Bethel Quarry
March 2015
A fairly small (120,000 square feet total area), single adit entrance Bath stone quarry. Bethel was first used by the Bath and Portland Stone Company but once it has been full excavated it was acquired by the Agaric Mushroom company for use as a mushroom farm. It’s constant temperature is ideal for mushroom production. It was later requisitioned in 1939 by the War Department and used for Royal Naval storage after some strengthening work was carried out.
After the war the quarry was used by Oakfield Farm Products as a mushroom farm again. This was because the roof level was too low in places making it unsuitable for military use, plus the near-by Copenacre Quarry was big enough for the Royal Navy’s storage needs by this time. At one point in its history it had been used by Heinz to grow mushrooms for its mushroom soup.
Mushroom production stopped in September 2010 and it was offered for sale in April 2011 as having potential for underground storage.
A fairly small (120,000 square feet total area), single adit entrance Bath stone quarry. Bethel was first used by the Bath and Portland Stone Company but once it has been full excavated it was acquired by the Agaric Mushroom company for use as a mushroom farm. It’s constant temperature is ideal for mushroom production. It was later requisitioned in 1939 by the War Department and used for Royal Naval storage after some strengthening work was carried out.
After the war the quarry was used by Oakfield Farm Products as a mushroom farm again. This was because the roof level was too low in places making it unsuitable for military use, plus the near-by Copenacre Quarry was big enough for the Royal Navy’s storage needs by this time. At one point in its history it had been used by Heinz to grow mushrooms for its mushroom soup.
Mushroom production stopped in September 2010 and it was offered for sale in April 2011 as having potential for underground storage.