A33 D190–192 Blaxton Common

Site information

Site name: Blaxton Common

Site key: D190, D191, D192

Grid reference: [SE 685 015] (centred on)

Site type: disused quarries, pits and cuttings

Local authority: Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council, South Yorkshire

Site dimensions: 1800 x 1500 m

Site owner: Tarmac Quarry Products

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

Field surveyor: Scott Engering Date: 16/2/07

Stratigraphy and rock types

Time unit: Triassic Rock unit: Sherwood Sandstone Group

Rock type: Sandstone (undifferentiated) Details: Massive cross-bedded sandstone with marl pebbles

Time unit: Anglian, Middle Pleistocene Rock unit: Older River Gravel (River Terrace Deposits)

Rock type: Sand and Gravel Details: Cross-bedded sands and gravels

Site map

(Figure 155) — D190–192 Blaxton Common

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

Large area of old sand and gravel pits that have long since been disused. The site is understood to be in multiple ownership but the only known owner is Tarmac, whose representative accompanied me on the visit to the Levels Lane Quarry. The principal feature of interest here is a large flooded pit with an exposure of up to 6 m of Sherwood Sandstone along the entire length of its western side. Photos taken from [SE 68716 02029]. The pit has been fenced off since the date of the last survey in 1997 and old bits of plant and machinery etc have been cleared away.

The exposure is in effect now inaccessible. The entrance to the quarry is gated and is used by a farmer on adjoining land. Waterside exposure limits safe access to study rock.

The site is now much more overgrown than in the 1997 survey and exposures of the Older River Gravel are not easy to find. Many exposures are adjacent to flooded parts of the site and are thickly vegetated and are not generally safely accessible. Occasional exposures can be seen beneath tree roots as at [SE 66879 01714] or larger expanses as seen at [SE 68491 01742] but detailed assessments of the potential value of these exposures was not ascertained due to access problems.

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 Very limited at gated entrance. 2-3 vehicles. Rating: 5

Safety of access Access along established footpaths pass close to flooded pits access across uneven ground and embankments. Rating: 5

Safety of exposure Sandstone inaccessible. Water hazards of flooded pits. Rating: 4

Permission to visit From Tarmac, although public footpaths cross the land. Rating: 5

Current condition Sandstone exposures clear and visible but Older River Gravels are increasingly becoming overgrown. Rating: 6

Current conflicting activities Vegetation growth

Restricting conditions Private ownership. health and safety hazards associated with water and steep, overgrown embankments

Nature of exposure Quarried faces

Multiple exposures/ prospect for trail Has potential for interpretation as a nature reserve

Notes Overgrown and potentially hazardous site

Culture, heritage & economic

Aspect/Description/Rating

Historic, archaeological & literary associations None known. Local industrial archaeology interest only. Rating: 5

Aesthetic landscape The area has been recolonised by plants and would make a good nature reserve. Rating: 6

History of earth sciences No associations known. Rating: 0

Economic geology Former sand and gravel extraction site. Potentially a good example of restoration and landscape. Rating: 7

Notes Limited value as part of industrial archaeology of the area

Education and science

Surface processes Erosional surfaces, fluvioglacial deposition and modern weathering and erosional processes. Rating: 6

Geomorphology Ancient erosional surface on Sherwood Sandstone. Rating: 7

Sedimentary A range of lithologies and sedimentary structures. Rating: 8

Fossils Not applicable. Rating: 0

Igneous Not applicable. Rating: 0

Metamorphic Not applicable. Rating: 0

Tectonic: structural Unconformity between Triassic and Quaternary. Rating: 0

Minerals Not applicable. Rating: 7

Stratigraphy Good site for correlating QuaternaryStratigraphy. Rating: 7

Notes Good exposures suitable for research, advanced students and group visits under supervision of experienced leader. Regeneration of vegetation at advanced stage

Geodiversity value

Links well with biodiversity interests, but lithologies not easily studied due to access difficulties. Rating: 7

Site photographs D190–192 Blaxton Common

(Figure 156) General view of old sand and gravel workings. [SE 68716 02029].

(Figure 157) Detail of Sherwood Sandstone in old sand and gravel workings. [SE 68716 02029].

(Figure 158) Residual exposure of sand and gravel. [SE 68491 01742].

(Figure 159) Detail of sand and gravel beneath tree roots . [SE 66879 01704].