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Doulting Stone Quarry

Geology of SomersetQuarries in the Mendip HillsUse British English from February 2023
Inferior Oolite Doulting Stone
Inferior Oolite Doulting Stone

Doulting Stone Quarry (grid reference ST648436) is a limestone quarry at Doulting, on the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England. At present there are only three quarries quarrying Doulting stone. The largest, The Doulting Stone Quarry, was producing building stone in Roman times. In the 20th century it was operated by the Keevil family. Until 1994 it was operated by Amalgamated Roadstone Corporation (now part of Hanson plc) but was then bought out as a stand-alone business. Ham & Doulting Stone Co Ltd own the east quarry which was originally in use for centuries after which followed a period of inactivity. It was reopened 12 years ago. The quarry also offers primary and secondary cutting and profiling.The stone quarried at Doulting is a 2 m (6.6 ft) thick layer of oolite of middle Jurassic age, deposited as sediments in fairly shallow coastal seas. The stone is unusual as it shows unconformity at the division between the oolite and Carboniferous limestone beneath, representing two types of rocks laid down millions of years apart, the intervening sediments having been eroded away before the Jurassic strata were laid down. It has a high level of water absorption and porosity.The stone is used for building purposes, including Glastonbury Abbey and the west façade of Wells Cathedral, and other structures in the cathedral close, such as the fortified gate called The Bishop's Eye.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Doulting Stone Quarry (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Doulting Stone Quarry
Chelynch Road, Mendip Doulting

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Wikipedia: Doulting Stone QuarryContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.190187 ° E -2.501578 °
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Chelynch Road

Chelynch Road
BA4 4PJ Mendip, Doulting
England, United Kingdom
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Inferior Oolite Doulting Stone
Inferior Oolite Doulting Stone
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Nearby Places

St Aldhelm's Well
St Aldhelm's Well

St Aldhelm's Well in Doulting, Somerset, England, is an ancient spring which is the source of the River Sheppey. The site is a Grade II listed building, although it is a medieval site, most of what remains has been rebuilt.The well was named after St Aldhelm after he died in Doulting village in 709, some accounts say on the day of his death he sat by the well singing psalms before being carried up to the church in the village where he died. The Church of St Aldhelm in Doulting was dedicated to Aldhelm in the 8th century.Folklore has attributed healing powers to the spring water in which pilgrims were known to have bathed, the well is still visited by people who use the water and leave flowers and other offerings of reverence. The spring has never been known to fail, even in times of drought.Water flows through two low pointed arches in a stone wall in the hillside, along a bathing pool with stone sides and collapsed stone walls on each side. The carved masonry which can be seen around the site indicates the bathing pool would have once had a roof over it. The water passes through a wall to fill a stone drinking trough in the lane below, pouring over the trough's edge into a grate in the floor. The water passes under the lane into a confluence with a group of springs to the west of Doulting to become the River Sheppey, which ultimately joins the River Brue.Next to the well is a chamber containing the remains of a waterwheel which once pumped water up the hill to supply drinking water for Doulting village, a well head built in the late 19th century still stands in the village featuring a wrought-iron pump handle. The well head is also a Grade II listed building.