Swithland Wood - Slate Quarrying

Slate Quarrying

Swithland Slate has been a traditional local roofing material since Roman times. Swithland gives its name to a line of 'slate' outcrops found along the east side of Charnwood, from Hallgates and Little John, through Swithland Wood and The Brand, up to Woodhouse Eaves. All these locations have old slate quarry pits, as does a corresponding outcrop on the other side of the Charnwood anticline at Groby. Swithland Wood had been quarried for many centuries for small-scale slate production. Many of the 24 small pits in Swithland Wood may relate to early slate quarrying. Unlike the management of the woodland, the quarries were leased to local quarrymen. Two industrial scale quarries developed within the woods, one in the 'Great Pit' in the centre of the woods, and the other near the road at the northern end. Similar scales of activity also developed on the other side of Swithland Road, in The Brand, where four more water-filled pits remain.

By the mid-19th century under the management of John Ellis of Leicester, among other things Chairman of the Midland Railway, slate in the Great Pit was being extracted from a depth of more than 180 ft (55 m). Swithland Slate began being used on vernacular roofs from around 1750 and is still very common on older buildings throughout Charnwood and beyond. Unlike the thinner, lighter Welsh Slates, which are used with fixed sized slates, Swithland Slate roofs are graded from small slates along the ridge to largest sizes at the base. Notable buildings on which the slates were used included the Midland Railway's London terminus at St Pancras railway station and the Leicester houses designed by Ernest Gimson. Headstones for graves have been made from Swithland Slate since the 17th century and are found in graveyards throughout Leicestershire and in neighbouring counties, especially Nottinghamshire. They could be engraved with detailed letterings and patterns, which prove to be much more durable than on many other types of stone. Other uses included kerbstones, windowsills and sinks. Once the canals and railways could transport Welsh slate in large quantities at low prices, the demand for local slates diminished. Quarrying in the northern pit ended in 1838, and then in 1887 the Great Pit ceased production. Both pits now have deep water and are fenced off for safety reasons, but paths around the quarries afford good views of the pools and rock faces. The Great Pit is used occasionally for scuba diving.