationship
of the geology to the landscape and the economic use of the building
stone of interest.
AESTHETIC VALUE:
Digley Reservoir is part of the Peak District National Park. The footpaths
in the area have excellent views of Holme Moss and the high Pennines.
ACCESS AND SAFETY:
Digley Turnaround is found at the foot of Digley Dam and was created
when the dam was built in the 1940s. Access is by Digley Road opposite
Holmbridge church by the cricket ground. There is parking for 1/2 cars
or a minibus. It is easy to study the rocks in detail and the face
is safe.
Bingley Quarry is at the north side of Digley Dam, and is now a Yorkshire
Water car park, maintained by the Peak District National Park. Access
is from A6024 at Holmbridge. Follow signs to the picnic site up Field
End Lane by the Bridge Tavern, opposite Holmbridge Church. Go straight
on along Bank Top Lane when the road turns sharply to the right. Parking
is available for 20-30 cars. Because the lower part of the face is overgrown
by trees and shrubs it is only possible to approach the face itself in
one location. However, there are many fallen blocks which are safe to
approach to study the rocks in detail.
Alison Quarry is next to Bingley Quarry, linked to it by a quarry track.
This quarry has been backfilled but there is a steep drop of about 5m
to the quarry floor, which is therefore inaccessible. However, there
is an excellent view of the structures in the quarry from the footpath
which runs across the backfill, although this path is only accessible
over a wall stile so cannot be reached by wheelchairs.
All three sites are close to Digley reservoir which has a popular footpath
running around its perimeter and is very well-used, especially at weekends,
when the car park can be full.
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