Broadcroft Quarry

Overview

A Portland stone quarry east of Easton, formed in the twentieth century from small family quarries that merged, and worked by Portland Stone Firms for Broadcroft Whitbed. An infilled part has been a 7.3-hectare butterfly reserve, leased to Butterfly Conservation, since 1994.

History

Broadcroft Quarry lies on the eastern side of the Isle of Portland, east of Easton and close to the Grove. It has been worked since the beginning of the twentieth century, at first as a number of small family-run quarries that eventually merged into one large one. Aggregate was once dug below the building-stone beds down to the Portland clay, so that Broadcroft was the only place on the island where the full sequence of beds could be seen. Planning consent for modern quarrying on Portland, covering 324 hectares, was granted in 1951, and Portland Stone Firms Ltd, the island's largest landholder, holds it for Broadcroft with Perryfield and Coombefield. The working quarry, one of the largest on Portland, produces Broadcroft Whitbed and has long supplied stone to London; it has been extended to the north-west to meet a rolling contract for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, with more than twenty years of reserves.

An abandoned, infilled part of the quarry was reclaimed by plants and wildlife and has been leased by Butterfly Conservation from the owners since 1994. The 7.3-hectare reserve is part of Portland's Site of Special Scientific Interest; surface scraping has recreated the bare ground needed by the silver-studded blue butterfly and the black ants it lives with, and more than twenty species of butterfly are recorded. Broadcroft connects with Yeolands Quarry to the east. In November 2011 the owners held an enduro motorcycle event in the working quarry.

Geology

Portland stone, worked for Broadcroft Whitbed; the full sequence of beds down to the Portland clay was once exposed.

Workings

An open quarry formed from several merged family quarries, worked for dimension stone, with aggregate formerly dug below the stone beds.

Closure

Working; reserves for more than twenty years.

What remains

The working quarry is active; the infilled part is herb-rich limestone grassland and scrub managed for butterflies.

Ponds on the eastern edge of the quarry, among the few on Portland.

Redevelopment

Broadcroft Quarry Butterfly Reserve, leased to Butterfly Conservation since 1994.

Related mines

• Coombefield Quarry — Both owned by Portland Stone Firms Ltd under the 1951 planning consent.
• Perryfield Quarry — Both held by Portland Stone Firms Ltd, each with a Butterfly Conservation reserve.
• Yeolands Quarry — Adjoining quarries, linked on Yeolands' western side.

Recorded claims

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

• Broadcroft has been worked since the beginning of the twentieth century, first as several small family quarries that merged. ¹
• Portland Stone Firms Ltd owns Broadcroft, with Perryfield and Coombefield, under the 1951 planning consent. ¹
• The working quarry is one of the largest active quarries on Portland. ^1,2
• A 7.3-hectare infilled part of the quarry is a butterfly reserve within the Isle of Portland SSSI, leased to Butterfly Conservation since 1994. ^1,3
• Surface scraping has recreated the conditions needed by the silver-studded blue and its black ants. ^1,3

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Broadcroft Quarry — Wikipedia
2. (observational) Broadcroft Quarry (Geograph 8272248) — Geograph
3. (secondary) Broadcroft Quarry — Butterfly Conservation Dorset Branch

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