Garth Bank Quarry

The rocks in this quarry are siltstones and pebbly sandstones of late Ordovician and early Silurian age, approximately 440 to 445 million years old. The rocks provide an insight into the environmental conditions at the boundary between the Ordovician and Silurian Periods. The oldest rocks in the quarry comprise late Ordovician siltstones. These contain fossilised remains of brachiopods, a marine sea-shell. After a break in deposition these siltstones are overlain by pebbly, rippled sandstones which range from very late Ordovician to Silurian in age.

Garth Bank Quarry SSSI aerial photo

©Infoterra Ltd 2010

Managing this site

The site is owned by the Forestry Commission and a private owner. The special features of this SSSI and CCW’s views about site management have been summarised in a Site Management Statement, addressed to the owners and managers of the land. The statement can be found in the resource section below.

Access information

The site is designated CROW open access land. For detailed maps and information regarding access visit our access map via the resource section below.

Other information

Garth means ‘mountain-ridge, promontory, hill’ (garth).

Resources

Corporate

Garth Bank Quarry Citation Download SSSI_0527_Citation_EN001.pdf (54 KB)
This disused quarry is an important site showing a regionally important unconformity between basal Silurian strata and late Ordovician rocks.

inaccessible resource:
Download estimate:
56 Kb
< 1 min,
512 Kb
< 1 min,
1 Mb
< 1 min,
4 Mb
< 1 min,
Garth Bank Quarry Map Download SSSI_0527_Map001.pdf (282 KB)

inaccessible resource:
Download estimate:
56 Kb
< 1 min,
512 Kb
< 1 min,
1 Mb
< 1 min,
4 Mb
< 1 min,
Garth Bank Quarry Operations likely to damage the special interest Download SSSI_0527_PDO_EN001.pdf (17 KB)
The operations listed below may damage the features of interest of Garth Bank Quarry. Before any of these operations are undertaken you must consult CCW, and may require our consent. The list of operations is not a prohibited list.

inaccessible resource:
Download estimate:
56 Kb
< 1 min,
512 Kb
< 1 min,
1 Mb
< 1 min,
4 Mb
< 1 min,
Garth Bank Quarry Site Management Statement Download SSSI_0527_SMS_EN001.pdf (13 KB)
This management statement contains CCW’s opinion of the way in which the SSSI should be managed in order to maintain its special interest. It also provides a basis for future discussions and decisions on the conservation management of the SSSI.

inaccessible resource:
Download estimate:
56 Kb
< 1 min,
512 Kb
< 1 min,
1 Mb
< 1 min,
4 Mb
< 1 min,