Bradgate Brickworks
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Condition (Natural England)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SK412935 | — | Unfavourable Declining | 0.87 | 2015-12-22 |
| SK413934 | — | Favourable | 0.19 | 2021-03-02 |
Geology & landscape
Mining / Industrial: Quarry · Geological Period: Carboniferous · Rock Type: Shale
Description
Area, 0.9 hectares 2.2 ac Description The disused Bradgate Quarry lies one mile to the west of Rotherham town centre. The special interest is within an exposed quarry face. This is the best available exposure of strata lying immediately above the Clay Cross Marine Band = Vanderbeckei Marine Band, Westphalian B Middle Carboniferous in the Pennine coalfields. The marine band itself is poorly exposed here and has only yielded a Lingula facies fauna. However, the 30 or so metres of overlying non marine sediments are very well seen and include the Lidgett Coal Seam, a useful marker horizon which occurs over a wide area. Several beds of shale contain non marine bivalves which seem to belong to the Anthracosia regularis Subzone middle Anthraconaia modiolaris Biozone and this is probably the best site in the country for yielding this fauna. As an aid to interpreting the development of the Coal Measures in the Pennines basin complex, the most important source of coal in great Britain, this site is of considerable scientific interest.