A30 D44 Cedar Road Adventure Playground

Site information

Site name: Cedar Road Adventure Playground

Site key: D44

Grid reference: [SE 558 010] (centred on)

Site type: quarry, disused

Local authority: Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council, South Yorkshire

Site dimensions: 75 x 75 m

Site owner: DMBC

Conservation status: Regionally Important Geological Site Date: 16/9/97

Field surveyor: Scott Engering Date: 19/1/07

Stratigraphy and rock types

Time unit: Triassic Rock unit: Nottingham Castle Formation, Sherwood Sandstone Group

Rock type: Sandstone Details: 4 – 7 m section of cross bedded red/brown sandstone with occasional red/green marl beds and pebbles

Time unit: Anglian, Middle Pleistocene Rock unit: Glaciofluvial deposits

Rock type: Sand and Gravel Details: 1.5 m of well bedded, sorted and cross laminated glaciofluvial sand and gravel. White quartzite and purple pebbles up to 150 mm, with predominantly 40–50 mm. Some angular fragments of Carboniferous flaggy sandstone. Exposed in east/south-east of quarry

Time unit: Anglian, Middle Pleistocene Rock unit: Till

Rock type: Diamicton, sandy Details: 1.5 m of Pre-Ipswichian reddened and sandy till with pale limestone rock fragments and rounded pebbles overlying sandstone in north-east corner

Site map

(Figure 136) — D44 Cedar Road Adventure Playground

This map is based upon Ordnance Survey topographic material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, © Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Licence Number: 100017897 [2007]

Site description

Old quarry measuring 75 m x 75 m dug into the Sherwood sandstone with extensive quarry faces up to 6.5 m, with most being 4–5 m. Thick sections of medium grained red/brown sandstone with large cross bedded structures with occasional thin red and green mudstone beds with small pebbles which have now weathered out. The most conspicuous mudstone appears as a distinctly undulating bed, possibly demonstrating deposition on sand banks or shingle bars in the river channel.

To the eastern part, 1.5 m of Quaternary river gravel is exposed along a length of 30 m at the top of the quarry face. The deposit is well bedded and contains the occasional cobble up to 150 mm long, but with coarse material being generally no larger than 50 mm in diameter and comprising purple quartzite and white quartz pebbles with the occasional angular fragment of flaggy Carboniferous sandstone. The Sherwood Sandstone is not visible here, being obscured by vegetated scree composed of eroded sand and gravel.

To the north-east corner, above the Sherwood Sandstone, there is an outcrop of red/brown sandy Boulder Clay containing numerous randomly orientated fragments of pale coloured well flaggy rock, but the contact with the underlying sandstone is obscured. This deposit is not accessible for close inspection but corresponds in appearance to deposits at Hexthorpe Flatts, New Edlington Brick Pit and Warmsworth Park.

Likely conservation measures required (first impression):

There is an abundance of miscellaneous rubbish, apparently thrown over the fences of adjoining housing on the western and eastern boundaries and this needs to be cleared. The base of the quarry faces is overgrown with scrub and needs to be removed to allow close, safe inspection of the quarry faces.

To the eastern boundary, sand and gravels are eroded to within 400 mm of the rear face of garden fences and the roots of trees have been severely undermined. Inevitably, the fences will be undermined in the near future and remedial works will obscure any exposure of the Quaternary river gravels.

RIGS assessment of site value

Ratings: 1–2 very poor; 3–4 poor; 5–6 acceptable/useful; 7–8 quite good; 9–10 very good/excellent; N/A not applicable; D/K don't know

Access and safety

Aspect/Description/Rating

Road access & parking On street parking on Cedar Road. Adequate for limited vehicles on weekdays. Near to bus routes. Rating: 5

Safety of access Moderately steep grassy bank into quarry. Access to sand and gravel is a moderately steep grassed over scree slope. Rating: 6

Safety of exposure Sandstone faces in good condition. Rubbish and vegetation needs to be cleared to access faces for close inspection. Rating: 6

Permission to visit Not applicable N/A

Current condition Some clearance of faces and rubbish required. Boundary fences need attention due to undermining/erosion of gravels. Rating: 6

Current conflicting activities Tipping. Syringes, beer cans and general rubbish indicate abuse of site but empty during visit apart from a dog walker

Restricting conditions Not applicable, except clearance of faces and rubbish removal

Nature of exposure Vertical quarry faces with no dangerous overhangs or loose material

Multiple exposures/prospect for trail Good potential to link with Warmsworth Park and Hexthorpe Flatts

Notes With good management of site and abiding by field work codes of practice, this is a good accessible site

Culture, heritage & economic

Aspect/Description/Rating

Historic, archaeological & literary associations Local quarrying history. Rating: 6

Aesthetic landscape Limited value due to sunken position 1 history of Earth Sciences Not applicable. Rating: 0

Economic geology Local example of exploitation of Sherwood Sandstone for building sand. Rating: 5

Notes

Education and science

Surface processes Fluvial, glaciofluvial and ice sheet deposition. Rating: 7

Geomorphology Not applicable. Rating: 0

Sedimentary Large scale cross bedding. Grading and sorting. Cut and fill structures. Lithological variation. Rating: 7

Fossils Not applicable. Rating: 0

Igneous Not applicable. Rating: 0

Metamorphic Not applicable. Rating: 0

Tectonic: Structural Stratigraphic position provides evidence of graben in the region. Rating: 7

Minerals Not applicable. Rating: 0

Stratigraphy Not applicable. Rating: 0

Notes Near to Cedar Junior school. Good field trip location for sedimentary processes in conjunction with other nearby sites

Geodiversity value

Good accessible introduction to a variety of lithologies and associations with quarrying and construction. Rating: 6

Site photographs D44 Cedar Road Adventure Playground

(Figure 137) General view of the quarry and Sherwood Sandstone faces to the north. [SE 55840 01000].

(Figure 138) Section through cross-bedded Sherwood Sandstone showing thin beds of marl pebbles. [SE 55770 01030].

(Figure 139) Exposure of Pleistocene glaciofluvial sand and gravel overlying Sherwood Sandstone along the eastern boundary. [SE 55870 01020].

(Figure 140) Detail of Pleistocene boulder clay overlying Sherwood Sandstone in the north-eastern corner of the quarry. [SE 55810 01060].