Last week and this week, we’ve had the pleasure of welcoming 3 groups of year 7 students from The Swanage School to California Quarry for a behind-the-scenes look at Purbeck’s quarrying industry and its important place in the history of Swanage and the surrounding area.

The students were shown around the quarry by Nick Crocker and Simon Clabburn, both of whom have been part of Suttles for a number of years! Nick managing our California dimension stone quarry, joined us in 1976 and Simon director of quarrying, joined us at our Swanworth aggregates quarry in 2011.

For Nick, the visit was particularly fitting. Although recently retired he has been part of Suttles and working at California Quarry for just shy of 50 years, straight from school, giving him a unique perspective on how the quarry, the industry and the local area have changed over the span of his career.

With almost 5 decades of experience behind him, Nick was happy to come out of retirement and share his knowledge of the quarry, its history and the changes he has witnessed over the years, as well as answer questions from the students.

For us, the visit highlighted something that is incredibly important to us at Suttles, sharing our knowledge and helping the next generation understand the industry around them that will shape their futures.

Learning from almost 5 decades of experience

During Nick’s years at California Quarry, he has seen the quarry and the wider quarrying industry change considerably.

Over the decades there have been many changes throughout the quarrying industry as a whole. Working practices have evolved, Machinery and technology have developed, and the way the quarry operates today is very different. Yet, throughout those changes, the important role quarrying has played in our local area hasn’t changed and quarrying is still one of the core industries that has shaped Swanage and the Isle of Purbeck.

Not only has quarrying supported local communities and businesses by providing employment for generations of local people it has also been crucial in shaping the landscape that is loved by so many visitors to the area.

At Suttles we believe that history is something worth understanding and preserving, not only as a record of the past, but as an important part of understanding the area we live and work in today. One of the most effective ways we can do this is to introduce the younger generations to the quarrying industry and give them the opportunity to learn about its role in shaping Swanage and Purbeck.

This is why we love welcoming schools and students of all ages to our quarries to learn about and see what we do first hand. School visits provide a valuable opportunity to bring that history to life and give local students an insight into an industry that has already been part of their community for generations and will be going forward for many years to come.

Inside California Quarry

The Swanage School had a particular interest in California Quarry as they were learning about Purbeck Stone. Each of the three visits gave the students the opportunity to see a working dimension stone quarry up close and get a better understanding of what happens at California Quarry on a day-to-day basis.

The students were given an initial background talk about Suttles and our role in the local quarrying industry before being taken to the quarry face where Nick explained the geology and how the method of extracting stone has changed over the years, from mining many years ago to digging the stone out now with heavy plant and machinery.

This location was also the ideal opportunity to be able to explain quarry restoration, it’s importance and how we implement it once we have finished extracting stone in certain areas of the quarry. Simon was also able to share his experience from across the wider Suttles business and explain how California Quarry fits into our wider quarrying operations at Swanworth where restoration is also a huge focus.

There was plenty of opportunity for questions along the way, with the students keen to find out more about everything from the machinery and the stone itself to how the quarry has changed over the years.

For many of the students, it was their first opportunity to step inside a working quarry. Being able to see the machinery, the processes and the people behind the industry first-hand helped bring to life what they had been learning about and gave them a different perspective on the quarrying industry around them.

Looking towards the future

For Suttles, the value of these visits goes beyond showing students how a quarry operates. It is about helping them understand how an industry with such deep roots in their local area is continuing to change and evolve.

The quarrying industry today is very different from the one Nick joined almost 50 years ago, and it will continue to change throughout the years ahead. New technology and an even greater focus on sustainability are already shaping the way we operate.

At Suttles, we are continuing to invest in that future, from our recent solar installation to our first fully electric loading shovel at Swanworth Quarry. While the machinery and technology may look very different to those Nick started working with, the knowledge and experience of the people involved remain just as important.

The Year 7 students who visited California Quarry may have been seeing a working quarry for the first time, but they are also part of the future of the community that quarrying has helped shape. Bringing together the knowledge and experience of those who have spent almost half a century in the industry with the curiosity and fresh perspectives of the next generation is an important part of ensuring that knowledge continues to be shared.

By opening our quarries to local schools, we hope to give young people a better understanding of the industry on their doorstep; its history, its importance to Purbeck and the ways in which it is changing for the future.

We’d like to thank The Swanage School for bringing their year 7 group to California Quarry and for their enthusiasm, questions and interest throughout the visits. We hope they enjoyed discovering more about Purbeck’s quarrying industry as much as we enjoyed showing them around.

If you think your school would like to visit us at Swanworth or California Quarry, visit our dedicated ‘Quarry Tours’ page for more details, including how to contact us here