Marford Quarry

Overview

Marford Quarry was opened in 1927 to work sand and gravel laid down in a large delta terrace by glacial meltwaters at the end of the last Ice Age. Managed by Tarmac Ltd, it supplied material to major regional construction projects including the Mersey Tunnel, and worked until 1971. When quarrying stopped the ground was stabilised by planting more than 28,000 Corsican pines. The excavation destroyed Rofft Mount, a medieval motte-and-bailey castle that had stood on the site. The North Wales Wildlife Trust acquired part of the quarry in 1990 and it was later notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its invertebrates: surveys have recorded over 140 species of bees, wasps and ants, including the first Welsh record of the solitary wasp Crossocerus distinguendus.

History

The quarry opened in 1927 on deposits of sand and gravel left by the meltwaters of the retreating ice, which had built a large delta terrace across this ground. Tarmac Ltd managed the working, and its output went into significant regional construction, the Mersey Tunnel among it. Quarrying continued until 1971. The excavation also removed something older than the deposits were useful: the remains of Rofft Mount, a medieval motte-and-bailey castle that had stood on the site, were destroyed by the workings. When extraction ceased the loose faces and floors were stabilised by planting more than 28,000 Corsican pine. In 1990 the North Wales Wildlife Trust acquired part of the quarry for conservation, and it was later designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Geology

The quarry worked sand and gravel of glacial meltwater origin. As the last ice sheet retreated, meltwater built a large delta terrace here, sorting and depositing the material the quarry later took — a deposit of the same broad kind as the Clyde valley gravels, laid down by water at the ice margin rather than by a modern river. The warm, free-draining, sparsely vegetated ground left behind by quarrying such a deposit is precisely what makes the site valuable to burrowing invertebrates now.

Geological setting: Placer Deposits (historical documentary reference)

Workings

An open sand and gravel working. No description of its plant or methods has been located. The restoration is the better-documented part: on closure in 1971 more than 28,000 Corsican pines were planted to hold the loose ground, and the site has since been managed for nature rather than returned to agriculture or built over.

Closure

Quarrying operations, managed by Tarmac Ltd, continued until 1971.

What remains

A nature reserve managed by the North Wales Wildlife Trust, which acquired part of the quarry in 1990, and a Site of Special Scientific Interest notified for its rich invertebrate fauna. Surveys have recorded over 140 species of bees, wasps and ants, including the first Welsh record of the solitary wasp Crossocerus distinguendus. Butterflies and moths present include the dingy skipper and white-letter hairstreak; a small colony of silver-studded blue, introduced from Prees Heath in Shropshire in the 1970s, may now have died out.

The quarried faces and floors survive as the reserve, much of it under the Corsican pine planted in the 1970s. Nothing survives of Rofft Mount, the medieval motte-and-bailey castle the excavation destroyed.

Nearby mines

• Llay Main Colliery — 2.1 km W
• Gresford Colliery — 2.4 km SW
• Brynmally Colliery — 6.8 km SW
• Minera Lead Mines — 7.0 km SW
• Bersham Colliery — 9.9 km SW

Straight-line distance, within 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.

• Marford Quarry was first opened in 1927 to extract sand and gravel deposits formed during the last Ice Age, when glacial meltwaters created a large delta terrace in the area. ¹
• Material quarried here was used in major regional construction projects including the Mersey Tunnel. ¹
• Quarrying, managed by Tarmac Ltd, continued until 1971; when it stopped the site was replanted with more than 28,000 Corsican pine trees to stabilise the ground. ¹
• The excavation destroyed the remains of Rofft Mount, a medieval motte-and-bailey castle once located on the site. ¹
• The site was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its rich invertebrate fauna; surveys have recorded over 140 species of bees, wasps and ants, including the first Welsh record of the solitary wasp Crossocerus distinguendus. ^1,2

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Marford Quarry — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Marford Quarry Nature Reserve — North Wales Wildlife Trust

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