MineArchiveDayhouse Quarry
| Also known as | Tidenham Quarry, Thomas Quarry |
|---|---|
| Location | Tidenham, near Chepstow, Gloucestershire — 51.6556, -2.6472 (exact) |
| Commodity | Limestone |
| Type | Quarry |
| Worked | to By 1996 |
| Maximum depth | About 80 m (260 ft), now flooded |
| Operators | T. S. Thomas and Sons (Lydney) Ltd (?–1992) |
Overview
A limestone quarry at Tidenham worked by T. S. Thomas and Sons of Lydney, whose stone left by rail from the old Tidenham station until 1992; flooded in 1996, it became the National Diving and Activity Centre.
History
Dayhouse Quarry, at Tidenham near Chepstow, was worked for limestone by T. S. Thomas and Sons (Lydney) Limited. Railwaymen called it the Thomas Quarry after its owners, and local people know it as Tidenham Quarry. When the Wye Valley Railway closed to goods in January 1964, its southern end was kept as a private siding serving Tintern and Dayhouse quarries, and in 1968 the old Tidenham station, half a mile from the main-line junction, became the quarry's stone-loading site. Stone was loaded from the platform, first by tractor shovels and later through a bunker and chute, into open wagons and then into Dogfish hoppers that dropped ballast straight onto the track where it was needed. In the late 1970s and early 1980s trains of about twenty Dogfish wagons came up from Severn Tunnel, leaving half at Tidenham to load and taking the rest on to Tintern. The last train ran to the quarry in September 1992.
The quarry was flooded in 1996, to depths of up to 80 metres. The National Diving and Activity Centre opened in it in 2003, popular with technical divers and freedivers for its depth, and closed in February 2022. In 2023 the site was taken over by the DEEP Institute, which works on equipment for living under water, and renamed DEEP Campus.
Geology
Limestone; the Tidenham tunnel beside it is cut mainly through Carboniferous Limestone.
Workings
An open quarry, flooded to depths of up to 80 metres.
Closure
Rail traffic ended in September 1992 and the quarry was flooded in 1996.
What remains
Flooded; a diving and activity centre from 2003 to 2022, renamed DEEP Campus in 2023.
Redevelopment
The National Diving and Activity Centre (2003 to 2022), then DEEP Campus.
Related mines
- Tintern Quarry — Both quarries were served by the surviving southern stub of the Wye Valley Railway after 1964.
Nearby mines
- Tintern Quarry — 1.7 miles (2.8 km) N
- Norchard Colliery — 7.2 miles (11.6 km) NE, Forest of Dean
- Tytherington Quarry — 7.9 miles (12.7 km) SE, South Gloucestershire
- Clearwell Caves — 8.1 miles (13.0 km) N
- Princess Royal Colliery — 8.3 miles (13.4 km) NE, Forest of Dean
Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (15 km). Show on the map.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- Dayhouse Quarry was operated by T. S. Thomas and Sons (Lydney) Ltd and is also known as the Thomas Quarry and Tidenham Quarry. 1
- Tidenham station was turned into a stone-loading site for the quarry in 1968; the last train ran to the quarry in September 1992. 1
- After the Wye Valley Railway closed to goods in January 1964, its southern part remained in use as a private siding serving Tintern and Dayhouse quarries. 2
- Dayhouse Quarry, a source of limestone, was flooded in 1996; the water reaches depths of up to 80 metres. 3
- The National Diving and Activity Centre opened in 2003 and closed on 18 February 2022; in 2023 the site was acquired by the DEEP Institute and renamed DEEP Campus. 3
Sources
- (secondary) Quarry Traffic (History of the Wye Valley Railway) — Wye Valley Greenway
- (secondary) Tidenham Tunnel — Forest of Dean Local History Society
- (secondary) National Diving and Activity Centre — Wikipedia
Record created: 17 October 2026 · Last researched: 18 October 2026