Sunday 12 July 2015

Rubislaw Quarry


Rubislaw Quarry photograph  - Special Collections Centre, University of Aberdeen; ref. MS 3792 A1125.  Image © George Washington Wilson & Co., late 19th - early 20th century.

There are plans for a granite heritage centre at Rubislaw Quarry, Aberdeen - a £6 million project east and across Queens Road from the Gordon Highlanders’ museum at Kepplestone. The scheme includes a centre and exhibitions dedicated to the quarrying of granite, a system to continue lowering the water level in the hole, and the regeneration of tree and scrub growth. There has been controversy over the museum’s location and the preservation of a dozen trees on the site. Rubislaw Quarry closed in 1971.

Ten million tonnes of granite were excavated from the quarry over three centuries. The granite was used for buildings, monuments and sculptures. Paving and building stone, gravestones and memorials were exported worldwide. Held in high esteem, granite masons and craftsmen were like the quarried stone - in great demand.

The quarry used to be the largest man-made hole in Europe. The largest now in Europe is Hambach open-cast coal mine in Germany. Bingham Canyon mine near Salt Lake City is the largest man-made excavation in the world.

http://www.rubislawquarry.co.uk
Official website

https://www.facebook.com/rubislawquarry
Project's Facebook page

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWMJHEE809k
James Thornton video

http://www.thenational.scot/news/national-theatre-of-scotland-to-stage-nine-month-long-show-granite-to-celebrate-aberdeen.4108
National Theatre of Scotland to stage nine-month-long show 'Granite'. Celebrating Aberdeen and the Shire - 'resilience, grit and robustness, with an underlying sparkle and charm'

http://graniteaberdeen.com/


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