British Geological Survey
The British Geological Survey (BGS) at Keyworth, Nottingham, is the UK national centre for information on the earth sciences, including quarrying. It has been producing geological maps and generating records since its foundation in 1835. It holds archives of the former Geological Survey and Museum, and of the Museum of Practical Geology. Its published memoirs and the British Regional Geology series provide information on the geology of individual areas, and gives details of local quarries. The BGS has a great deal of information in unpublished form, including a database of references in geological publications. Its library catalogue, GEOLIB, is now available online. At present the BGS is engaged on a major new Geohazards project, as part of which it will locate all known mine and quarry sites. Scottish material is held by the BGS in Edinburgh, and there is a Geological Survey of Ireland in Dublin.
The BGS also has a large archive of photographs, including many of quarries, dating from the early years of the twentieth century. A selection of these has been published in Peter Stanier, Quarries of England and Wales: An Historic Photographic Record (Truro: Twelveheads Press, 1995). For a similar selection from photographs in Edinburgh, covering building stone in Scotland, see Andrew A McMillan, Quarries of Scotland: An Illustrated Guide to Scottish Geology and Stone Working Methods (Historic Scotland, Technical Advice Note 12, 1997). There is an index to the BGS photographs, which is to be mounted shortly on the BGS website.
Links
British Geological Survey
Keyworth
Nottingham NG12 5GG
Tel: +44 (0)115 936 3100
Fax: +44 (0)115 936 3200
Web: www.bgs.ac.uk
Library catalogue: geolib.bgs.ac.uk
British Geological Survey
Murchison House
West Mains Road
Edinburgh EH9 3LA
Tel: +44 (0)131 667 1000
Fax: +44 (0)131 668 2683
E-mail: ngrcn@bgs.ac.uk
Geological Survey of Ireland
Beggars Bush
Haddington Road
Dublin 4
Tel: +353 1 670 7444
Fax: +353 1 668 1782
Web: www.gsi.ie