Devon County Geological Sites or Regionally Important Geological / Geomorphological Sites - RIGS
Site reference no. SS51NW1 Name: Rosemoor Quarry
District: Torridge Parish: St Giles in the Wood.
National grid ref: 502 175 OS sheets: 1:50k 180 1:25k 1274 1:10k SS51 NW GS 1:50k 309
GridRef x y Lat Long SS502175 250200 117500 50.937435 -4.1333724
Locality description(address): Beside the B3220 road 1.5km SSE of Great Torrington
Nature of site : Quarry (D) small/medium
Geological / geomorphological features: Sandstone interbedded with shale and siltstone. Bude Formation, Upper Carboniferous. The crest and steeply dipping northern limb of an anticline, with a shallow westerly plunge, is exposed on the eastern face of the quarry. Slickensides on bedding surfaces, indicate bed-over-bed slip into the crest of the fold. Fracture cleavage/bedding relationships and jointing can also be observed.
Reasons for registration as a Regionally Important Geological / Geomorphological Site: A good exposure of the Bude formation with structural features.
Site sensitivity: None
Safety: Generally safe, some loose rock and evidence of falls from dip faces.
Interest groups: Schools. Primary - Secondary - 6th Form . University. Undergraduate - Research Professional geologists - Amateur geologists - General public.
Access and Parking: Direct access from road. Parking on B3220 difficult. It is possible for one or two cars to park along a track off the B3220 on the same side as the quarry in the Torrington direction. Approaching the quarry along the road from this direction requires care.
Date of assessment (V = visited) : V 14th December 1994 R T Taylor
Site owner : Torridge District Council?
Other comments: The quarry is becoming overgrown making access to the faces difficult. There is a photograph of the quarry in the Chulmleigh, Geological Survey Memoir.
References: Freshney, E. C. et al., 1979. Geology of the Country around Chulmleigh. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Great Britain. London: HMSO.