Whittington stone mines lie just west of the village of Whittington (yes he did come from there). They were dug to access the oolitic limestone or Freestone as the quarrymen called it. It's called freestone as it has no grain and can be cut in any direction.
Roughly contemporary with their larger cousins near Bath, I believe these were last worked in the 1850s or 60s. There is no evidence of any saws being used so the stones were picked and pry bars used to break out lumps of stone.
People wishing to visit should ask at the local farm where a key is available. I mention this here because some idiots (not from here obviously) broke in a couple of years ago when all they had to do was to ask.
Horses hoof prints.
This, believe it or not, is a fossil of a trilobite and is extremely rare in this sort of limestone.
The miners placed a candle on this ledge and you can just see the wax dribble below on the rock.
Roughly contemporary with their larger cousins near Bath, I believe these were last worked in the 1850s or 60s. There is no evidence of any saws being used so the stones were picked and pry bars used to break out lumps of stone.
People wishing to visit should ask at the local farm where a key is available. I mention this here because some idiots (not from here obviously) broke in a couple of years ago when all they had to do was to ask.
Horses hoof prints.
This, believe it or not, is a fossil of a trilobite and is extremely rare in this sort of limestone.
The miners placed a candle on this ledge and you can just see the wax dribble below on the rock.
