Chilmark Quarries
The article's lead section may need to be rewritten. (July 2020) |
Chilmark Quarries | |
---|---|
Location | Wiltshire, South West England |
Coordinates | 51°4′48″N 2°2′11″W / 51.08000°N 2.03639°W |
Area | 9.65 ha (23.8 acres) |
Established | 1977 |
Governing body | Natural England |
Website | SAC at MAgiC |
Chilmark Quarries (
biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), in the ravine south of the village of Chilmark in Wiltshire
, England.
The SSSI was first
notified in 1977.[1] Its importance as a home for bats led to the site being designated in 2005 (together with Fonthill Grottoes) as a European Special Area of Conservation.[2]
The western section of the site is in Chilmark civil parish, while the eastern section (separated by a minor road) is in Teffont parish.
History
Chilmark stone, a form of
RAF Chilmark, a munitions depot, until 1995.[5]
Stone extraction continued on a small scale until the quarry closed c. 2007. In March 2019 the quarry re-opened (by Chilmark Stone (Properties) Ltd) and extraction of Ashlar and Walling stone has once again started.
Biological interest
Within the disused quarries on the western side of the valley, there is a system of caves in which up to 150 bats, of several species, roost in winter. Species which use the site include greater and lesser horseshoe bats, Daubenton's bat, Natterer's bat and Brandt's bat. The quarries have been suggested to be the largest British hibernation roost of the Bechstein's bat,[citation needed] but it remains uncertain whether Bechstein's bats hibernate in caves and mines.[6]
Geological interest
The quarry has exposures of
ammonites
and other shells.
References
- ^ "Chilmark Quarries" (PDF). Natural England. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ^ "Chilmark Quarries: Citation for Special Area of Conservation UK0016373". Natural England. May 2005. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ^ Crowley, D.A. (ed.). "Victoria County History - Wiltshire - Vol 13 pp114-125 - Parishes: Chilmark". British History Online. University of London. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ^ "Question: Chilmark stone". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. December 2004. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ^ "Planning Brief: RAF Chilmark" (PDF). Salisbury District Council. December 1999. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ^ "S1323. Bechstein’s bat Myotis bechsteinii" in Bath and Bradford-on-Avon Bats Special Area of Conservation (Natural England, 2019), p. 5: "Caves and abandoned mines may be used for hibernation, though it is possible that the bats also remain in woodland roosts during the winter."
- ^ "Corrections to 1996 paper". Archived from the original on 6 August 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chilmark Quarry.
- Chilmark Stone (Properties) Ltd
- Natural England website (SSSI information)
- SAC boundaries at MAgiC
- Aerial photo of the site at Multimap.com
- Building Research Establishment report on Chilmark stone
- Joint Nature Conservation Committee for Chilmark quarries
- John Palmer's study of Roman Purbeck quarry industries