Roundheads
The Geology of Lakeland
Mickledore Ridge, Scafell. (click to enlarge)
The Lake District's geology is very complex. A granite batholith (a large mass of igneous rock that has melted and intruded the surrounding strata at great depths) beneath the area is responsible for the upland massif, its relatively low density causing the area to be 'buoyed up'. The granite can be seen at the surface as the Ennerdale, Skiddaw, Carrock Fell, Eskdale and Shap granites.
Broadly the Lake District can be divided into three bands, the divisions running southwest to northeast, generally the rocks becoming younger from northwest to southeast.
The northwestern band is composed of early to mid Ordovician sedimentary rocks – largely mudstones and siltstones of marine origin. Together they comprise the Skiddaw Group and include the rocks traditionally known as the Skiddaw Slates.
The central band is a mix of volcanic and sedimentary rocks of mid to late Ordovician age comprising the lavas and tuffs of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group. The northern central peaks, such as Great Rigg, were produced by considerable lava flows. These lava eruptions were followed by a series of pyroclastic eruptions (Pyroclastic from the Greek meaning “fire-broken”), which produced a series of calderas, one of which includes present-day Scafell Pike. These pyroclastic rocks give rise to the craggy landscapes that are typical of the central fells.
The southeastern band comprises the mudstones and wackerstones of the Windermere Supergroup and which includes successively the rocks of the Dent, Stockdale, Tranearth, Coniston and Kendal Groups. These are generally a little less resistant to erosion than the rocks sequence to the north and underlie much of the lower landscapes around Coniston and Windermere.
The metamorphic rock exploited at the Burlington Slate Quarries was laid down about 330 Million years ago and is part of the Upper Silurian system. After being laid down as mud, becoming clay then shale it finally became slate. The most important characteristic of slate being its 'cleavage' (or 'Bate' at Burlington) meaning that it will always split in the same plane.
Broadly the Lake District can be divided into three bands, the divisions running southwest to northeast, generally the rocks becoming younger from northwest to southeast.
The northwestern band is composed of early to mid Ordovician sedimentary rocks – largely mudstones and siltstones of marine origin. Together they comprise the Skiddaw Group and include the rocks traditionally known as the Skiddaw Slates.
The central band is a mix of volcanic and sedimentary rocks of mid to late Ordovician age comprising the lavas and tuffs of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group. The northern central peaks, such as Great Rigg, were produced by considerable lava flows. These lava eruptions were followed by a series of pyroclastic eruptions (Pyroclastic from the Greek meaning “fire-broken”), which produced a series of calderas, one of which includes present-day Scafell Pike. These pyroclastic rocks give rise to the craggy landscapes that are typical of the central fells.
The southeastern band comprises the mudstones and wackerstones of the Windermere Supergroup and which includes successively the rocks of the Dent, Stockdale, Tranearth, Coniston and Kendal Groups. These are generally a little less resistant to erosion than the rocks sequence to the north and underlie much of the lower landscapes around Coniston and Windermere.
The metamorphic rock exploited at the Burlington Slate Quarries was laid down about 330 Million years ago and is part of the Upper Silurian system. After being laid down as mud, becoming clay then shale it finally became slate. The most important characteristic of slate being its 'cleavage' (or 'Bate' at Burlington) meaning that it will always split in the same plane.
Q: What is a Roundhead?
Burlington Blue-Grey Roundheads
A: 'Roundhead' is a local name for a Kirkby resident, born in the Parish of Kirkby Ireleth. The term Roundhead being taken from the name of roofing slates produced in the slate quarries where the local practice by the slate rivers was to round off the top of each slate.
Slate Mining in South Western Lakeland
In Kirkby in Furness, tenant farmers had since the time of Henry VIII been exploiting the deposits of slate found under the land they tenanted. In 1842 they were gathered into one organisation under the ownership of William Cavendish, Lord Burlington - later to become the 7th Duke of Devonshire – the Burlington Slate Quarries were born.
Burlington Slate Quarries
Burlington Slate Quarries in the 1970's.
Fundamental to the existence of the area surrounding Kirkby Ireleth, The Burlington Slate Quarries have been worked for many generations by the people of Kirkby.
The passage below is from the beginning of ‘Burlington Blue-Grey, A History of the Slate Quarries, Kirkby-in-Furness’ which was written and published in 1975 by R. Stanley Geddes (the Burlington Slate Quarries General Manager from 1938 to 1962) describes the location in more detail:
'The scene of our story is Kirkby-in-Furness, situated near the estuary of the River Duddon, ten miles north of Barrow
(our nearest large town) and eight miles south of Coniston (with panoramic views of the Old Man, Dow Crag, Walna Scar,
Scafell and the Langdales).
Inland to the east, are the Kirkby Moors …. and four miles further is Ulverston, a pleasant market town, much expanded
since 1945, but still a small town and still full of character. Two of Ulverston's most famous sons are Lord Justice Birkett (well
known to the older inhabitants as Norman Birkett) and Stan Laurel (who in company with Oliver Hardy was nearly a close
rival of Charlie Chaplin).
To the West and the sea is marshland, on which sheep and occasionally cattle graze and where the Lapwing shouts his' pee-weet '
and the gull squawks and wheels in flocks; then the Duddon Estuary, behind which stands Black Coombe (2,000 ft.) and beyond
this mountain is the Irish Sea and the Isle of Man, which was a great centre in the 18th Century for running’ rum and tobacco etc.
illicitly to this western seaboard (including Millom, Kirkby, Dunnerholme, Cartmel etc.). The Isle of Man can be seen very clearly
from the Moors and at times seems nearly as close as Black Coombe. Occasionally, particularly in September, one can see land-heights
in the far distance to the south of Millom, which could be North Wales or the Mountains of Mourne - we've never quite made up our
minds which! Blackpool Tower is a landmark that is clearly seen.
The Burlington Slate Quarries, situated on Kirkby Moors, commenced around 1843, pioneered by Lord William Cavendish (second
Earl of Burlington) who became the 7th Duke of Devonshire in 1858. The Burlington Range had been worked for more than a century
and a half before this date by farmer-entrepreneurs, who paid a rent and worked individually. We have good records of what happened
after 1843 - for the period before this date, we can build up a picture from letters and writings that give some approximation to truth, as regards dates of working etc.
The Kirkby District has been the Klondyke of the Slate Industry in England in terms of excellent metal, if not in terms of gold. The Moor is seething with slate - it stretches down into the village - there is even an old Slate Quarry quite near the railway station (by the Gospel Hall, in Sandside) from where the slate was obtained to roof the hamlet of Sandside and, of course, many other houses.
Two hundred years ago and more, there was a distinct sea-faring element in Sandside including master-mariners. Flat-bottomed boats
called 'dolly flats’, filled with slates at the loading Quay (near the Sandside Quarry) were guided across the estuary and loaded into
sloops at Haverigg and Millom.
….in addition to the Sandside Quarry, near the anchorage of the Dolly Flats, there are other small Quarries, opened up as trial holes
and outcrops on the Moor, worked for a short time by pioneers who wanted to get-in on the 'big-time' and didn't succeed. There have
been workings around Low Hall Farm, many places on BankHouse Moor (pronounced Bank'-us’) above Soutergate, also near Harlech
Farm, and above Rathvale Farm - extensive workings around Wallend and up to Longland's Quarry sometimes called Yorna Bank)
and Copp Cross Quarry (near Well House- pronounced ' Well'-us').
Up at Gawthwaite (Low and High Quarries) there are large excavations that can be seen and, on the left hand side of Stone Dikes
(going down towards Lowick) are the tips and Quarry of say 150 years ago. Gawthwaite as a real producer did little or nothing after
1914. Copp Cross would cease production around 1800, after working from about 1690. Longlands (Yorna lank) worked from
about 1740 and ceased production around 1840. We have records of Longlands trying to get Slate around 1845 but it was then abandoned, probably because of shortage of tipping ground and uneconomical working. Joplin Level (Tunnel) which led into the
bottom of Longlands 'quarry and took the rubbish across the Long Incline and then over the lain road by means of a wooden bridge
into the field opposite, was the west and last tunnel in the Wallend area.
…. Burlington Range runs approximately three-quarters of a mile from Southwest to Northeast (from the Village end towards
Gawthwaite), with a width of 150 yards. The original moor line runs gradually uphill towards the Northeast, so that the huge
Quarry that is the result of 250 years and more of working, is deeper at the far end than at the village end of the Range.
The beginning of the Chain was at Winnow End (some maps call it Whinney End) then, with barriers in between each successive
Quarry, was Hospital Quarry, then Hunters Quarry, then Lords Quarry, then Towns Quarry, then Smithy Hill Quarry and finally,
at the far East End, Fisher Quarry. Beyond Fisher and outside the range is the old Tumbler Hill Quarry, which worked from about
1888 to 1900 and Paddock Hole.
Dotted about the moor towards Gawthwaite (from Burlington), further trial Quarries but these were not persevered with, although
amounts of slate were produced…The top-most workings of the present huge excavation must have been in operation about 1720
and, before this date, in some smaller way, from say about 1680, but really, slate was probably taken from the Moor through the
seventeenth century, even if, at some periods, only in small quantities. The industrial revolution around 1760 onwards, galvanised
slate production because the population of the United Kingdom increased rapidly and increased numbers increased the housing
needs and thus the demand for ' roofs ' '.
(our nearest large town) and eight miles south of Coniston (with panoramic views of the Old Man, Dow Crag, Walna Scar,
Scafell and the Langdales).
Inland to the east, are the Kirkby Moors …. and four miles further is Ulverston, a pleasant market town, much expanded
since 1945, but still a small town and still full of character. Two of Ulverston's most famous sons are Lord Justice Birkett (well
known to the older inhabitants as Norman Birkett) and Stan Laurel (who in company with Oliver Hardy was nearly a close
rival of Charlie Chaplin).
To the West and the sea is marshland, on which sheep and occasionally cattle graze and where the Lapwing shouts his' pee-weet '
and the gull squawks and wheels in flocks; then the Duddon Estuary, behind which stands Black Coombe (2,000 ft.) and beyond
this mountain is the Irish Sea and the Isle of Man, which was a great centre in the 18th Century for running’ rum and tobacco etc.
illicitly to this western seaboard (including Millom, Kirkby, Dunnerholme, Cartmel etc.). The Isle of Man can be seen very clearly
from the Moors and at times seems nearly as close as Black Coombe. Occasionally, particularly in September, one can see land-heights
in the far distance to the south of Millom, which could be North Wales or the Mountains of Mourne - we've never quite made up our
minds which! Blackpool Tower is a landmark that is clearly seen.
The Burlington Slate Quarries, situated on Kirkby Moors, commenced around 1843, pioneered by Lord William Cavendish (second
Earl of Burlington) who became the 7th Duke of Devonshire in 1858. The Burlington Range had been worked for more than a century
and a half before this date by farmer-entrepreneurs, who paid a rent and worked individually. We have good records of what happened
after 1843 - for the period before this date, we can build up a picture from letters and writings that give some approximation to truth, as regards dates of working etc.
The Kirkby District has been the Klondyke of the Slate Industry in England in terms of excellent metal, if not in terms of gold. The Moor is seething with slate - it stretches down into the village - there is even an old Slate Quarry quite near the railway station (by the Gospel Hall, in Sandside) from where the slate was obtained to roof the hamlet of Sandside and, of course, many other houses.
Two hundred years ago and more, there was a distinct sea-faring element in Sandside including master-mariners. Flat-bottomed boats
called 'dolly flats’, filled with slates at the loading Quay (near the Sandside Quarry) were guided across the estuary and loaded into
sloops at Haverigg and Millom.
….in addition to the Sandside Quarry, near the anchorage of the Dolly Flats, there are other small Quarries, opened up as trial holes
and outcrops on the Moor, worked for a short time by pioneers who wanted to get-in on the 'big-time' and didn't succeed. There have
been workings around Low Hall Farm, many places on BankHouse Moor (pronounced Bank'-us’) above Soutergate, also near Harlech
Farm, and above Rathvale Farm - extensive workings around Wallend and up to Longland's Quarry sometimes called Yorna Bank)
and Copp Cross Quarry (near Well House- pronounced ' Well'-us').
Up at Gawthwaite (Low and High Quarries) there are large excavations that can be seen and, on the left hand side of Stone Dikes
(going down towards Lowick) are the tips and Quarry of say 150 years ago. Gawthwaite as a real producer did little or nothing after
1914. Copp Cross would cease production around 1800, after working from about 1690. Longlands (Yorna lank) worked from
about 1740 and ceased production around 1840. We have records of Longlands trying to get Slate around 1845 but it was then abandoned, probably because of shortage of tipping ground and uneconomical working. Joplin Level (Tunnel) which led into the
bottom of Longlands 'quarry and took the rubbish across the Long Incline and then over the lain road by means of a wooden bridge
into the field opposite, was the west and last tunnel in the Wallend area.
…. Burlington Range runs approximately three-quarters of a mile from Southwest to Northeast (from the Village end towards
Gawthwaite), with a width of 150 yards. The original moor line runs gradually uphill towards the Northeast, so that the huge
Quarry that is the result of 250 years and more of working, is deeper at the far end than at the village end of the Range.
The beginning of the Chain was at Winnow End (some maps call it Whinney End) then, with barriers in between each successive
Quarry, was Hospital Quarry, then Hunters Quarry, then Lords Quarry, then Towns Quarry, then Smithy Hill Quarry and finally,
at the far East End, Fisher Quarry. Beyond Fisher and outside the range is the old Tumbler Hill Quarry, which worked from about
1888 to 1900 and Paddock Hole.
Dotted about the moor towards Gawthwaite (from Burlington), further trial Quarries but these were not persevered with, although
amounts of slate were produced…The top-most workings of the present huge excavation must have been in operation about 1720
and, before this date, in some smaller way, from say about 1680, but really, slate was probably taken from the Moor through the
seventeenth century, even if, at some periods, only in small quantities. The industrial revolution around 1760 onwards, galvanised
slate production because the population of the United Kingdom increased rapidly and increased numbers increased the housing
needs and thus the demand for ' roofs ' '.
The Rigg Family of Southwestern Lakeland © Michael Rigg 2021