Last updated: 25 April 2008
© 2008 Urswick Parish Council
© 2008 Urswick Parish Council
Stainton with Adgarley
Stainton with Adgarley is a composite
of two adjoining settlements, Adgarley to the east and Stainton to
the west. The large village green, predominantly part of
Adgarley, bears testimony to the limestone geology
of this entire parish. It has numerous, and in some instances
very large, limestone boulders left scattered across the grass,
resting in the place where they descended from the melting ice of
bygone glaciations.
Adgarley with Devonshire Quarry behind
Immediately behind the village is the large limestone quarry
operated by Tarmac Ltd. The quarry is the consolidation of two
old and separate quarries, Devonshire quarry located behind Adgarley,
which is now the location for a large concrete block manufacturing
facility and a ready-mix concrete plant; and Crown Quarry which
extends laterally as well as of increasing depth behind Stainton.
The strata which formerly covered the area of the entire quarry was
the Urswick Limestone Formation, but the underlying strata of the
Park Limestone Formation provides the commercial basis for today's
operations.
Park Limestone Formation in Crown Quarry
No longer are quarries such as this able to secure their business by
providing roadstone and railway ballast for nearby use. The
stone from Crown Quarry has been exported to Sweden for several
years where its high purity has been valued for such uses as
toothpaste manufacture, paper making and for the manufacture of
acetylene gas. But the quarry competes in international
markets and must constantly strive to find new customers and
applications for its product.
Adgarley Green in the foreground with The Stagger Inn together with other properties in Stainton.
The village was once the home for quarrymen
and agricultural and mining workers, a fact which was reflected in
the names of its two former pubs, the Farmers Arms and The Miners.
Both these pubs closed some years ago and following significant
refurbishment, the former reopened as what is now a very popular
restaurant and drinking establishment known as The Stagger Inn.
Whilst this is likely to have been a success story for its owners,
the resulting traffic congestion, caused by the absence of any
dedicated car parking for the facility, has changed the character of
the village and introduced a safety hazard. Matters relating
to ownership of the green,
across which the public road passes, as well as to funding, have
necessitated
protracted discussions, with an end objective of enabling a
footpath to be added alongside the public road.
This would afford safer passage to and from the village bus stop for
both young and old.
Across Adgarley Green from Green Farm