Monument record MDR12145 - Former gypsum pits and later marl pits, Brickyard Plantation, Aston upon Trent

Aston upon Trent lies on the band of gypsum outcropping in quantity in Derbyshire only between the Derwent and Trent valleys. There is no evidence to suggest that the gypsum at Aston was of the quality of that found at nearby Chellaston, famous in the medieval period for its alabaster. The gypsum at Aston was presumably always of a lesser quality, usually described as plaster, and used particularly for house-floors, plaster-of-paris and in the potteries. The extraction of gypsum was clearly underway by the end of the 18th century, as a map of 1795 names 'Plaster Pits' around and immediately to the west of the current Brickyard Plantation. In 1811 John Farey wrote that 'about 3/4 mile north of Aston, Mr Samuel Storey has a Pit in work', which would again be in the general area of the present Brickyard Plantation. The 1885 6" OS map for Aston shows the present Brickyard Plantation area as 'Old Plaster Pits', with 'Plaster Pits' (presumably working) further south, around the present Toadhole Plantation. The plaster was transported to the Trent and Mersey Canal via a tramway [see SMR 16620]. The extraction of gypsum would seem to have been sporadic throughout the 19th century. In 1846 Bagshaw says that 'there are several gypsum pits in the parish, of which none are worked', but in 1857 White's Directory includes 'Pegg, Harper and Co., plaster mines' and Michael Murphy as manager of the plaster mines in the entry for Aston upon Trent. Marl for building stone was quarried in Brickyard Plantation from about 1931 until at least the 1960s, but by 1965 the extraction was entirely of marl for brickmaking by the Derby Brick Co. Ltd, Rowditch, Derby. (1)