Wharncliffe Crags

Wharncliffe Crags is a gritstone escarpment or edge situated approximately 10 km (6 mi) north west of the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest.

The edge, which is characterised as a steep rock face for much of its 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) length, runs from grid reference SK295979 just east of the village of Deepcar in a roughly southeasterly direction to grid reference SK305951 just east of Wharncliffe Side. Wharncliffe Crags stand on the eastern side of the upper River Don valley at around 250 metres (820 ft) above sea level, the highest spot height being 297 metres (974 ft). Although set in a pleasant situation, the northern end of the crags are never far away from the buzz of civilisation with the noise of the nearby and A6102 road ever-present; there are also two lines of electricity pylons, which converge at the northern end of the crags. The escarpment was formed 320 million years ago in the Paleozoic era.

The rocks at the northwestern end of Wharncliffe Crags have been quarried to produce quern-stones as long ago as the Iron Age, continuing into the period of the Roman occupation of Britain. The name Wharncliffe actually evolved from the term “quern cliff”. The process of quern production has left behind considerable evidence in the area of the crags, including work flooring and trackways as well as many abandoned querns. In August 1996 an accidental heather fire burned away much of the vegetation over an area of 8 hectares, revealing many more quern-stones than had originally thought present. A survey by English Heritage in 2000 uncovered around 2300 stones in the 8-hectare area, leading to an estimate that there could be around 8000 quern-stones in the quarry area. The area of quern production has been declared a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Wharncliffe Lodge stands at the southern end of the crags and has fine views of the Ewden valley to the west. The present building dates from the 19th century and is the third lodge on the site, the original having been built in 1510. The lodge has strong associations with Lady Mary Wortley Montagu who resided there for short periods in the early 18th century. The floor of one of the rooms bears the inscription of Henry VIII’s reign (1509–1547).

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