King Barrow Quarry is a disused site of former 19th century stone quarries on the

Isle of Portland An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

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 ...

. It is located in the north-east corner of

Tophill Tophill is a gently sloping area of land on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England, rising from sea level at Portland Bill to near HMP The Verne at its northern end. On Tophill are five of the settlements on the island: Easton, Weston, ...

. The quarry, now a

Dorset Wildlife Trust Dorset Wildlife Trust (DWT) is a wildlife trust covering the county of Dorset, United Kingdom. The trust was founded in 1961 as Dorset Naturalists' Trust, to protect and conserve the wildlife and natural habitats of the county. DWT is one of 4 ...

nature reserve, covers 12.2 hectares. Both King Barrow and the nearby

Tout Quarry Tout Quarry, now known as Tout Quarry Sculpture Park and Nature Reserve, is a sculpture park and nature reserve based within a disused quarry on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is located within the north-west corner of Tophill. The scu ...

make up the Dorset Wildlife Trust's Portland Quarries Nature Park. Portland also has two butterfly reserves:

Broadcroft Quarry Broadcroft Quarry is an active stone quarry and part butterfly nature reserve located on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is located towards the eastern side of the island, where it lies to the east of the village Easton and close to ...

and

Perryfield Quarry Perryfield Quarry is an operational stone quarry and part butterfly nature reserve located on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is situated towards the middle of the island, east of the village of Weston and south of the hamlet of Wakeha ...

History and Nature Reserve status

The site is based on former quarries that were abandoned 100 years ago. In the nineteenth century there was extensive quarrying in the area. When the area was first quarried, huge numbers of Roman artifacts were discovered. Since being abandoned the area had been left to regenerate naturally, with the aid of scrub management. Since around 2004 the quarry became a nature reserve after the site owners handed the quarry over to the Dorset Wildlife Trust. The quarry then became known as King Barrow Quarries Nature Reserve. Within the quarry are relics of past industrial activities, including blocks of cut stone and a quarryman's shelter. Pieces of tramway track and a tunnel remain from the horse-drawn tramway that had transported the stone to the

Merchant's Railway Merchant's Railway was a horse drawn and cable operated incline railway on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England, built for the stone trade on the island. It was the earliest railway in Dorset, opening in 1826. The railway ran two miles from ma ...

Wildlife

The quarry's rocky slopes, grassy pockets and sheltered gullies are all havens for wildlife, and therefore features a wide range of plants and animals, hosting flora and fauna specific to limestone soil. Described as one of Portland's prime nature habitats, the thin limestone soils have been slowly colonised by a variety of wildflowers. King Barrow Quarries is particularly known for its blue butterflies and bird species.

References

{{Isle of Portland Isle of Portland Quarries in Dorset Jurassic Coast Nature reserves in Dorset Dorset Wildlife Trust reserves