Monument record MDR12437 - Two quarries north of Deer's Cote Spinney, Calke Park, Calke

Two old sandstone quarries are present to the north of Deer's Cote Spinney in Calke Park. The northernmost of the two, centred at SK 36262259, is a large elongated pear-shape, narrowest at its mouth to the north and widening towards the back wall. The quarry appears to have been worked back into a sandstone outcrop so that the height of the walls diminish and become less steep as they approach its mouth, forming an arena, the base of which contains a small pond. The length of the quarry is c. 54m, its width is between 10 and 30m and it is 7-8m deep. The southern quarry, centred at SK36252252, is c. 30m long and c. 15m wide, appearing roughly D-shaped in plan. Its depth is between 2-3m, with exposed stone faces at its north and south ends. There appears to be a small lip on its eastern margin, possibly marking the point from which extracted stone was taken out of the quarry. There is a small pond in the base. The stone from both quarries may well have been used to build the park walls and the quarries may therefore date to the early 18th century; that to the north may be earlier. (1)