Talk:Bath stone

Case of title?

I merged this to Bath Stone since we have other article like London Clay and I figure there is either a)a mistake in the title of several articles or b)a convention somewhere that such substances get capitalised as proper nouns. -Splash^talk 00:16, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Sorry, I've just moved this page to Bath stone without seeing this comment, per Portland stone and the use of lower case in the OED. DrKay (talk) 08:24, 5 December 2013 (UTC)

Quarries / mines

Bath stone isn't quarried, it's mined. Although there is some overlap in some site names.

It's noted for its freestone behaviour where it is far easier to work it by hand sawing whilst still wet. Once dried out, it hardens up and becomes difficult to work by hand. This is why old saw benches and hand saws can still be seen underground in Box Mines. Also why it was worked from underground galleries, not simply opencast as most stone quarries.

The terms "quarried" etc. should be avoided here in favour of "mined". Andy Dingley (talk) 16:15, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

Thanks - is there a specific definition of mine v quarry as a verb? I'm starting to add some pics of the equipment used etc into the linked commons category, but I haven't found any of the saws yet which are pictured in Hawkins, Derek (2011). Bath Stone Quarries. Folly Books. ISBN 9780956440549. which I've just got out of the library - hence trying to improve this article. Hawkins says the reason for adits or inclined shafts is the depth of the stone (60ft+) and hence uneconomic to open cast.— Rod ^talk 16:51, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

There are probably several definitions, all conflicting. Mining is ancient and widely distributed, so terminology varies from place to place. I've always worked on the basis that "a mine has a roof", but there are cases like the Welsh slate industry where large open-cast pits would also have adits and tunnels off into the best rock underground.

I'm sure that Bath stone would have been quarried from the surface on a small scale at the beginning, then mined as the useful stone had to be won from deeper down. There are some open quarries today, but they're small and they're not producing high quality freestone. Box mines (which I think is one of the oldest mines still extant) is very old, around the entrances of Jack's Hole. It's quite a short distance horizontally and very random in shape. The later workings though, such as round the Door, are neat herringbones of generous size (10' square roadways). Although opening a new quarry today might well be done by open casting (if permission was granted!) that would rely on mechanical shovels to strip the overburden. At the time that these became available post-war, the Bath stone trade was shrinking and existing mines were closing.

Watch out also for naming. Many old mines have now run into each other, like Box Mines and Spring Quarry. Yet they're still seen as separate sites, and generally have separate access. Andy Dingley (talk) 17:21, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

I've changed the subheads which used quarries rather than mines, if you spot any other instances please change them. Perhaps you could also add the bit about "workability" of the stone. Our article on Box Mine is more about bats than mining.— Rod ^talk 17:39, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

Ralph Allen's Wharf

The article states:

Allen built a railway line from his mine on Combe Down which carried the stone down the hill, now known as Ralph Allen Drive, which runs beside Prior Park, to a wharf he constructed at Bath Locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal to transport stone to London.

However Ralph Allen died in 1764, the canal was not built until later. The navigation started to be built in the early 1700s including up to the current junction of the river and canal in the late 1720s. This work wase the locks up to Weston lock (#6) a mile or so away from the modern canal and river junction. I believe the site of Ralph Allen's wharf is near the junction, at this time there was no Bath Locks. The Bath Locks #7-#13 were not built until after the Kennet and Avon Canal Act 1794. I think the confusion comes from Sidney Wharf which still exists that is just above top lock.

I have a number of books on the K&A construction so I should be able to get some reliable sources for this. It may be worth following up to mention that the canals completion in 1810 allowed Bath stone to transported to London. However, until Claverton Pumping Station was built in 1813 the water supply was insecure, as such major construction with Bath stone in London was not truly viable until after 1813.

I am happy to write this and back it up with references. What is the process for a change like this in an established article? Should I put a draft here? Or should I change it directly? StirlingJulian (talk) 21:44, 6 October 2025 (UTC)

Generally one would update the article directly, with – as you said – reliable sources. Looking forward to reading these improvements. Wire723 (talk) 10:10, 7 October 2025 (UTC)