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Park Lane Quarry - Trial Shaft 2  Park Lane Quarry - Air Shaft 2  Park Lane Quarry - New Slope Shaft  Park Lane Quarry - Trial Shaft 3  Park Lane Quarry - Trial Shaft 4  Park Lane Quarry - Trial Shaft 1  Park Lane Quarry - Air Shaft 3  Park Lane Quarry - Air Shaft 1 

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Park Lane Quarry - Slope Shaft Entrance

Neston Park, Corsham.

NGR:ST 87152 67214
WGS84:51.40381, -2.18609
Length:5000 m
Depth:28 m
Altitude:100 m
Tags:Mine
Registry:wbc

The original 199 stepped slope shaft at the southern end of surface area accesses the underground workings. At the base of this slope shaft, a dozen or so roadways fan outwards covering an area of about 800 by 300 metres with approximately five km of passageways. Underground stables complete with cobbled floors, housed the horses used to pull the stone up the slope shaft and an underground well provided water for the horses and stone cutters. Three air shafts were sunk as well as four additional trial shafts to ascertain the extent of the high-quality stone.

Alternate Names: Park Lane Quarry

Notes: 'Randell & Saunders, Quarrymen and Stone Merchants of Bath' were founded about 1844, opened the quarry at Park Lane in 1886. They amalgamated with six other local stone companies: Pictor & Sons; Stone Brothers Ltd; Isaac Sumsion; Corsham Bath Stone Co Ltd; R J Marsh Ltd; and Samuel Rowe Noble to form the 'Bath Stone Firms Ltd. in December 1887. The quarry was then worked continuously until 1958, except for a short period during the Second World War when it was taken over by the War Office. It was, however, never used by them and remained unconverted until quarrying began again in 1948. It was then worked through to its closure in 1960.

The quarry had always provided large to very large blocks of excellent quality stone and was one of the most successful quarries in the Corsham area. It was subsequently reopened in 2013 by the Park Lane Bath Stone Group who have since excavated a second slope shaft. There has also been substantial investment in machinery underground. A new Fantini block saw was installed and the stone blocks are now squared up the blocks before they come to the surface. Additionally, three new Manitou trucks, each capable of lifting nine tonnes, a Kubota excavator, a Commando drilling rig for bolting the roof and a Fantini Tunnel Chain Saw were all purchased. The Tunnel Chain Saw with a 2.2m long blade for making vertical and horizontal cuts on the working face has been extensively used in the north of the underground quarry to open new headings. It has more than doubled the current production of Bath Stone.

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This entry was last updated: 2020-09-08 12:25:57

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