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Jackdaw Quarry

Combe Down - Summer Lane, Bath.

Very little is known about this small undertaking and there is often confusion between this quarry and Kingham Quarry. Workman (2004) places Jackdaw Quarry on Summer Lane, approximately 200m east of Kingham Farm and nearly opposite Lake Cottage but the British Geological Survey locate Kingham Quarry at NGR 7644 6215, i.e. the approximate location of Jackdaw Quarry.

Workman describes the old blocked entrance as a well-preserved stone arch, approximately 3 metres wide by 1.5 metres high.

Alternate Names: Jackday Quarry

Notes: It is not known when this quarry was active. It has been suggested by Workman (2004) that stone from Jackdaw Quarry was used to line some of the nearby Combe Down railway tunnel, which opened in 1874 and the quarry is shown on large scale OS maps as an 'Old Quarry' by 1904. The workings were rumoured to extend to Combe Down and pass under The Brow, as well as to connect to the nearby Vinegar Down Quarry. It is possible that William Smith, the 'Father of English Geology' was briefy an owner-operator here however, this may have been the nearby Kingham Quarry.