Monument record MDR1320 - Arrock black marble quarry, Ashford-in-the-Water

Quarry, with mines at the base. It produced black marble which was finished for ornamental purposes at the adjacent mill (SMR 465), which worked between 1748-1905. (1, 2). The Arrock Quarry is close to the junction of the Sheldon Road and the A6 main road. From here the thin dark fine-grained limestone beds were quarried and taken across the road to the marble mill where they were sawn, ground and polished to a fine black surface. (3) Derbyshire (along with south Devon), for about 200 years, was the focal point for the extraction and processing of decorative stone. It sourced 'marble' from a number of sites, including Ashford (black and rosewood marble). The Victorian industry serviced retail outlets in Matlock Bath, Bakewell and Buxton together with works in Derby and Ashford in the Water. (5)