Ball Eye Quarry, Matlock, Derbyshire, July 2021

[HughieD]

1. The History
Not a massive amount of info out there on Ball Eye Quarry. Also referred to as Balleye, it is located close to the Via Gellia Mills car park, south-west of Matlock Bath, between the Derbyshire villages of Bonsall and Cromford.

It was an active limestone quarry owned and operated by Deepwood Mining Co Ltd. It worked a mineral vein for fluorspar and baryte along with a galena-bearing mineral vein. The area is known for producing specimens of dark blue fluorite, baryte, anglesite, cerussite, malachite and smithsonite. The area has also seen extensive mining for the aforementioned minerals and the workings of Ball Eye Mine sit below Ball Eye Quarry. A number of small veins and replacement flats at the mine were worked for lead, but these workings were intersected by the limestone quarry above during the 1970-80s.

There’s no information on when the quarry closed but it appears to have been in operation up to 2014. Meanwhile Deep Wood Mining Company are still registered at Companies house head0quartered at Water Lane, Cromford.

2. The Explore
Had a look around slopes of Via Gellia Road for some silver mines to no avail so in the end thought we’d have a shufty at this old quarry. It’s an easy in and looks like it has been left for a number of years. There isn’t an awful amount there in terms of buildings and all of the plant has been moved out. That said, there’s enough to keep you occupied for an hour so and it makes for a relaxed mooch.

3. The Pictures

Soooo many signs!

Ball Eye 10 by HughieDW, on Flickr

img1500 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Not too sure what this is:

img1504 by HughieDW, on Flickr

img1503 by HughieDW, on Flickr

img1491 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Small stone-built building:

Ball Eye 08 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Not too much inside. Some sort of utilities supply:

Ball Eye 07 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Forget a spray paint know. All hail the stone sculpture knob!

Ball Eye 09 by HughieDW, on Flickr

On to the site office:

img1488 by HughieDW, on Flickr

img1478 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Ball Eye 06 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Ball Eye 04 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Ball Eye 05 by HughieDW, on Flickr

img1487 by HughieDW, on Flickr

img1484 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Weigh-bridge display:

img1483 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1481 by HughieDW, on Flickr

And then on to the container round the corner:

img1477 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Ball Eye 02 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Ball Eye 03 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Bits and bobs box!

img1476 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Ball Eye 01 by HughieDW, on Flickr

img1480 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Some of the quarry’s former produce that was left behind:

img1499 by HughieDW, on Flickr

img1496 by HughieDW, on Flickr

That’s all folks:

img1479 by HughieDW, on Flickr

 

[fridgemidge]

Here's a view from the top of the cliffs. I have loads of pictures of this place I will try to find some

 

[Roderick]

Cracking shots there Gromet!

 

[Hayman]

img1496 shows the sort of thing found in a Dr Who episode. It ticks, or springs open to let an alien climb out. What is underneath the heavy steel grid in img1504? How deep is the pit beneath it? The bars seem too close together to be the initial 'screen' where ore was dumped to be broken into smaller pieces and forced through the gaps. Was it a 'cattle grid' - to prevent any animals from entering the area? Or even where laden lorries had their wheels hosed down, so they did not take mud, etc out onto the roads they would use to reach their destinations? I'd go for the last idea. What was the sulphuric acid used for? Sample testing? I wonder where the lorries listed on the whiteboard in img1484 are now - and how far they took their loads. Good set of pics.

 

[night crawler]

1504 looks like a cattle grid you can see the over spilled stones under it

 

[Hayman]

1504 looks like a cattle grid you can see the over spilled stones under it

1504 looks like a cattle grid you can see the over spilled stones under it

Looking at the area on Google Maps, it all seems well fenced and hedged, so little need for a cattle grid, nor a grid to keep other animals out. With a works road connecting the quarry with the A5012, I'd go for my wheel wash idea. That too may have led to load spillage - although that seems like sloppy loading practice. In rainy weather, and over the years, material could well have finished up beneath the grid.

 

[night crawler]

Looking at the area on Google Maps, it all seems well fenced and hedged, so little need for a cattle grid, nor a grid to keep other animals out. With a works road connecting the quarry with the A5012, I'd go for my wheel wash idea. That too may have led to load spillage - although that seems like sloppy loading practice. In rainy weather, and over the years, material could well have finished up beneath the grid.

I can't ague it just looked like a cattle grid but wheel wash would be fit being as where it is

 

[fridgemidge]

I can't find the old map I saw this on but the cattle grid is an old weighbridge pit

This will be the first weighbridge
The 2nd weighbridge at the gatehouse is a cast iron Avery. A similar one is down the road at Cromford Warf

And the last one is beside the cabin
I will do my own report when I find my pictures

 

[Midnightstar]

Here's a view from the top of the cliffs. I have loads of pictures of this place I will try to find someView attachment 513247

Can you actually get in to search for fluorite in the scraps ? Is there an way in? Who owns it now?

 

[Sarah Waldock]

Can you actually get in to search for fluorite in the scraps ? Is there an way in? Who owns it now?

Mr. Darcy?

 

[Midnightstar]

Mr. Darcy?

Who??

 

[Sarah Waldock]

Jane Austen's most famous hero who lived near Matlock.

 

[Bignickb]

A teenage couple were found dead near there after eloping and missing for a while! It became known as the Ball Eye Murders! I lived in Bonsall and remember all the police and media attention. Things like that just didn't happen in small sleepy towns so it was a big shock to everyone. The killer was the girl's uncle who was poaching with a sawn off shotgun when he came across them in the woods, they were found in shallow graves. But enough grim stuff - this is a great set of pics and may have to go myself.

 

[Midnightstar]

A teenage couple were found dead near there after eloping and missing for a while! It became known as the Ball Eye Murders! I lived in Bonsall and remember all the police and media attention. Things like that just didn't happen in small sleepy towns so it was a big shock to everyone. The killer was the girl's uncle who was poaching with a sawn off shotgun when he came across them in the woods, they were found in shallow graves. But enough grim stuff - this is a great set of pics and may have to go myself.

. I'd heard of the murders but not read up on them. So can we actually get into the mine area? Or is it heavy on security. Not that I'm suggesting I may try to sneak in... . I definitely will not be going into any old mine shafts, or even near to them. The thought of disappearing down one terrifies me! I just want to have a rummage around the scree and if there's a cave maybe.

 

[Hayman]

A teenage couple were found dead near there after eloping and missing for a while! It became known as the Ball Eye Murders! I lived in Bonsall and remember all the police and media attention. Things like that just didn't happen in small sleepy towns so it was a big shock to everyone. The killer was the girl's uncle who was poaching with a sawn off shotgun when he came across them in the woods, they were found in shallow graves. But enough grim stuff - this is a great set of pics and may have to go myself.

That was in 1979.

 

[fridgemidge]

The quarry has been sold and is now back in operation!

 

[Hayman]

The quarry has been sold and is now back in operation!

Ye gods - and no compliaints from the snowflake generation?