Quarrying

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Quarries


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Quarry worker at St Ouen


Quarrying has been an important industry in Jersey for a long time, and during the 19th century it was an important source of revenue for the island, from stone exported for such projects as the Thames Embankment and Copenhagen Harbour. Today the island's precious supply of granite is used almost exclusively locally.

Only two major quarries remain - Ronez, which is slowly carving out a large hole in the north coast of the island, and Granite Products in St Peter's Valley. However, in days gone by there were quarries, small and large, scattered all over the island. Wherever a granite rock face was exposed, landowners sought to profit by extracting stone.


The Germans carried out extensive quarrying at the bottom of Mont Pinel during the Occupation to provide stone for sea walls and other defensive installations

  • The former china quarry at Handois

  • China Quarry, photographed by Emile Guiton

  • Collecting quarry stone for roadmaking

  • The Rive family quarry provided stone for the construction of Victoria Avenue

  • The stone crushing plant at Les Maltieres, Grouville, in use by the Germans during the Occupation

  • Mont Mado in the 1870s by Ernest Baudoux

  • La Moye Quarry in the 1870s by Baudoux

  • Michael Marks, foreman of the China Quarry

  • A Jersey quarry, but where?

  • St Ouen

  • St Ouen

Quarrying stone at La Collette for the new pier adjoining Elizabeth Castle - the photograph was taken by Victor Hugo's son Charles in 1853

  • Nicklin's Quarry

  • Narrow gauge rail track at La Moye Quarry

  • Rosiere Quarry, La Moye, painted by Francis William Synge Le Maistre

  • Workers at l'Etacq Quarry

  • Workers at l'Etacq Quarry

  • La Crete Quarry 1893

  • La Crete Quarry 1893

  • La Crete Quarry 1893

  • Westmount Quarry

  • L'Etacq quarry workers in 1943

  • Corbiere quarry

  • Portelet Quarry

  • Quarry workers c1900

  • An accident involving a railway engine in La Moye Quarry - picture courtesy of Temps Passe

La Moye Quarry

La Moye Quarries, close to La Corbiere on the south-west corner of Jersey, were once the island's largest, and one of the great industries of the island. Stone from La Moye was used in the construction of St Helier Harbour, but it was also exported and used to build the Thames Embankment. The Jersey Western Railway was extended from St Aubin to La Corbiere, chiefly to provide access on a branch line to the quarries. This is a very rare photograph, taken by Ernest Baudoux, showing the quarry in use in the 1870s. Today the excavated area is used as a holding reservoir for the island's desalination plant, which converts sea water to drinking water
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