I went back to Quarry Lane to photograph the cliff – its stone, reinforcements and tenacious plants.
But when did it stop being worked? I need to investigate the history, but in the meantime the old maps provide some evidence:
- 1801 OS Drawing – there is a Stone Quarry annotated and drawn either side of Quarry Lane; a possible quarry south of Quarry Lane rejoining Sidmouth Road, but it’s not annotated; no quarry off Woodwater Lane
- 1832 Boundary Commission Report – a Stone Quarry annotated between Quarry Lane and Woodwater Lane, outside the Exeter boundary
- 1868 Boundary Commission Report – quarries not marked
- 1932 OS (surveyed 1887) – Heavitree Quarry annotated and drawn to the north of Quarry Lane, Old Quarry to the south; also another Quarry south of Quarry Lane rejoining Sidmouth Road; also Pine’s Garden and Old Quarry north of Woodwater Lane
- 1938 Land Utilisation Survey – no annotation, shaded purple/white horizontal stripes of unknown meaning
- 1945 OS – quarries not marked, but funny cliff markings at location of Old Quarry north of Woodwater Lane
- 1957 OS – quarries not marked
I also googled Heavitree Quarry, and found that the Britten Drive playing field site is a County Geological Site and educational spot, and that there is a lot more information on Devon geology on the Devon County Council website.
