THE HISTORY OF WESTLEIGH QUARRY

THE HISTORY OF WESTLEIGH QUARRY - LINK

A vast quarry is to be found at Westleigh in the parish of Burlescombe. No one can be sure when was first used - certainly its stone was used in the construction of the church of St Mary the Virgin in the 13th century and in the older Cannonsleigh Abbey nearby (now ruined).

Two previous owners - brothers James Stafford Bent and his brother Charles Reichel Bent - passed on to the Company Archives of Aggregate Industries, records for the period 1739 to 1949 when their ownership came to an end. These have provided the material for a fascinating account, not only of the work of the quarry, but of local history in the surrounding area, carefully researched by Roy Fenn and provided in the form of a down-loadable electronic book by visiting this site:

http://www.aggregate.com/pdf/westleigh_quarry_book.pdf

Westleigh Quarry - a distant view

Compare this carefully landscaped scene with the aerial photo at the start of Roy Fenn's article.