Cross Hands Quarry (SSSI)
Location and Access Information
Grid Reference: SP 269290
This disused quarry is located on the border between Warwickshire and Oxfordshire approximately 5km north-west of Chipping Norton. The quarry is situated adjacent to the A44 just to the west of the junction with the A436. Access to the site is by prior arrangement with R.A. Newman & Sons (tel. 01608 674288). Further information on the quarry can be found on the Warwickshire County Council website
.
View the site map on Nature on the Map.
Geological Interest
Cross Hands Quarry exposes rocks of Middle Jurassic age (approximately 170 million years old) that were deposited in a shallow marine environment not too dissimilar to that of the modern-day Bahamas. These rocks belong to the Inferior Oolite and comprise the Clypeus grit overlain by the Chipping Norton Limestone and the. Hook Norton Limestone. Now disused, the quarry was formerly a blockworks for Cotswold Limestone. Although the site has been used for landfill since quarrying ceased, the landowners, in consultation with English Nature, have ensured that representative exposures are conserved on the site for future scientific study. In addition to the in-situ interest, large amounts of spoil, rich in good quality fossil material, remain on the site. The landowners actively encourage educational usage of the site by making fresh spoil freely available for fossil collection.
