Hetchell Wood Quarries, Scarcroft

Geological Sites | Leeds | Bradford | Calderdale | Kirklees | Wakefield

STATUS: LGS OTHER DESIGNATIONS: Site of Special Scientific Interest
COUNTY: West Yorkshire
DISTRICT: Leeds OS
GRID REF. SE 378 423 OS 1:50,000 Landranger 104 Leeds and Bradford OS 1:25,000 EXPLORER 289 Leeds BGS 1:50,000 Sheet 70 Leeds
FIRST DESIGNATED West Yorkshire RIGS Group in 1997
DATE OF MOST RECENT SURVEY January 2009 by West Yorkshire Geology Trust
DESIGNATION SHEET UPDATED August 2009

SITE DESCRIPTION: The nature reserve is largely a large abandoned quarry in the Wetherby Formation of the Permian Cadeby Formation (Lower Magnesian Limestone). Although heavily overgrown, several faces (up to 5m high) are visible. They display well bedded and jointed horizontal, pale limestone (dolostone). The beds show fine algal lamination, with solution cavities often lined with calcite or dolomite crystals. There is a small cave in one face.

HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS: This is a quarry from which a large amount of stone has been extracted. It may have been used for lime for agricultural use or for building stone. It is clear from the Geological Memoir 1950 (details below) p71 that the quarry was disused then.

EDUCATIONAL VALUE: The area is probably of most value for secondary, further and higher education use. The dolostone rock types indicate what Permian marine environments might have been like. When examined in context with Hetchell Crags, the unconformity reveals the changing geological history of the area. The dolostone area also shows contrasts in scenery, natural vegetation and land use with the underlying Carboniferous rocks.

AESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS: The flora of the dolostone and the management style of periodic clearing and burning of encroaching trees and undergrowth used in the wood are interesting.

ACCESS AND SAFETY: There is good access from the car park on the lane between Thorner and East Keswick. Keep to paths within the nature reserve to minimise damage to protected flora. Faces can be overgrown in summer. Rock faces appear stable