An Overlooked Old Quarry on Scarth Wood Moor

What a difference from yesterday morning, with super lighting on Scarth Wood Moor.

Here we have a disused sandstone quarry, now absorbed into the landscape, grazed by sheep and cattle. According to the National Park Heritage Records, it dates to the early 19th century¹Sandstone quarry in Arncliffe Wood NYMNPA HER Record No: 9240. Meanwhile, the National Trust, who actually own the moor, appear to have overlooked it in their records. A surprising oversight from them.

This quarry is barely 50 metres from Coploaf Gate, on the parish boundary between Ingleby Arncliffe and Whorlton. Still, it might be overly bold to call it “Coploaf Quarry,” as that name belongs, according to the 1854 Ordnance Survey map, to a different quarry 50 metres into the woods on the Ingleby Arncliffe side. That side is also where one finds the “Cop Loaf” itself—a so-called “rocking stone,” which, of course, has already been given its moments of glory in previous posts.

Middle Jurassic sandstones were once widely quarried for building stone throughout the Cleveland Hills. Yet, away from the hills, brick was preferred. Local sandstone was the material of choice for cottages in places like Osmotherley and Swainby, as well as for the grand halls, manors, and farmhouses of the area. One can often match the stone to the nearest quarry, a thrilling game for amateur geologists. The sandstone, of course, weathers into a pleasing warm yellowish-brown, though its weak and occasionally calcareous cement means it is prone to exfoliation—a charming feature for all your architectural preservation nightmares.

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  Sandstone quarry in Arncliffe Wood NYMNPA HER Record No: 9240