Monument record 8233/1 - Easton on the Hill quarry

Examination of the site today reveals distinct traces of a formation indicative of a tramway on the route shown on maps. These lie in the field above the wood, but disappear into the wood itself.

{1} The lease from the Marquess of Exeter to Wingerworth Iron Company was for 21 years commencing in 1871. These quarries were in production until 1881 and then disappear from the record. The tramway track was lifted and the simple aparatus for negotiating the incline was dismantled. The quarries were reopened by a local man, R.Eldred, and were reported as in production again in 1887, although an iron ore siding was installed by The Midland Railway in 1884, implying a delay in production. Eldred last appears in the record for 1892, which was also the year the Wingerworth lease was due to expire. It was not until 1902 that Lord Exeter recommenced working the quarries as part of the estate. Early in 1912 the North Lincolnshire Iron Ore Co Ltd commenced negotiations with the Burghley Estate to acquire the Easton quarries; production commenced in 1913 (they are sometimes referred to as Burleigh Park quarries). Though it seems that the Easton quarries had not been worked for at least 9 years the lease was terminated only in 1932 after the NLI furnaces had closed down. The quarries have lain disused since then.

A small area worked during (but not necessarily throughout) four periods by different operators, each using different equipment: these were Wingerworth Iron Co. (1873-81); R. Eldred, followed by his son (1887-92); the Marquess of Exeter (1902-11); and North Lincolnshire Iron Co. Ltd (1913-22). The lease for the site was sold in 1871 but production did not start until 1873: presumably the first couple of years were spent in opening up the pits and connecting them by inclined plane to the Midland line.

{3} The quarry was worked in four different periods by four different operators commencing c.1871 and closing around 1919 with track and wagons being sold off during the 1920s. A rope-worked incline / tramway ran north down the valley side linking the quarry to the main line railway set in the valley bottom. There are two concentrations of surviving features associated with the operation of the quarry & tramway: to the north a tipping dock, weighbridge, sidings & to the south an engine shed, winding gear & a length of revetted tramway.

{5} First mentioned in this list, when owned in 1913 by the North Lincolnshire Iron Ore Co Ltd.

<1> Tonks E.; Scholes E., 1983, Ironstone Quarrying at Easton on The Hill, (unchecked) (Book). SNN40037.

<2> GOODWIN J.M., 1991, Easton on the Hill, 82-91 (unchecked) (Book). SNN40036.

<3> Cadman G.E., 1997, Easton on The Hill Ironstone Quarrying: Reconnaissance Survey Report for SMR, (checked) (Report). SNN40038.

<4> Tonks E., 1992, The Ironstone Quarries of The Midlands (History, Operation and Railways): The Corby Area, p.270-90 (unchecked) (Book). SNN39836.

<5> 1922, List of Quarries in the United Kingdom and The Isle of Man, Year 1913 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN107883.

Record last edited

Jul 15 2024 3:40PM