Rock Farm Limestone Quarries

Notes:

Situated 6 miles east of Cork, the Rock Farm Quarries extended a mile along the verge of the Cork river in 1837. At this time the annual produce was 12000 tons of manufactured stone (cost 13s. per ton) and 44000 tons of rough stone (1s. 4d. per ton). Superior quality stone was raised from these quarries, which was generally used for built stone purposes on account of its fine grained nature. The refuse was utilised for ballast and road building or converted into lime.

Prior to the railway installation stone was transported by horse and cart. The stone was shipped from 4 wharfs within 150 yards of each quarry; the average cost of carriage per ton per mile via water was estimated at 2d. and by land was 6d. During the third decade of the nineteenth century 100 men were daily working these quarries, however it was stated that if the quarries were operating at full capacity that the daily employment would have been 6 times that number.

Stone raised from the western quarry was of a higher quality than that quarried in the east. The differences in quality is probably reflected in the Little Island Formation solely outcropping in the western quarry in contrast to the Little Island Formation together with the Clashavogue Formation being exposed in the east. The massive nature of the Little Island Limestone Formation in the western quarry probably allowed for biggish blocks of dimension stone to be removed whereas the variability and cherty characteristic in the east led to it probably being used more for ballast (and perhaps some building works, but possibly not for fine ashlar and exterior work).

The Cantillons worked the Rock Farm Limestone Quarries from the early 1800s into the twentieth century.