23 August 2016
Last updated at 11:40
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Terrafirma share the Hidden Legacy of Mineral Extraction in Wiltshire
We used Terrafirma's unique mineral extraction map, Terrasmart, to uncover the hidden legacy of mineral extraction in Greater London and Surrey.
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An abandoned Box Freestone Mine in Box, Wiltshire. Known as 'The Catherdral', the mind is 125ft tall, 120ft wide and 120ft long. |
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Testament to prolonged recognition as a building medium, the ‘Bathstone’ of Wiltshire has been extensively exploited, from as early as Norman times in the Bradford-On-Avon locale. Continuing into the early 1800s, subsequently this extractive industry capitalised on the accelerating demand for high-quality stone, resulting in the major quarries active throughout the Corsham and Avon valley-side regions during the 19th and early 20th Centuries.
Together with numerous smaller, often family-run enterprises, as well as other workings such as of Chilmark deposits, stone-extraction formed a core activity across much of Wiltshire, into as late as the 1960s. Further reflecting the importance of Bathstone, several concerns have continued extracting this, through into the 21st Century, with a number remaining active, the county’s limestones accordingly still forming a key resource, both in local and national context.
Outside of this resource-base, ironstone deposits around Seend and Westbury have also experienced exploitation, from at least post-Civil War, with later intensive mining from the mid-19th Century, on into the 1920s. Elsewhere, within the county’s eastern and southern regions, chalk mining has historically occurred, primarily small-scale, for agricultural purposes, although larger operations facilitating clay-working especially, together with localised excavations for flint, from the Neolithic era.
You can read more about the history of mineral extraction in your area by visiting www.minesearches.co.uk/terrasmart
The full range of mineral extraction reports from Terrafirma is now available as part of our Complete Search Service. For more information email elaineconnor@propertysearchgroup.co.uk or call 01793 849122
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