Parrock Quarry

Overview

A small green slate working at Hodge Close in the Tilberthwaite valley, held by the Buttermere Green Slate Company from the 1890s. Its returns run from 1894 to 1930 and fall away to nothing: thirty-three people at the start, three by 1927.

History

Parrock is one of the slate workings of the Tilberthwaite valley between Langdale and Coniston, and the Buttermere Green Slate Company held it from the 1890s onwards. The company's 1930 return lists it among six quarries — High Fellside near Coniston, Honister and Yew Craggs at Honister Pass, Lords at Elterwater, Quay Foot in Borrowdale and Parrock at Hodge Close — with a hundred people between them, forty-three below ground and fifty-seven above. Parrock itself shrank steadily. Thirty-three employed in 1894, thirty-seven in 1896, thirty-four in 1900, then eight in 1902. Twenty-seven or twenty-eight in 1905, four in 1910, two in 1915, and not worked at all in 1920. It came back with twenty in 1922 and then fell away again: five in 1924, four in 1925, three in 1927, four in 1929, and the 1930 return records it not worked that year. Three deaths are recorded, and all three are worth reading. John Bond, a quarryman of 50, was killed by an immense fall of roof in April 1898 and his body was not recovered until 20 May. Edward Phillipson, a rockman of 35, died in February 1899 when his lighted candle fell into a cask of gunpowder. John Wilson, the foreman, was killed in November 1914 by a wagon that ran amain on the inclined plane: the haulage rope had to be unhooked from the drum after every wind, and he pushed over a wagon he thought was ready when the rope was not attached.

Geology

Green slate of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group, the Lakeland green slate worked all down the Tilberthwaite valley.

Workings

Both underground and at surface, with the split moving about: sixteen below and seventeen above in 1894, twelve below and twenty-five above in 1896. A small engine driven by compressed air wound loaded wagons up a short inclined plane, and by a peculiar arrangement the wire haulage rope had to be unhooked from the drum after each wind — which is what killed the foreman in 1914.

Closure

The 1930 return records the quarry as not worked in 1930, and the Buttermere Green Slate Quarries company return for the same year gives it no employees.

What remains

No account of the quarry as a working site has been found. Parrock is now a rock climbing crag in the Tilberthwaite valley.

None recorded.

Related mines

• Hodge Close Quarry — The company's own 1930 return gives Parrock's locality as Hodge Close: the two workings are on the same ground in the Tilberthwaite valley.
• Lords Quarry — Both were Buttermere Green Slate quarries in 1930, listed on the same company return with Honister, Yew Craggs, Quay Foot and High Fellside.

Nearby mines

• Hodge Close Quarry — 0.1 km NE
• Tilberthwaite — 1.4 km SW
• Lords Quarry — 3.2 km N
• Loughrigg Fell Slate Quarry — 3.2 km NE
• Greenburn Mine — 3.3 km W

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.

• The official returns give slate from Parrock every listed year from 1894 to 1930, with employment of 33 in 1894, 37 in 1896, 34 in 1900, 8 in 1902, 27 in 1905, 4 in 1910, 2 in 1915, none in 1920, 20 in 1922, 5 in 1924, 4 in 1925, 3 in 1927, 4 in 1929 and none in 1930. ¹
• The Buttermere Green Slate Quarries Ltd return for 1930 lists six workings: High Fellside near Coniston, Honister and Yew Craggs at Honister Pass, Lords at Elterwater, Quay Foot in Borrowdale and Parrock at Hodge Close, Coniston. They employed a hundred people between them, forty-three below ground and fifty-seven above, and Parrock was not worked that year. ²
• John Bond, a quarryman of 50, was killed on 13 April 1898 by an immense fall of roof and his body was not recovered until 20 May. Edward Phillipson, a rockman of 35, was killed on 15 February 1899 when his lighted candle fell into a cask of gunpowder. John Wilson, the foreman, was killed on 18 November 1914: a small compressed-air engine wound loaded wagons up a short inclined plane and, by a peculiar arrangement, the haulage rope had to be unhooked from the drum after each wind; he pushed over a wagon he thought was ready, the rope was not attached, the wagon ran amain and he was caught by the rope and dashed against the rock. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Parrock (Slate) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Buttermere Green Slate Quarries Ltd. — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 11 September 2026 · Last researched: 11 September 2026