Chilmark Quarries () is a 9.65

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), in the ravine south of the village of Chilmark in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, England. The SSSI was first notified in 1977. Its importance as a home for bats led to the site being designated in 2005 (together with

Fonthill Grottoes Fonthill Grottoes is a 0.69 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, in woodland adjacent to Fonthill Lake in Wiltshire, notified in 1994. Its SSSI designation is due to its roosting bats: the site is the sixth largest hibernaculum ...

) as a European

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

. The western section of the site is in Chilmark civil parish, while the eastern section (separated by a minor road) is in

Teffont Teffont is a civil parish in the south of Wiltshire, England, consisting of the villages of Teffont Magna and Teffont Evias. It is in the Nadder valley, north of the river, about west of Salisbury. The parish was created in 1934 by combining ...

parish.

History

Chilmark stone, a form of

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 ...

, was mined here from medieval times and was used for buildings including

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the seat of the Bishop of Salisbury. The buildi ...

. In 1936 the quarry and mines were bought by the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

and used as a storage area for

RAF Chilmark Chilmark is a Wiltshire village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish of some 150 houses straddling the B3089 road, west of Salisbury, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Mooray and Portash, both close to the south of Chilmark vi ...

, a munitions depot, until 1995. Stone extraction continued on a small scale until the quarry closed c. 2007. In March 2019 the quarry re-opened (by Chilmark Stone (Properties) Ltd) and extraction of Ashlar and Walling stone has once again started.

Biological Interest

Within the disused quarries on the western side of the valley, there is a system of caves in which up to 150

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, of several species, roost in winter. Species which use the site include greater and lesser horseshoe bats,

Daubenton's bat Daubenton's bat or Daubenton's myotis (''Myotis daubentonii'') is a Eurasian bat with rather short ears. It ranges from Ireland to Japan (Hokkaido) and is considered to be increasing its numbers in many areas. This bat was first described in 181 ...

Natterer's bat Natterer's bat (''Myotis nattereri'') is a European vespertilionid bat with pale wings. It has brown fur tending to greyish-white on its underside. It is found across most of the continent of Europe, parts of the Near East and North Africa. It fe ...

and

Brandt's bat Brandt's bat or Brandt's myotis (''Myotis brandtii'') is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is native throughout most of Europe and parts of western Asia. Taxonomy and etymology The species was described in 1845 by Ger ...

. The quarries have been suggested to be the largest British hibernation roost of the

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 ...

, but it remains uncertain whether Bechstein's bats hibernate in caves and mines.

Geological Interest

The quarry has exposures of

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

rocks, part of the Purbeckian beds. It is a fine building stone used for the main structure of

and many other local buildings. Purbeckian limestones, possibly from Chilmark, were used for packing around at least one of the upright stones of

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...

, for houses on an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

site at

Fifield Bavant Fifield Bavant (/'fʌɪfiːld 'bavənt/) is a small village and former civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about southwest of Wilton, midway between Ebbesbourne Wake and Broad Chalke on the north bank of the River Ebble. The small Church of ...

, and for

Rockbourne Roman Villa Rockbourne Roman Villa is a Roman courtyard villa excavated and put on public display in the village of Rockbourne in the English county of Hampshire. The villa was discovered in 1942 by a local farmer and excavated by A. T. Morley Hewitt over ...

and other Roman sites. Chilmark stone is easy to work, but long-lived in use. Fossils are uncommon in the beds recently being extracted, but include

ammonite Ammonoids are a group of extinct marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs, commonly referred to as ammonites, are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses, squid and cuttlefish) ...

s and other shells.

References

External links

Chilmark Stone (Properties) Ltd

Natural England website
(SSSI information)
SAC boundaries at MAgiC

Aerial photo of the site at Multimap.com

Joint Nature Conservation Committee for Chilmark quarries

{{SSSIs Wilts geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1977 Special Areas of Conservation in England Quarries in Wiltshire