Meaning
A worker employed to extract stone, slate or other materials from a quarry.
Description
Quarrymen worked in open excavations, cutting and blasting rock for use as building stone, roofing slate, road material or raw material for lime burning. The work was physically demanding and dangerous, with risks from rock falls, explosions and the long-term respiratory effects of stone dust. Quarrying was concentrated in areas of suitable geology — limestone in the Cotswolds and Yorkshire Dales, granite in Cornwall and Aberdeen, slate in North Wales and the Lake District. Many quarrymen lived in isolated communities close to the quarries where they worked.
Also Known As
Stone Cutter, Quarrier, Slate Worker
Commonly Found In
- Census Returns
- Parish Registers
- Poor Law Records
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