21/07/2017
THORNER QUARRYThe Parish Plan Review in 2010 identified that we should consider drawing attention to theimportance of the neglected quarry site on Church Hill, which has significance both as part of villagehistory, and as a site of geological interest.Over recent years a volunteer working group has been looking at how this might be achieved.Consultation exercises have been undertaken on possible ways to enhance and preserve the site. Inpart this was a reaction to a partial collapse of the wall.The site is owned by, and the responsibility of, Mexborough Estates. The Estate carried out repairs tothe collapsed wall, and, through its new Director, Mark Robins, has been discussing with the Groupwhat further work might be undertaken.In 2016 the Group undertook a certain amount of preliminary clearance work. Trees were removed,and the quarry face exposed. More recently further repairs have been carried out to the wall. Theserepairs have secured the site, and improved the appearance of the wall.The Estate have promised to open up more of the site, by removing more trees, particularly thosewhich overhang the road and interfere with the telephone wires and with high sided vehicles. Thesetrees potentially threaten the stability of the wall in the longer term. This work will be carried out overnext winter.The site will then be levelled and seeded. This will facilitate future maintenance, and avoid the sitebecoming overgrown and unsightly (as at present). The Group hope to commission Interpretation Panels, to provide information about the site. It is not,however, proposed to open up the site for unsupervised public access.There is more information on the Group’s website at www.thornerquarry.jimdo.comIf you want to be involved, please get in touch with either Scott Marshall [email protected] or John Calvert 2983035 [email protected].
