GMS today is an amalgamation of 4-5
distinct quarries into one large complex. The southern series are the
oldest, starting from the mid 18thC as three distinct firestone
quarries, what we see today as Sawmills, Roman Road and Jones. In the
early to mid 19thC it was quarried in much further and on a larger
post industrial age scale opening up Road Quarry and the Main Series
itself.
Firestone was quarried partly as a building stone and also for use in
furnaces as it stands high-heat very well. The stone has no grain, it
can be cut in any direction and is termed a free-stone. Before the
industrial revolution and the coming of the railways this was the best
stone to be had in the southeast without significant transport
problems; cost! Once better stone could be brought from further away
more easily and cheaply the demand for firestone faded.
Old platerails from the Croydon, Merstham and Godstone tram-road
(1805-c1830) have been relaid within the quarry for haulage making
this one of the few underground sites remaining in the UK with in situ
plateways. As the firestone quarrying declined in the later half of
the 19thC it was superceded in part by hearthstone mining, a reworking
of the inferior beds and firestone waste with a different use: step
whitening blocks!
From around 1890 until WW1 the site was used by French mushroom
growers who have left their mark. Many of these seem to have left
during the war, graffiti in a neighbouring quarry suggests that some
did not come back. There is some suggestion that the War Dept
considered the site for explosive storage during WW1. After the war
there was another attempt at growing mushrooms but this was not
successful. The site was considered as a shelter during WW2 but not
officially used, although it is known that local people used to
shelter in the ‘caves’.
At various times since WW2 the site has been accessible by casual
visitors who have left their mark and at other times it has been
sealed. Today the site is gated and looked after by the Wealden Cave &
Mine Society (WCMS). The site is also used by hibernating bats and
access is restricted in winter time with close liason with the local
bat group. Visits can be arranged by WCMS during summertime for groups
with a genuine interest in these old workings.
Further links of interest on this
site
WCMS Godstone
Archive Page