King Barrow Quarry
King Barrow Quarry is a disused site of former 19th century stone quarries on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is located in the north-east corner of Tophill. The quarry, now a Dorset Wildlife Trust nature reserve, covers 12.2 hectares.[1] Both King Barrow and the nearby Tout Quarry make up the Dorset Wildlife Trust's Portland Quarries Nature Park. Portland also has two butterfly reserves: Broadcroft Quarry and Perryfield Quarry.
History and Nature Reserve status
[edit | edit source]The site is based on former quarries that were abandoned 100 years ago. In the nineteenth century there was extensive quarrying in the area.[2] When the area was first quarried, huge numbers of Roman artifacts were discovered.[3] Since being abandoned the area had been left to regenerate naturally, with the aid of scrub management.[4]
Since around 2004 the quarry became a nature reserve after the site owners handed the quarry over to the Dorset Wildlife Trust.[5] The quarry then became known as King Barrow Quarries Nature Reserve.[6]
Within the quarry are relics of past industrial activities, including blocks of cut stone and a quarryman's shelter. Pieces of tramway track and a tunnel remain from the horse-drawn tramway that had transported the stone to the Merchant's Railway.
Wildlife
[edit | edit source]The quarry's rocky slopes, grassy pockets and sheltered gullies are all havens for wildlife, and therefore features a wide range of plants and animals, hosting flora and fauna specific to limestone soil.[7] Described as one of Portland's prime nature habitats,[8] the thin limestone soils have been slowly colonised by a variety of wildflowers. King Barrow Quarries is particularly known for its blue butterflies and bird species.[1]
References
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