Bishop Middleham Quarry is a disused quarry, about north-west of

Sedgefield Sedgefield is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It had a population of 5,211 as at the 2011 census. It has the only operating racecourse in County Durham. History Roman A Roman 'ladder settlement' was discovered by C ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, England. Quarry-working here ceased in 1934, and the site has since been colonised by vegetation. The underlying rock is

Magnesian Limestone The Magnesian Limestone is a suite of carbonate rocks in north-east England dating from the Permian period. The outcrop stretches from Nottingham northwards through Yorkshire and into County Durham where it is exposed along the coast between Ha ...

and this has had a strong influence in determining the range of plant and animal communities now found there. In 1968 the quarry was designated as a biological

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). The SSSI boundaries were revised in 1982 to exclude areas which were no longer found to have high wildlife interest due to tipping and quarry reworking. The site contains a variety of vegetation types including woodland, scrub, and several grassland communities. The most important part of the site from a biodiversity conservation perspective is the species-rich unimproved magnesian limestone grassland, which covers just under of the site. Only of this habitat exist in Britain, two-thirds of it in County Durham. Magnesian limestone grassland supports an assemblage of calcicolous plants adapted to growing in thin soils with a short sward. The quarry holds one of the largest British populations of the dark red helleborine, ''

Epipactis atrorubens ''Epipactis atrorubens'', the dark-red helleborine or royal helleborine, is an herbaceous plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. As with many other species of orchids, the species is legally protected in some countries. Plantlife designated the ...

''; a survey in 2010 found nearly 1700 flowering spikes of this nationally rare species. The quarry is a breeding site for the Durham argus butterfly, a local race of the

brown argus ''Aricia agestis'', the brown argus, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found throughout the Palearctic realm, north to northern Jutland (Denmark) and east to Siberia and the Tian Shan. Subspecies *''A. a. agestis'' southern and ce ...

found only in northeast England. * The site attracted the interest of

birdwatchers Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

in 2002 when a pair of

European bee-eater The European bee-eater (''Merops apiaster'') is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It breeds in southern and central Europe, northern and southern Africa, and western Asia. Except for the resident southern African populatio ...

s took up residence, raising two young, only the third breeding attempt ever in Britain. Bishop Middleham Quarry is managed as a

Nature Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

by the

Durham Wildlife Trust Durham Wildlife Trust, founded in 1971, is a registered charity which aims to protect wildlife and promote nature conservation in parts of County Durham and Tyne and Wear, England. It is one of 46 such organisations that together constitute The ...

References

{{SSSIs County Durham Sites of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham Nature reserves in County Durham Quarries in County Durham Nature reserves of the Durham Wildlife Trust Bishop Middleham