Decline and Survival
Cop Grag Quarry © BGSA nationwide shift from the use of natural building stone towards man-made materials occurred in the early 20th century. For example at Hethpool, cottages were constructed in the ‘Arts and Crafts’ style in a mixture of brick, stone and render. This shift, coupled with economic down-turns and the effects of two world wars, led to the closure of most of the building stone quarries by the mid 20th century. Some continued in production – albeit intermittently – and mostly those which were relatively mechanised, with a proven reputation of high quality stone and which already supplied a geographically large market. In the second half of the 20th century the majority of sandstone quarries had fallen into disuse, some becoming landfill sites for domestic refuse (e.g. Broomhill Quarry, West Woodburn), effectively sterilising any remaining resources. Others were landscaped or enclosed within agricultural land or plantations (e.g. Little Ryle, Millknock and Weetwood Bridge quarries), but most were simply abandoned. Many of the former building stone quarries are still visible today, and still contain resources of stone.
By the end of the 20th century the demand for stone showed a gradual recovery, partly due to the increasing requirement for repair of historic buildings throughout the United Kingdom. In addition, a demand for natural stone for new building within Conservation Districts and for townscape improvement schemes was supported by increasing recognition of stone as a prestigious material which ‘adds value’ to new properties.
Unlike some parts of the UK where all of the original stone quarries have closed, Northumberland is fortunate in having a number of surviving stone quarries where production continues today (e.g. Black Pasture, Blaxter, Darney, Doddington). This provides a continuous link with the past which allows the use of stone which is ‘in keeping’ with the local character, as well as having similar physical and weathering properties, reducing the need for importing stone from other parts of the UK or abroad. In addition, a number of quarries have reopened in recent years, for example Millknock near Birtley, and Hazeldean and Brownieside quarries, just outside the district, north of Alnwick. These newly reopened quarries formerly supplied mostly local stone.
Others are relatively new operations or smaller quarries that have been significantly expanded in recent times. In the last few years two of these, Cop Crag and Blaxters High Nick quarries, have received planning permission to extend their workings, and most quarries are currently operating at higher levels of production than in the previous decades.
These active quarries supply stone for conservation and new-build throughout the country, but particularly in the north of England and Scotland. The operations today are relatively small-scale compared to the past, involving smaller quantities of stone. Most are owned by a limited number of national-scale companies and the stone tends to be removed as large unprocessed blocks and transported by road to central facilities for cutting and dressing. Modern planning constraints mean that these quarries are much less environmentally intrusive than in the past. Compared to aggregate quarries, building stone quarries are typically much smaller scale operations, requiring less machinery and plant, and minimal blasting.
