Beer Quarry Caves is a man-made
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
underground complex located about a mile west of the village of
Beer, Devon
Beer is a village and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England. The village faces Lyme Bay and is a little over west of the town of Seaton. It is situated on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and its picturesque cliffs, ...
, and the main source in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
for beer stone. The tunnels resulted from 2,000 years of
quarrying
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...
beer stone, which was particularly favoured for
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
and
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
features such as door and window surrounds because of its colour and workability for carving. Stone from the quarry was used in the construction of several of southern England's ancient cathedrals and a number of other important buildings as well as for many town and village churches,
and for some buildings in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Extraction was particularly intense during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, but continued until the 1920s. An
adit
An adit (from Latin ''aditus'', entrance) is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, ventilated, and minerals extracted at the lowest convenient level. Adits ...
to another set of workings can be seen from the
South West Coast Path
The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Because it rises a ...
east of
Branscombe
Branscombe is a village in the East Devon district of the English County of Devon.
The parish covers . Its permanent population in 2009 was estimated at 513 by the Family Health Services Authority, reducing to 507 at the 2011 Census. It is ...
, having been exposed by a landslip in the late 18th century. The quarry is part of the
Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. It stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, a distance of about , and was inscribed on the World Heritage List in mid-December ...
,
and is a
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
(SSSI).
Beer stone
Beer stone is a creamy-grey, fine-textured
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
[ from the Middle Cretaceous period][ that takes its name from the town of Beer, where it was quarried and mined from Roman times. The layer of the best stone (lowest number of flints) is about thirty feet thick. It is also found in other places in south-west England. Because of its fine grain, it is a "Free stone", which means that it can be sawed or squared up in any direction: the crystal structure does not restrict the directions in which it can be worked. When first mined, it is relatively soft and easily cut, but it hardens with exposure to the air, and becomes about as hard as ]Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...
.
Roman period
The earliest workings at the quarry were in the Roman period
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
initially in open quarries, after which it was necessary to quarry into the side of the hill because of other rock strata above.[ At this time the estuary of the River Axe provided a safe harbour for the removal of the stone by boat. The Roman section is typified by large arches which support the roof and was hand excavated using picks and wooden wedges. Beer stone was used in the Roman villa of Honeyditches, Seaton.
]
Norman period
The Norman workings join directly onto the earlier Roman quarry, working deeper into the hillside, and are typified by large rectangular columns which support the roof and includes several smaller side galleries.
Medieval period
Quarry men worked long hours by candlelight with hand tools such as picks and saws. The quarrymen were also often supported by child labour. Skilled stonemason
Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...
s would then work on the stone in the caves because it became harder to carve when exposed to the air. The stone blocks would then be lifted by hand-operated cranes after the connection of Lewis
Lewis may refer to:
Names
* Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name
* Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname
Music
* Lewis (musician), Canadian singer
* "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...
lifting devices to be loaded onto horse-drawn wagons. They would then usually be taken to barges which would sail from Beer Beach. After 1540, stone was only quarried for secular building.
Modern period
After the Reformation, one of the uses of the caves was as a secret Catholic church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. In the 19th century, the caves were also used to store contraband
Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") refers to any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It is used for goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes o ...
, including by the smuggler Jack Rattenbury
Jack Rattenbury, nicknamed Rob Roy of the West (1778, in Beer, Devon – 1844), was an English smuggler. In 1837, after thirty years at sea as a fisherman, pilot, seaman and smuggler, he wrote about his life in a book called ''Memoirs of a Smuggler ...
.
Quarrying at the site ceased in the early 20th century when a new quarry was opened nearby. Some caves were then used to cultivate mushroom
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans.
The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...
s and others were used to dump waste from the new quarry. Guided tours of the caves are now run from spring to autumn. The caves provide a haven for hibernating bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...
s in winter. The presence of the bats, along with the opportunities to see the geological profiles that quarry faces allow, caused the old and new quarries to be declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
. The very rare Bechstein's bat
Bechstein's bat (''Myotis bechsteinii'') is a species of vesper bat found in Europe and western Asia, living in extensive areas of woodland.
Description
Bechstein's bat is a medium-sized and relatively long-eared bat. The adult has a long, fluf ...
and the greater and lesser horseshoe bats along with five other bat species are all found in the caves.
Notable buildings made with beer stone
* Christ Church Cathedral (St. Louis, Missouri)
*Exeter Cathedral
Exeter Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city of Exeter, Devon, in South West England. The present building was complete by about 140 ...
*London Bridge
Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...
*Peak House, Sidmouth
Peak House in Sidmouth, Devon, is a building designed by Evelyn Hellicar. It was finished in 1904 and is entirely made of beer stone. It is a Grade II Listed building.
History
In 1793, London financier Emmanuel Baruh Lousada purchased 125 acres a ...
[
*]Rochester Castle
Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, South East England. The 12th-century keep or stone tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best preserved in England or France.
Situate ...
*St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
*Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
*Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history.
The original cast ...
*Winchester Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...
* St John the Baptist Cathedral, Norwich
See also
*List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Devon
This is a list of the Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in Devon, England, United Kingdom. Natural England formerly English Nature is responsible for designating SSSIs in England, and chooses sites because of their fauna, flora, geolog ...
* Pecorama Pleasure Gardens and the Beer Heights Light Railway
*Kőbánya cellar system
The Kőbánya cellar system or cellar system of Kőbánya (; in Hungarian: ''kőbányai pincerendszer'', "cellar system of Kőbánya", or ''kőbányai alagútrendszer'', "tunnel system of Kőbánya"), sometimes known to non-Hungarians simply as ...
*Mines of Paris
The mines of Paris (french: carrières de Paris – "quarries of Paris") comprise a number of abandoned, subterranean mines under Paris, France, connected together by galleries. Three main networks exist; the largest, known as the ("large south ...
*Odessa Catacombs
The Odesa Catacombs are a labyrinth-like network of tunnels (subterranean cavities) located under the city of Odesa and its outskirts in Ukraine, that are mostly (over 90%) the result of stone mining, particularly coquina.Bachynska, O. Odesa Cataco ...
*Caves of Maastricht
The Caves of Maastricht, also known as the caves of Mount Saint PeterBender, Marvin "A DUTCH TREAT" The New York Times Nov 8 1981 https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/08/travel/a-dutch-treat.html or the Maastricht Underground, are a collection of limest ...
References
External links
Beer Quarry Caves
Beer Village Website
{{coord, 50, 41, 56, N, 3, 6, 46, W, display=title
Archaeological sites in Devon
Bat roosts
Building stone
Caves of Devon
Geology of Devon
Jurassic Coast
Quarries in Devon
Tourist attractions in Devon
Industrial archaeological sites in Devon
Limestone caves
Limestone mines in the United Kingdom