Monument record MDO24987 - Windsbatch Quarry, Bayard Hill, Upwey, Weymouth

Windsbatch Quarry lies West of Upwey Church and exploited the Jurassic Lower Purbeck limestones. It produced building material for the Tower of London during the reign of Edward III. It was the source of much of the stone used locally in Upwey and Dorchester. This site consists of a linear excavation with a U-shaped profile, and is probably mediaeval. The site was digitally plotted for the South Dorset Ridgeway Mapping Project.

A post medieval quarry is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs <1>. The site was digitally plotted for the South Dorset Ridgeway Mapping Project.

English Heritage, 1997, Monuments Protection Programme Step 3 Report: The Quarrying Industries, Dorset 9 (Monograph). SDO20419.

‘Windsbatch quarry, which exploited the Jurassic Lower Purbeck Limestones, lies west of Upwey Church. The quarry produced building stone for the Tower of London during the reign of Edward III. It also supplied building stone for Upwey and the local villages, as well as Dorchester, and probably Woodsford Castle. Stone found in the footings of Iron Age buildings during excavations at Maiden Castle were also of this stone. The site itself consists of a linear excavation with a U-shaped profile which is partly overgrown. No exposures of stone were observed. Several other quarry areas to the north were briefly inspected but were thought to represent more recent activity, probably dating to the 19th or early 20th century, and low archaeological potential.’

<1> Royal Air Force, 22-JAN-1948, RAF/CPE/UK/2431 4297-8 (Aerial Photograph). SDO12031.

<2> Lancashire Archaeological Unit, 2000, Monument Protection Programme Quarrying Industry Step 3.2 Additional Site Assessments, Dorset 9 (Monograph). SDO18060.

<3> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1466563 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 19 2025 10:15AM