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Darnley House (no. 8 mine)

Darnley House, Darnley, City of Glasgow (Renfrewshire).

Southernmost of three entrances to the westernmost mine complex (linked passages from entrances nos. 6, 7 & 8) off the open cast quarry at Darnley House as marked on the Abandonment Plan of Arden Limestone Workings now infilled and overgrown.

Limestone Mines & Quarries (infilled).

Large 20th century quarry (1938-54), and mines from quarry face. Abandonment plan survey dates suggest mine workings operated during the 1950s. Three small-scale neighbouring mine complexes with a total of 8 adits were driven into the quarry walls: No.1 Mine at [NS 5241 5880], and two near-contiguous mines (2/3/4, & 6/7/8) at [NS 5237 5877]. The longest individual passages were from adits 2 & 4, each extending SW for c.250 ft [75m].

"Darnley & Arden area: Extensive quarries over large area from 18th C. By the 20th century, mainline railway laid into quarries and mines, which only closed on the 1960's. Arden limestone packaged and sold all over Britain to building industry, eg an advert in 1820 recommended Arden and Darnley lime for 'coating buildings, quays, dams and aqueducts'." [Skillen]

Limestone was transported to the Darnley Limeworks (NS 5283 5940) from multiple quarries; by tramway from a quarry face near at Arden (NS 5366 5915), and a mineral railway that branched into quarries at NS 5280 5876 & NS 5267 5872.

The 'newest' quarries (early 20th Century), replacing the older quarries at Arden (by-then infilled) and just east of Darnley Fireclay Mine [see database Site 3946], were established adjacent to (the now lost) Darnley House. They are shown on the 1947 national grid map (surveyed 1939), but absent on the 1947 25" OS map (surv. 1938).

All of these localities are now infilled. The sites of the 'new quarries' (with mine) are now wooded wasteland N of the main car park in Darnley Country Park. The location of the long-infilled main quarry at Arden is now occupied by the M77 at Junction 3, due W of a small 'service station' by Jenny Lind. The Limeworks were located beside the Brock Burn, W of a supermarket.

Alternative Names: None recorded.

Notes: The original coordinates (NS 52370 58770) are for the 'estimated position' of '3 adjacent entrances to the westernmost mine' . The actual location is lost (infilled & overgrown) but is most likely at NS 52356 58704.

All of the above sites extracted the Calmy Limestone.

The small area of housing in Nitshill named Jenny Lind, is apparently named after an inn on the site of the same name, The opera singer Jenny Lind aka the Swedish Nightingale apparently stayed there in 1847.

Given length is approx.

Hydrographic Feeds: None

Hydrographic Resurgences: None