Monument record 583/1 - Collyweston Slate Limestone Quarries

Limestone quarries at Collyweston, worked from the Roman period until recent times. Collyweston Slate is a limestone from the base of the Middle Jurassic Inferior Oolite which has been mined and quarried from Worthrop near Stamford to the West of Collyweston. Slates have been found on excavated Roman sites near Stamford and Godmanchester, and they were much used in the Middle Ages, with documentary references to Rockingham Castle in 1375 and 1390, and to Oakham Castle in 1383. During the 16th century, demand for Collyweston Slates spread throughout the East Midlands with the introduction of the frost process. This is a rare survival of the typical earthworks associated with the quarrying of the slates on the north side of the A43(T). Known locally as `The Deeps', the site consists of an extensive area of humps amd hollows, and is now preserved as a nature reserve. Working is believed to have ceased in the early 20th century.

{1} Site of former Collyweston slate quarry known as "The Deeps", referred to in J. Martin Goodwin. Copy of the plan of the site made in the 1990's on p.57.

{2} Eight extant quarry pits are present, all located around the northern or western perimeter of the site. Six of the pits or their immediate surrounds are very overgrown and difficult to access. One, occupied by an extant mine on the west side of the site has an open interior with access via a gated track. All these six have geological exposures in their west sides. The one exception is the most north easterly, which also has the distinction of being the sole pit located within largely open grassland. One further large irregular shaped and overgrown pit lies within the south western corner of the site. The exact extent of this was not determined.
Just to outside the perimeter of the site to the west, in scrubland are another series of features. These include a vertical mine shaft c. 5m deep, roughly circular in plan; cut into natural but with at least part of the sides revetted by stone walling. Boarded over with wooden baulks atop which is a simple movable frame made out of old railway lines- presumably serving as some sort of 'winding gear'. North of this is a spoil heap, this partially overlies what appears to be a timber/metal revetted 'bin' or possible former redundant addit entrance? Beyond the spoil heap the hollow deepens and there is a full exposure of the geology. Several lengths of railway line are dumped nearby.

{6}{7} Overgrown surface workings remain in an area now known as The Deeps, a nature reserve.

{9-11} TF 003037 (3). Stone slates from Collyweston have been found at Roman sites such as Irchester and Apethorpe, showing that the quarry workings must have been in operation at that time. Their use in the Medieval period is recorded from Edward III onward, and quarrying has continued to the present day. The quarries are situated north-east of the village, extending into the parish of Easton.

{12} Collyweston ancient slate quarries, centred TF 004037.

{13} Quarries (SK 999029, TF 000030 and 004037, etc) covering large areas on limestone north and east of the village. These are the remains of quarries worked from at least as early as the Roman period for the well-known Collyweston Slate, used widely as roofing material. The slate is a fissile sandy limestone at the base of the Lower
Lincolnshire Limestone and was either worked in open quarries or mined from small shafts. Remains of both types of workings are visible.

{16, 17} The earthwork traces of the extensive quarrying at Collyweston Quarries (centred at TF 0051 0384) have been mapped from aerial photographs and lidar images as part of the Rutland Roman Villa Project.

<1> GOODWIN J.M., 1991, Easton on the Hill, p.51-57 (unchecked) (Book). SNN40036.

<2> Cadman G.E., 2003, Collyweston, Deeps: Note for SMR on Rapid Site Inspection, p.2 (checked) (Note). SNN103334.

<3> Northamptonshire SMR Collection of Aerial Photographs, Used with NMR & CUCAP collections (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN104822.

<4> Cadman G., 2003, Collyweston Deeps, (unchecked) (SMR Report Form). SNN105675.

<5> Ordnance Survey, 1880s, First Edition OS 6 Inch Mapping Series (1SE), (unchecked) (Map). SNN107873.

<6> Hall D.N., 1960-1999, Rockingham Forest Project: Archaeological Sites Recorded by David Hall, (checked) (Database). SNN102279.

<7> Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group, 2001, A Guide To The Industrial Heritage Of Northamptonshire, Site 67 (checked) (Gazetteer). SNN104759.

<8> Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group, 2011, A Guide To The Industrial Heritage of Northamptonshire (2nd Edition), Site 69 (checked) (Gazetteer). SNN107622.

<9> Serjeantson R.M.; Ryland W. (Editors), 1906, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, 296-97, 550 (Series). SNN100369.

<10> Steane J., 1974, The Northamptonshire Landscape, p. 180-1 (Book). SNN5137.

<11> Aerial Photograph, P (J K St Joseph BT 94) (Photographs). SNN112974.

<12> Baird, J, 1969, Field Investigators Comments, F1 JB 22-JAN-69 (Note). SNN111452.

<13> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1975, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p. 30-2 (Series). SNN77379.

<14> Lancaster University Archaeological Unit, 1999, Monuments Protection Programme: Quarrying Industry (Step 3 Revised Report, Introduction to Site Assessments), Northamptonshire 4 (Report). SNN102415.

<15> Small, F, 2023, Aerial Investigation And Mapping at Rutland Roman Villa Environs (Report). SNN116764.

<16> Royal Air Force, Vertical Aerial Photography, RAF/CPE/UK/2109 RP 3028 28-MAY-1947 (Photographs). SNN104890.

<17> Environment Agency, LIDAR Composite DTM - 1m, LIDAR Environment Agency 1M DTM 16-FEB-2009 (Digital Plots). SNN111710.

Record last edited

Mar 11 2025 4:02PM