Geological Sites | Leeds
| Bradford | Calderdale
| Kirklees | Wakefield
 STATUS: RIGS
COUNTY: West Yorkshire
DISTRICT: Kirklees/Calderdale
OS GRID REF: SE 0980 1860 to 1015 1890
OS 1:50,000 Landranger 104 Leeds and Bradford
OS 1:25,000 Explorer OL21 South Pennines
BGS 1:50,000 Sheet 77 Huddersfield (Solid and Drift)
BGS 6 inch survey of 1927 Huddersfield Sheets 246SW and 246NW
FIRST DESIGNATED by West Yorkshire RIGS Group in 1996
MOST RECENT SURVEY by West Yorkshire Geology Trust in February 2008
SITE DESCRIPTION:
Rough Rock sandstones of Carboniferous age (Namurian Epoch) are exposed
along a 400m length of natural scars and abandoned quarry workings
at Old Lindley Edge.
At the east end near the road the exposure consists of massively bedded
sandstones with occasional siltstones. Towards the west are some exceptionally
well-preserved weathered sets of cross bedded flaggy sandstones near
the top of the exposure. The exposure contains a range of sedimentary
structures and plant fossils including nests of 0.5-1cm rounded quartz
pebbles in graded beds on the underside of one set of cross-bedded sandstone.
The exposure allows the mineralogy, texture and changing environment
of the Rough Rock strata to be studied.
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS:
The site overlooks a rural landscape with an industrial heritage of stone
and shale quarries, coal seams, brickworks, shafts, and drilling sites,
with tracks and footpaths which originated to give access to these
old working sites. A small stone monument records the enclosure of
this common land in Victorian times, its purchase and later its donation
to Huddersfield Corporation.
 EDUCATIONAL VALUE:
The site is suitable for small groups of sixth-form geology students
to study the rock structures at close quarters. It is also a suitable
site for primary and secondary school students to study the geographical
aspect (see below) of the view from Old Lindley Moor Edge.
AESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS:
The old quarry is backed by a section of heather-covered moor and a fenced-in
cricket field. This piece of Old Lindley Moor has public access and
has extensive views of the Upper Carboniferous landscapes as far as
Bolsworth Hill to the north. The Millstone Grit landscape with Huddersfield
White Rock and Rough Rock sandstones is seen to the north and west;
the Elland Flags escarpment of the Coal Measures (Westphalian) to the
east, and in the far distance to the Midgeley Grits and Kinderscout
Grits are seen up the Calderdale Valley.
The geographical landscape is related to the underlying geological structures,
with man’s imprint on the landscape, from the hilltop and ridge
villages of Old Lindley, Greetland and Southowram to Halifax New Town
on the Rough Rock platform, dipping gently below the Elland Flags escarpment.
ACCESS AND SAFETY
Access to the top of the site to see the views to the north is from Old
Lindley Road to the cricket ground and the flat moorland behind the
site. Plenty of parking for cars or a minimus is available on the access
road. The Edge is exposed to the elements with some rough muddy ground
caused by vehicles off-roading. Kirklees Council have blocked this
access with boulders and installed a new bench and bins.
Access to the rock faces below Old Lindley Moor Edge is by steep and
narrow footpaths on the slopes below the quarry face, which need to be
investigated for safety before a group is taken there. Access is easy
at the east end for the massive bedding, but becomes progressively more
difficult through the heather and tussocky grass growing over old quarry
spoil. There is fairly easy access to the top cross-beds immediately
below the cricket ground’s stone wall bordering the moor. There
are footpaths to the faces from Turley Cote Lane below.
The rock exposure measures 400m in length and is best visited in the
summer with afternoon sunshine highlighting the weathered cross-bedded
exposures; walking boots are safest. School geography groups observing
from the top of Old Lindley Moor need to keep away from the edge, which
is sheer in places.
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