Ditchley Road Quarry
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Condition (Natural England)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP369199 | — | Favourable | 12.14 | 2021-11-16 |
Geology & landscape
Mining / Industrial: Quarry · Rock Type: Limestone
Description
Description Ditchley Road Quarry shows a rock succession from the Bajocian Clypeus Grit up to the basal Taynton Limestone progracilis Zone, Middle Bathonian. Above the fossil bearing limestones of the Clypeus Grit occurs the best complete6 metres thick section of Chipping Norton Limestone in Oxfordshire. The fossil rootlets present in the top of the Chipping Norton Limestone here are significant because they lend support to a proposed 'event correlation' of the Chipping Norton Formation with the extensively root letted muds and sands of the Stamford Member Rutland Formation of Northamptonshire. This exposure of Chipping Norton Limestone is vital for our understanding of the types of environments prevalent across this part of the south Midlands during Lower Bathonian times. The quarry is also important in interpreting the lateral lithological changes that occur in the stratigraphic level of the sharp's Hill Formation, since it lies geographically between type locality and the problematic Stonesfield area.