Kenton Quarry

HER Number

4250

District

Newcastle

Site Name

Kenton Quarry

Place

Kenton

Map Sheet

NZ26NW

Class

Industrial

Site Type: Broad

Mineral Extraction Site

Site Type: Specific

Quarry

General Period

POST MEDIEVAL

Specific Period

Victorian 1837 to 1901

Form of Evidence

Documentary Evidence

Description

Kenton Quarry. Described by Welford in 1879 as 'a valuable quarry of Grindstone post'. Stone from Kenton was used to build St. Thomas' Church, the town hall, the chapels and walls at Jesmond Cemetery and other public buildings in Newcastle. Millstones or grindstones were exported from the Tyne for centuries, with Kenton one of the main suppliers. Kenton Quarry is described on old maps as a Freestone Quarry (freestone is a fine grained sandstone that cuts easily). Before 1920 the quarry expanded eastwards changing the route of Engine Lane (now Creighton Avenue) into a sharp curve.

Easting

422130

Northing

567640

Grid Reference

NZ422130567640

Sources

<< HER 4250 >> 2nd edition Ordnance Survey map, 1898, 6 inch scale, Northumberland, 88, SW; R. Welford, 1879, A History of the Parish of Gosforth; Liz Palmer, 1993, Bygone Kenton, photos 10 and 11