Short Tour 35

There are numerous old sandstone quarries in the area with some blue stone.

Initially the stone was used locally to construct the farm buildings and dwellings in the villages. The proximity of the quarries to the final structures reduced the need for expensive and difficult transportation.

The quarries vary in size from small local quarries to the more substantial commercial operations of Branshaw and Bailey Park quarries. Having said this, aerial photographs reveal that many of the smaller quarries were more extensive than would appear to be the case when viewing on the ground the undergrowth that currently conceals them from direct view.

Large quantites of stone were moved down the hill to Keighley to be consumed in building many of the town’s buildings.

None of the quarries are marked as dissused on the 1852 map, but this is not to say they were still active. On the 1888 Ordnance Survey map, Worlds, Whorls and Green Sykes quarries are marked as ‘Old Quarry’ but Royd is not.

In their prime, the quarries and related activities supported a considerable local workforce.