Westport Farm Quarry

Notes:

Located just south of the farmyard complex in Westport Demense. The succession in this quarry consists of beds of Westport Oolite (Mississippian), a greyish-blue limestone of good quality in beds 1.5 to 2 feet in thickness. This stone contained microcracks called 'threads' by the quarrymen, which were exploited to make splitting the beds into blocks easier. The limestone is overlain by 16 feet of a blue, hard sandstone which weathered to a light brown colour. Joints in the rock enabled easy removal of blocks up to fifteen feet square. Joint surfaces were covered with a fine layer of quartz that gave these surfaces a smooth surface and this was laid face-bedded in ashlar blocks. Overlying the rock was 16 feet of soil overburden which had to be removed as quarrying progressed. The quarry is now a carpark.