SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Has anyone got an old map which shows the old quarry which was directly behind where Haigh Tarrace is in Rothwell now. We used to play in it as kids and think it has been filled in for the best part of 20 years now.

have you tried here reggie?http://www.old-maps.co.uk/indexmappage2.aspx

No luck but what a great source of maps, thanks.

Reginal Perrin wrote: No luck but what a great source of maps, thanks. ReggieAre you quite sure?Take a look at the 1908 1:10,560 sheet (scroll along at the bottom) there is a gravel pit on the north side of Wood Lane and to the immediate east of the junction of Low Shops Lane/Wood Lane.By 1921, the terraces of Haigh Terrace etc have been constructed over the pitIn the 1938 1:10,560 sheet there now appears to be an extensive and probably abandoned sand/gravel working to the north of the mineral line and Mill Pit Lane, extending as far as Rose Cottage [Note the appearance of markings defining excavation slopes and water filled holes that were not present on the previous sheets]I have also found a reference to it in the Geological Survey of Great Britain 'Geology of the Country around Wakefield' HMSO 1940 where it states: Quote: Page 151At the time of the resurvey the best sections ( of Pleistocene Deposits - Earlier Drifts) were around Rothwell, where the gravels have been described by Green & Russell and others. The John O'Gaunt gravel pit, half a mile north of Rothwell Church has revealed sections which varied in detail during working, the final one on abandoment being as follows:Boulder clay with contorted masses of laminated clay in lower part 10 feetSand, current bedded, with flat gravelly layers 10 feetGravel, course, with scatttered cobbles and boulders, and sandy seams. The whole horizontally bedded. Large boulders in lower part 15 feetSandstone (Coal Measures)......................Another pit half a mile WNW of the John O'Gaunt Inn showed a similar section, but the boulder clay was 20 feet thick and laminated clay was missing I am not sure which is which, but the 1938 1:10,560 shows another Sand & Gravel pit on the east side of Rothwell Haigh (to the immediate east of Willans Avenue) that is called West Riding Gravel Quarry ....... so perhaps yours is John O'Gaunt gravel pit?The memoir goes on to say in its review of the regions mineral products: Quote: Page 169Sand & GravelEarlier Drifts - There are considerable reserves near Rothwell, but the Rothwell Haigh gravel pit, now closed down, was evidently located on the best part of the outcrop

Nothing much on the more recent OS maps Reggie but from Google Earth you can see quite a few annomalies on the ground which could result from the works after they were covered over, especially in the field top left - is that anywhere near?

Thanks lads. I had only looked at the one map and realised there were later ones. Haigh Terrace was only built in the mid 60's and the quarry shown on the 1938 map is definitely the one and it was much bigger than when I was a lad. The mineral railway ran the path of one of the "back paths as we called them and across where Home Lea council estate is now on it's way to the Victoria Pumping Engine.The old mine shaft in the field WNW of the quarry was still there and fenced off as well. There is a deep cut in the pig farm to the rear of Haigh Gardens which look sas if it was also part of the quarry. It's brining back menories of escaped piglets oinking throught he streets to howls of exitement from small kids such as me.

What happened to the quarry at Rothwell Haigh on the Leeds-Wakefield road it must have taken millions of tons of rubble to fill it and now there are dozens of houses built on top of it.

Have you tried www.britainfromabove.org do a search on Rothwell or Robin Hood I know the Robin Hood shows a lot of George Armitage brickyard or is that too far away .

I remember a quarry near Low shops which was very deep in water all year round and kids used to swim in it in summer,several people committed suicide there and quite a lot of people are reputed to putting litters of kittens in a bag and dropping them in the deep side of the quarry.One lad I remember that used to swim there was Bobby Fell who I'm told became a Rothwell councillor in later life.

Is that the same Bobby Fell who tied himself in a large laundry storage bag and threw himself into the deep end at Clayton Woods quarry? If so what an uncanny tale.