Bramley Fall stone
 Old quarry, Bramley Fall Park | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Bramley Fall quarry The quarry's position in Leeds | |
| Location | Near Horsford Leeds |
| County | West Yorkshire |
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 53°49′22″N 1°37′26″W / 53.82278°N 1.62389°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Millstone Grit |
| Type | quarry |
| History | |
| Discovered | 13th Century |
| Closed | c.1930 |
| Owner | |
| Company | B Whitaker and sons , 4. Albion Street. Leeds in 1927 |
Bramley Fall Stone The stone belongs to the Millstone Grit series. It belongs to the Namurian stage of the Carboniferous Period. It is one of the cheapest and best adapted English stones for extensive Engineering works, docks, locks, railways etc. and for large millstones, grindstones, engine-beds and foundations. This stone was formerly quarried at or near the village of Bramley near Leeds, and evidence of the quarries, which were discontinued around 1930 remain in Bramley Fall Park. A similar Millstone Grit stone also occurs over an extensive area at Calverley where Ann Husler ran an quarrying business in the 19th century, and at Ilkley and Pateley in Yorkshire. A somewhat similar stone, which can be very coarse, approaching a conglomerate. is found at Weetwood, Meanwood andHorsforth. Similar Millstone Grits have also been quarried in Derbyshire.[1]
Properties of Bramley Fall stone
The attraction of Bramley Fall stone that it is comparatively easy to quarry in large blocks. It has considerable strength and weathers well. The stone can withstand shock, making it ideal for engine beds and defensive works, such as the Napoleonic Martello Towers around the south-eastern coast of England . The mean crushing strain of this stone is (upon a 6-inch cube) 265.7 tons per foot super.[2] It is resistant to water and tends to strengthen on exposure, making it particularly suitable for canal and harbour engineering work.
Quarrying To-day
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To-day the main source of Bramley Fall stone is the Blackhill Quarry operated by Mone Bros Ltd at Kings Road, Eccup, Bramhope, Leeds. The quarry is next to Golden Acre Park. In 2011, four thousand tonnes of Bramley Fall sandstone, sourced at Blackhill, was used to widen the Blackfriars bridge when the new railway station was being constructed.[3]
Architectural use of Bramley Fall stone
Bramley Fall stone is a generic term and unless its source can be shown to come from the Bramley quarries, it can refer to stone sourced over a wider area around Leeds and as far as Knaresborough in North Yorkshire. Examples of the use of Bramley:
- Armley Gaol. Constructed in 1847 in a turreted Gothic Style to designs of the architects William Belton Perkin and Elisha Backhouse.[4] The stone was supplied John Husler from the Weetwood Quarry [5]
- Westminster Bridge, London (1854-1862). Stone supplied by Ann Husler from the Weetwood Quarry.[6]
- Port of Dover Seaward facing exterior
References
- ^ Building stone quarried at Bramley, England
- ^ Building stone quarried at Bramley, England
- ^ Bramley Fall’s into place
- ^ British Listed Buildings
- ^ Local quarry contract for Armley Gaol". Leeds Intelligencer. 30 March 1844.
- ^ Survey of London ["Westminster Bridge". Survey of London, Lambeth: South Bank and Vauxhall. 23: 66–68. 1951.]
Literature
- Francis G Dimes & Murray Mitchell] (2006) The Building Stone Heritage of Leeds Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society