Natural England - Brown End Quarry (SSSI)
Brown End Quarry (SSSI)
Location and Access Information
Grid Reference: SK 090503
Milldale Limestones at Brownend Quarry.
The reserve is situated at the eastern end of Waterhouses on the A523 Leek/Ashbourne road. The quarry is on the north side of the road and just west of the Manifold cycle track. Access to the parking area is over a bridge. The site is a Staffordshire Wildlife Trust Reserve.
View the site map on Nature on the Map.
Geological Interest
The quarry faces and rock outcrops within this site provide important exposures of a sequence of shallow marine limestones formed about 335 million years ago during the Carboniferous Period of geological time. The Carboniferous Period is divided into seven major Stages; the limestones at Brownend Quarry are most unusual, however, in that they appear to have formed during the first and fifth Stages, the intervening Stages not being represented. In addition, some characteristics of the limestones themselves differ from comparable sequences elsewhere.
