quarrying has gone on for years:
Quarry
As early as 1860, there was a branch line, the Mountsorrel Railway, to the quarry, the path of which is still followed by a mineral conveyor to Barrow-upon-Soar, where quarry rock is sorted for distribution. Organised quarrying of the granite in Mountsorrel Quarry began in the late 18th century, and had around 500 employees by 1870. In 1872, the Mountsorrel Granite Company acquired the rights to quarry the area from the Broad Hill quarry, and a hospital had become established in the village to deal with those made ill by the dust created by the quarrying.
Mountsorrel is home to one of the largest granite quarries in Europe, with an area of 785,400 m2. The granite, technically horneblende granite, is primarily used in construction and road-repair. The quarry produces approximately 3 million tonnes per annum with reserves of 160 million tonnes of granite, making it one of the top ten largest producing quarries in Europe in 1997 . The quarry is blasted at 12.30pm most weekdays, with a force that is felt throughout most of the village, as well as in some parts of Quorn, Swithland, and Rothley.
The quarry was run by Redland Quarries until its acquisition by Lafarge in the 1990s. The quarry itself is home to the common lizard, an endangered species.
Diddy
