Monument record 583/1 - Romano-British to Modern Collyweston Slate Quarrying (North of the Stamford Road)

{1} Earthworks of ancient slate quarries. Stone slates from Collyweston have been found at Roman sites such as Irchester and Apethorpe, showing that quarry workings must have been in operation at that time. Their use in the medieval period is recorded from Edward III onwards, and quarrying continues to the present day. The quarries are situated north-east of the village, extending into the parish of Easton.

{2} Shows linear pattern of quarrying up to the early C19th on either side of the Stamford Road at Collyweston and Easton on The Hill. Those on the north side of the road, lying north-east of Collyweston appear to have been accessed by a short lane at the north-east end of the village.

{3} To the north-east of the village, along the side of the road to Easton and stretching into that parish, are the famous slate quarries. The majority of the population (numbering 361 in 1901) are occupied as slaters and lime-burners.

{4} The quarries today are found in long, narrow stone-walled slaters’ plots to the west(?) of the village. These are entered by the means of ‘foxholes’ giving access to the slate ‘log’ which varies from a few inches to 3 feet in thickness, lying over a bed of Northampton Sand. This is picked out with a foxing pick in December and January so that the slate stone can be barrowed out to the surface. Here it is laid out and watered for the winter frosts to help the natural cleavage. The logs are then reading for splitting or ‘cliving’ and then dressed into suitable shapes. A bill is used to peck nail holes near the head of the slates. During the rest of the year the slaters fix the tiles to roofs.

{6} Quarries at TF004037 etc. 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 fissile sandy laimestone 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. The blocks of limestone were laid out on the ground, with the bedding planes vertical, and kept watered to prevent drying out. They were then split into thin layers by hand, often helped by frost action.

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, TF00SW8 (checked) (Index). SNN443.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1811-9, First Edition Ordnance Survey Surveyors Drawings, Sheet 267e (Map). SNN104902.

<3> Serjeantson R.M.; Ryland W. (Editors), 1906, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.550 (checked) (Series). SNN100369.

<4> Steane J., 1974, The Northamptonshire Landscape, p.180-81 (unchecked) (Book). SNN5137.

<5> St Joseph J.K., Aerial Photograph (BT 94), (unchecked) (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN105683.

<6> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1975, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.30-32 (checked) (Series). SNN77379.

Record last edited

Oct 23 2024 10:59AM