An assessment of the significance and social impact of the quarrying industry in Shropshire in the 19th and 20th centuries

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Galloway, Robert (2018). An assessment of the significance and social impact of the quarrying industry in Shropshire in the 19th and 20th centuries. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

An assessment of the significance and social impact of the quarrying industry in Shropshire in the 19th and 20th centuries

Robert. S. Galloway

This thesis investigates the technological innovations associated with the quarrying industry of Shropshire during the 19th and 20th centuries, from the extraction of rough-cut limestone, to greywacke used as road stone, sandstone flags found in vernacular buildings and finally to dimension stone. Examples of the minerals can be found in Shropshire, so such a breath of geology has made this county unique. Knowledge of geology and minerals is united in the quarrying industry. The inaccessibility and remote location of the raw materials has made the quarrying industry different from and other.

The many methods of transport are also traced up to the 20th century. Access from remote locations to villages, towns and cities was very difficult. Britain's 18th century roads were made in form of causeways, constructed of stone and rubble, so narrow that only one horse-drawn cart could pass at a time. Eventually a network of roads spread across the country, enabling local and national economics to flourish.

The quarrying industry, associated firstly with agriculture, rose to the ever-increasing needs of the industrial revolution by moving from manpower to machinery driven by stream.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):