Monument record MWX4014 - Post medieval cliff-top limestone quarry, St Aldhelm's Head, Worth Matravers

A quarry marked on the first edition OS map (1)

Also marked on the second edition (2)

The cliffside quarry at St Aldhelm's Head formed the western terminus of the Purbeck cliff-side quarries which exploit the Portland Freestone. Unlike the other cliffside quarries, the stone occurs high up on the cliff, and was not continued in underground galleries, but was worked back from the cliff edge to leave a prominent step in the cliff. Quarried stone was lowered to boats below during the post-Mediaeval period. <3>

The post medieval cliffside quarry is visible on aerial photographs <4> and was digitally plotted during the South West Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset).

English Heritage, 1997, Monuments Protection Programme Step 3 Report: The Quarrying Industries, Dorset 13 (Monograph). SDO20419.

‘The cliff side quarry at St Aldhelm’s Head form the western terminus of the Purbeck cliff-side quarries which exploit the Portland Freestone, a fine texture oolite with few shells known in this district as Purbeck-Portland stone. Unlike the other cliff-side quarries, the stone occurs high up the cliff and was not continued underground in galleries, but was worked back from the cliff edge to leave a prominent step in the cliff. A curious stone pillar has been left on the very edge of the cliff. Stone from the quarry was lowered down the cliff to boats below. Ruins of a number of later buildings occupy the main quarry area but are not have (sic) a connection with the quarry itself. Stone is still quarried by W J Haysom & Son inland at SY965761 where stands the last timber derrick in any Dorset quarry.’

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey 25-inch map, epoch one (Map). SDO10239.

<2> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey 25-inch map, epoch two (Map). SDO11594.

<3> Lancashire Archaeological Unit, 2000, Monument Protection Programme Quarrying Industry Step 3.2 Additional Site Assessments (Monograph). SDO18060.

<4> Royal Air Force, 04-NOV-1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1821 1398-99 (Aerial Photograph). SDO12897.

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1466591 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 19 2025 11:08AM