Chicksgrove Quarry

Welcome to Chicksgrove Quarry – Proud Suppliers of Chilmark Stone to Salisbury Cathedral

Chicksgrove Quarry Ltd is the only source of Chilmark Stone, a cream coloured Limestone nationally renowned as one of the country’s finest building stones. 

Chicksgrove Quarry Ltd has been a family run business since 1986. We operate a quarry at Chicksgrove and are currently in the process of re-opening the only other source of Chilmark Stone – Chilmark Mine. We also hope to be able to offer Hurdcott Greensand Stone at some point in the future.

Chilmark Stone is an exception quality Limestone known for its durability and strength, suitable for a range of uses such as walling stone, fine masonry stone and paving. It is used extensively throughout the South of England in the building and restoration industries. 

We have supplied thousands of tonnes of Chilmark Stone for the ongoing restoration of Salisbury Cathedral. Other recent projects include the high profile restoration of Westminster Abbey Chapter House and the current restoration programme at Rochester Cathedral. 

 

Chilmark stone is an approved match for Kentish Ragstone, Reigate Stone, Malmstone & Clunch. 

We are currently supplying the restoration of Hampton Court Palace where Chilmark Stone is being use to replace Reigate Stone due to its similar texture and appearance but improved durability.

History of Chicksgrove Quarry

There is evidence to suggest that quarrying has been taking place around Tisbury in the Nadder Valley since Roman Times and it is believed that much of the stone used for Salisbury Cathedral came from Tisbury, rather than Chilmark as once thought.

Records show that quarrying in the area reached a peak around 1846 when there were forty stone quarries recorded in the valley.  Prior to the arrival of the railway in Tisbury the stone was primarily used for local building work but for the latter part of the 19th century a stone yard was in operation at Tisbury Station. 

The modern site of Chicksgrove Quarry was opened in 1968 by Victor Selfe.  Having bought the land and arranged the necessary planning permission he began blasting the bedrock for aggregate to be used in the construction of the M3 motorway.  In the early seventies the family sold the quarry to Cameron Mechanicals and emigrated to Australia.

The quarry later passed into the ownership of RMC who continued to extract aggregate, a major project which they supplied was the construction of the Churchfields Industrial Estate in Salisbury.  RMC ceased working the quarry when economic and transport changes made it unviable and the quarry stood redundant.

In 1986 a civil engineer, Ron Collins, purchased and re-opened the site as a dimensional stone quarry.  The primary objective was to supply the extensive restoration works on Salisbury Cathedral but the business soon began to grow, taking on additional projects and increasing in size.

After over 20 years the business remains within the Collins family, now owned by Will Collins and continues to thrive despite periods of challenging economic conditions.  We have now been granted planning permission for an extension which will allow us to continue extraction for many years to come. We also now own a mine at Chilmark and are intending to relocate some of the processing to a new yard adjacent to the mine in the upcoming months, allowing expansion to meet the growing national demand for Chilmark Stone.

Present day – The processing yard at Chicksgrove Quarry

We welcome all enquiries, whether from builders, architects or private customers. For detailed descriptions of the products please visit our website http://www.chicksgrovequarry.co.uk or visit via the banner on this news letter.