Limestone Quarry, Beer, Devon.

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Foxylady

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East Devon's Jurassic Park!
As far as I can find out, this quarry began it's life sometime before 1883, when work in the Old Quarry (now known as the Beer Quarry Caves) gradually began to be phased out. Dating back to the time of the Romans, sometime after AD47 when the end of the Fosse Way was completed at Axmouth, the Beer Quarry Caves is now a tourist attraction. Info on that site can be found here...

http://www.beerquarrycaves.fsnet.co.uk/BEERQU~1/Beer_Quarry_Cx.html

Known simply as Beer quarry, these workings are on the north side of the road, and separate from the original Old Quarry. In recent years it has been worked by Hanson Aggregates and is now completely abandoned.

Visited with Neosea last month (his photos are much better than mine, methinks :mrgreen: ). Thanks for driving, Neo. :) An extensive site with several buildings and some amazing surprises.

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Loading sheds.

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Site Office and weighbridge.

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More to follow...:)
 
And then there was this...

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Looking almost like a Napoleonic fort, it's the outface of the original limestone block quarry, which was continued as the Old Quarry was gradually phased out. We went inside.

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Old switchgear near the entrance.

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And some more...:mrgreen:
 
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And we also found this...

A large workshop containing machinery and tools.

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Boat in the workshop! :mrgreen: Interestingly, the traditional male occupations in the village of Beer were Quarrying, Fishing and Smuggling.

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And leading off from the workshop was a storeroom. As well as the most delightful chests of drawers, storage shelving and old machine tools, thare was a bizarre amount of children's toys and christmas decorations.

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And finally, the modern-day excavations.

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Cheers :)
 
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Wow - fantastic place.

More to see than the Show Caves opposite. From what I remember they were a bit of a disappointment.
 
Nice! I like all the old machinery and office stuff still lying around. That warning sign is ace too!
 
Cheers for your comments, guys. :)

Borntobemild, I can understand what you're saying, because the differences in the various sections are minimal. I've visited the Quarry Caves twice now, and for me I find it fascinating because of the history and the local content...there's been something new to learn each time.

This explore, however, was brilliant. I suspect I'll be back again sometime soon for another look around...and maybe I'll find my torch where I think I lost it! :mrgreen:
 
23 years ago

At least a rough estimate of elapsed time. Myself and Tony{Pru}Comer were invited to visit Beer Quarries.Within 60 ft of the entrance we were astounded by the similarity to the Box method of winning stone.On further investigation we found miners graffiti of old Box names .Apparently the family of Pictors had had a bust up and one of them had hitailed it to Beer with a few Wiltshire quarry families and for a while made a go of it.It would be interesting to know if the names are still there along with the chog holes an lewis bolt slots in the roof for hauling the cranes upright.A local legend {told to us by a lively lovely old boy} was that the quarry went all the way through to the sea cliff,well we went in till our way was blocked by a very large roof fall when we thought that enough was enough.anyway you can't go to Beer without drinking beer.
 
A seashell ashtray, I'd forgotten about those!

It's another of those sites where they seem to have worked as normal right up to the last day then just walked away.
 
It would be interesting to know if the names are still there along with the chog holes an lewis bolt slots in the roof for hauling the cranes upright.A local legend {told to us by a lively lovely old boy} was that the quarry went all the way through to the sea cliff,well we went in till our way was blocked by a very large roof fall when we thought that enough was enough.anyway you can't go to Beer without drinking beer.

Yes, there's still the original graffiti, bolts and holes in the Beer Quarry Caves. Neosea posted a report about them in the Underground forum and I've added a photo of some of the graf...bad pic though, so not very clear.
Apparently the legend tells that the tunnel to the cliff was used by smugglers, but it's never been found. The quarries were used by smugglers to hide their contraband, though, as there have been remains to verify that as well as historical accounts.
Great bit of info, oldscrote. Cheers for that. Oh, and you can't go to Devon at all without drinking beer, imo. :mrgreen:
 
A seashell ashtray, I'd forgotten about those!
It's another of those sites where they seem to have worked as normal right up to the last day then just walked away.

:lol: Awful blinking things, weren't they!
It does, doesn't it! It always amazes me how all the office stuff is just left like that.
 
Ted's Dream reminds me of [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3ueYxrA-Zs"]Dignity[/ame] by Deacon Blue.
 
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All very nice. But what the heck are PROTECTIG goggles?????

And why would you need to wear them while playing WHIST??????

:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:
 
23 years ago

At least a rough estimate of elapsed time. Myself and Tony{Pru}Comer were invited to visit Beer Quarries.Within 60 ft of the entrance we were astounded by the similarity to the Box method of winning stone.On further investigation we found miners graffiti of old Box names .Apparently the family of Pictors had had a bust up and one of them had hitailed it to Beer with a few Wiltshire quarry families and for a while made a go of it.It would be interesting to know if the names are still there along with the chog holes an lewis bolt slots in the roof for hauling the cranes upright.A local legend {told to us by a lively lovely old boy} was that the quarry went all the way through to the sea cliff,well we went in till our way was blocked by a very large roof fall when we thought that enough was enough.anyway you can't go to Beer without drinking beer.
Hi Oldscrote - I am a descendant of the Pictor family, and recently read in "Out of the Stone" by Norman Bezzant about the rift in the family, and connection with Beer Quarries. I had never heard of the family member who went there, and have no idea of who this might have been. Can you provide any further details, or source of this information? Many thanks
 
Hi Oldscrote - I am a descendant of the Pictor family, and recently read in "Out of the Stone" by Norman Bezzant about the rift in the family, and connection with Beer Quarries. I had never heard of the family member who went there, and have no idea of who this might have been. Can you provide any further details, or source of this information? Many thanks
I've been to Box many times. I was there this morning and talking with someone who used to work in one of the quarries in the area. Derek Hawkins's Bath Stone Quarries book is an excellent record of the quarries in that part of Wiltshire and further afield. It is filled with page after page of photographs. And the name Pictor occurs again and again.
 

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