Arcow Quarry

Location	Helwith Bridge, Horton-in-Ribblesdale, North Yorkshire — 54.1292, -2.2961 (approximate)
Commodity	Sandstone
Type	Quarry
Worked	18th century, as Arcow Wood Quarry–Still active
Maximum depth	An open quarry; no depth is recorded.
Operators	Tarmac

Overview

Arcow Quarry works hard rock at Helwith Bridge in Ribblesdale, between Settle and Horton-in-Ribblesdale, and is operated by Tarmac. Quarrying here began in the eighteenth century, when two small workings called Arcow Wood Quarry cut flagstones and 'slates'. A change of ownership in 1878 all but stopped the work as effort moved to the neighbouring Foredale limestone quarry, and it was not until 1931 that the quarry reopened and expanded rapidly into the single Arcow Quarry, switching to crushing rock for roadstone, ballast and aggregate. A rail link opened in 2016 now takes two thirds of the output, including stone brought by road from the neighbouring Dry Rigg Quarry, and in 2026 it was announced that the quarry intends to work until 2045.

The working faces of Arcow Quarry at Helwith Bridge in Ribblesdale. — Arcow Quarry David Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

History

The earliest quarrying at Arcow was in the eighteenth century, when two small quarries known together as Arcow Wood Quarry were opened to extract flagstones and 'slates'. In 1878 a change of ownership saw work fall to very low levels as effort was concentrated on opening the neighbouring Foredale limestone quarry. Arcow reopened in 1931 and expanded quickly to become a single large working, sometimes recorded as Archa Quarry, and at that point its product changed: instead of dressed flagstones it now crushed the rock for road stone, ballast and aggregate. Output was despatched by rail from a siding originally built to serve the lime kilns below Foredale Quarry. In June 2016 the quarry applied for planning consent to produce high quality roadstone until around 2026, and a new rail link opened that year to carry two thirds of the output — including stone trucked over from Dry Rigg Quarry, whose own road traffic through Ribblesdale had drawn public objection. In July 2026 it was announced that the quarry intends to remain in operation until 2045.

Geology

The quarry works rock of the Austwick Formation. Because it lies on the north side of the Studrigg-Studfold Syncline the beds dip steeply to the south, and above them, separated by an unconformity, lie the horizontal limestones of the Great Scar Limestone Group — the classic Ribblesdale arrangement of steeply tilted older rocks truncated and buried beneath flat-lying Carboniferous limestone. The stone itself is variously described: the Settle-Carlisle conservation survey calls it siltstone, other accounts gritstone or greywacke. All three describe the same hard, tough rock, which is listed as nationally important for road building precisely because it resists polishing under traffic.

Geological setting: Strike and Dip (well documented example)

Workings

An open quarry, worked from the eighteenth century for flagstones and 'slates' cut and dressed on site, and since 1931 as a crushing operation producing roadstone, ballast and aggregate. Rail has served it throughout its modern life: first from a siding built for the lime kilns below Foredale Quarry, and since 2016 from a new rail link built to take two thirds of the output off the Ribblesdale roads.

Closure

The quarry remains in production. Consent was sought in June 2016 to work until about 2026, and in July 2026 it was announced that the quarry intends to be in operation until 2045.

What remains

Working, operated by Tarmac, and supplying gritstone to the road construction and maintenance industries. The rail link opened in 2016 takes two thirds of the output, and also serves Dry Rigg Quarry, whose stone is brought to the Arcow railhead by road.

An active quarry rather than a remain. The neighbouring Foredale lime kilns, whose siding once despatched Arcow's stone, are a separate site.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

The earliest quarrying activity was in the eighteenth century, when two small quarries known as Arcow Wood Quarry were opened to extract flagstones and 'slates'. ¹
In 1878 a change of ownership saw work fall to very low levels as effort was concentrated on opening the neighbouring Foredale limestone quarry; in 1931 the quarry reopened and rapidly expanded to become the single Arcow Quarry, production switching to crushing rock for road stone, ballast and aggregate. ¹
The quarry works rock from the Austwick Formation which, the quarry lying on the north side of the Studrigg-Studfold Syncline, dips steeply south; above it, separated by an unconformity, lie the horizontal limestones of the Great Scar Limestone Group. ¹
A new rail link opened in 2016 to despatch two thirds of the quarry's output; two thirds of the amount produced at the neighbouring Dry Rigg Quarry is taken by road to the Arcow railhead. ¹
In June 2016 the quarry applied for consent to produce high quality road stone until around 2026, and in July 2026 it was announced that it intends to be in operation until 2045. ^2,1

Photographs & further reading

SCRCA Knowledge Base: the Helwith Bridge quarries (reference)

Sets Arcow beside its neighbours Foredale, Combs and Dry Rigg and explains the geology they all work — the steeply dipping Austwick and Horton formations beneath the flat Great Scar Limestone — together with each quarry's ownership and rail history.

View source

Sources

(secondary) SCRCA Knowledge Base: Helwith Bridge Quarries — Settle-Carlisle Railway Conservation Area project, Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line
(secondary) Arcow quarry — Wikipedia

Record created: 4 September 2026 · Last researched: 4 September 2026