The Thornborough Henges

Three huge Neolithic monuments in Yorkshire which have been described as "the Stonehenge of the North" have been gifted to the nation.

The Thornborough Henges complex, near Ripon, date back to around 3500BC to 2500BC and consist of three 656ft (200m) wide circular earthworks.

Two construction firms have donated the henges site to Historic England.

They will now be managed by English Heritage and will be opened free of charge to the public.

Historic England chief executive Duncan Wilson said the henges were probably the most important single ancient site between Stonehenge and the Orkney Islands in Scotland......

bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-64499428

A GOVERNMENT service which champions England's heritage has condemned a scheme to site a 960-panel solar farm near the most important ancient site between Stonehenge and the Orkney Islands.

Historic England said the small-scale renewable energy scheme at East Tanfield, near Ripon, could harm the neighbouring Thornborough Henge Scheduled Monument complex, which featured ritual structures, massive circular ditches and banks dating back 4,000 years to the Bronze Age.

North Yorkshire County Council archaeologist Lucie Hawkins has called for the application to be withdrawn, stating she was disappointed the plan had been submitted to Hambleton District Council without any assessment of the impact on the historic environment.

Development consultants Arrowsmith Associates said Richard Alton, the owner of Rushwood Hall, once the seat of the Nussey baronetcy and home to Teesside steelworks artist Viva Talbot, was seeking to provide energy for the crop services business based at the hall and a number of cottages.

A spokesman for the firm said the application site, 500 metres from the henges and medieval village, was not close enough to either of these to have any impact on them.

He added the solar panels would be completely screened by trees and their impact on the landscape, which also includes East Tanfield deserted medieval village, would be negligible.

He said: "What public views would exist would be seen in the context of an ever increasing acceptance that such sites are part of the modern rural landscape, as supported by government policy."

Objecting to the scheme, Historic England said the solar panels would represent "a distinctly modern intervention" in a sensitive landscape of regional, national and international historical significance, with the henge complex being "one of the pre-eminent prehistoric landscape complexes in Britain".

Its ancient monuments inspector Keith Emerick said: "The henges are part of a ritual landscape that extends beyond the surrounding wetlands to Catterick in the north and south to Ferrybridge.

"Only four henge sites in the British Isles are larger, all in Wiltshire and Dorset, and nowhere else are there three closely-spaced and identical henge monuments. The northernmost henge is believed to be the best-preserved henge monument in the country."

Mr Emerick said part of the site's importance was that it was located within a bowl, which had a lack of "overtly modern intrusion".

Proposals to screen the site, he said, a regional hub in the social, economic and religious life of many widely dispersed groups in the Neolithic era, were temporary and changeable.

thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/14026375.Solar_farm_sparks_fears_for__Stonehenge_of_the_North_/

After 17 years on site the publication report for Nosterfield Quarry is complete. This important work tells the story of the northern margins of Thornborough Moor, the changing patterns of its use during the prehistoric period, the drainage of the wetland and their subsequent enclosure.

archaeologicalplanningconsultancy.co.uk :80/thornborough/nos.php

Fun was had by one and all that attended the Beltane celebration at Thornborough Henges over the May Bank Holiday Weekend. Perhaps 500 people attended from all over the country. Glorious sun and pretty windy. Superb fire show at night, awesome drumming sessions and I got handfasted to my love. Many thanks to Ollie and Sigbrit. This site is so special I cannot believe it is so forgotten. More visitors in 1 day than the rest of the year put together. The Brigantes Nation is strong and proud – Hail Brigantia !

Come next year to see what I am talking about . . .

Blingo

ONLY a flock of birds is standing in the way of the extraction of 1.1 million tonnes of sand and gravel from a quarry extension near to the Neolithic Thornborough Henges in North Yorkshire.

Permission for Tarmac to extend the quarry at Ladybridge Farm at Nosterfield north of Ripon was granted by North Yorkshire County Council in August, but outstanding details included approval of a Bird Management Plan.

It is required because the site is within eight miles of RAF Leeming – the Tornado and Hawk fast jet base at the side of the A1 – where there are fears of a bird strike involving flocks of geese or gulls.

Archaeologists have described Thornborough Henges as the Stonehenge of the North and an action group is claiming support from the RSPB in its attempt to stop the extension, which is within a mile of the henges.

The Friends of Thornborough Henges claim that the Bird Management Plan would deter the birds which the after-use of the quarry as an environmental wetland sought to attract. Shooting, flying of birds of prey and egg-oiling to prevent breeding are all proposed to minimise large flocks.

The Friends said farmland birds in their thousands had been recorded on the site in their thousands and there would be a detrimental effect on the Nosterfield Nature Reserve.

RSPB Conservation Officer Harriett Dennison said it had concerns about the Bird Management Plan.

A decision on the Bird Plan was delegated to the council's environment services director and planning committee chairman. Friends' spokesman Dick Lonsdale said: "It looks as though the whole thing will be decided by two people behind closed doors."

A Tarmac spokesman said the proposed quarry extension at Ladybridge was needed to preserve jobs. "It has been agreed that it will not harm the Thornborough Henges."

yorkshirepost.co.uk/localnews/Fate-of-flock-of-birds.5051604.jp

The fear that planning would be approved around the Thornborough Henges has come to pass. I attended the meeting today with trepidation, only to have my fears confirmed. This will not be the end of this fight, but it will get harder.

Please, all you people who care about our ancient sites, talk about Thornborough, maybe through publicity we can shame those who don't care into seeing the error of their ways.

I live in hope!

Sad News....

APPROVAL is finally expected to be given next week for the quarrying of 1.1 million tonnes of sand and gravel less than a mile from three Neolithic henges.

Nosterfield Quarry, near Masham, produces 500,000 tonnes of sand and gravel a year and is the source of 20 per cent of the material in North Yorkshire. The new permission – taking quarrying further away from Thornborough Henges – will extend its life by two years.

An application for a larger site was refused permission in February, 2006, because North Yorkshire County Councillors decided the extraction of 2.2 million tonnes of aggregate would have an unacceptable impact on the archaeological remains.

In January last year approval was given to a revised scheme extending quarrying across 76 acres of Ladybridge Farm at Nosterfield.

It was quashed after The Friends of Thornborough Henges began a legal challenge in the High Court.

Now the application has been reviewed. When planning committee members meet at Masham Town Hall on Tuesday next week the Director of Business and Environmental Services, Richard Flinton, will recommend that permission be granted.

In a report to councillors, Mr Flinton said: "It is considered that there are now no grounds for refusing this application on matters relating specifically to archaeology."

The Yorkshire Branch of the Council for British Archaeology remains opposed to the scheme because of its fears about affects on the Thornborough Henges – a site which has been described as the Stonehenge of the North.

The CBA said it considered the application by Tarmac Northern Ltd would have an unacceptable impact on the setting and said the archaeological remains from the Neolithic and Bronze Age should be preserved in situ.

The Friends of Thornborough Henges have renewed their objection and Yorkshire Archaeological Society says the quarrying will have "an unacceptably erosive impact upon an overall archaeological landscape."

But English Heritage has welcomed the revised scheme. It said: "We feel it has addressed our initial concerns with regard to the preservation of archaeological deposits of national importance by omitting the southwest corner of the previous application site."

yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Quarry-approval-expected-near-three.4402980.jp

PLANS for a controversial quarry extension near Thornborough Henges have been thrown into disarray following a legal challenge.

Tarmac Northern won planning permission in January 2007 from North Yorkshire County Council to extract 1.1 million tonnes of sand and gravel over eight years from land at Ladybridge Farm, between Bedale and Ripon, half a mile from the nearest of three Bronze Age earthwork henges on Thornborough Moor.

Tarmac said the unanimous decision would ensure the future prospects of 15 full-time quarry workers and 40 hauliers at the neighbouring Nosterfield quarry, where reserves are almost exhausted.

The henges, described as the Stonehenge of the North, have legal protection as a scheduled ancient monument but worried campaigners who organised a 10,000-name petition insisted that their surroundings, including Ladybridge, must be protected from the effects of further quarrying.

The formal decision notice was not issued until October following completion of a detailed agreement with Tarmac covering conditions attached to the permission.

However, council lawyers have now confirmed that it should be quashed following a legal challenge on eight grounds concerning the handling of the planning application. The issue is expected to be reconsidered by the committee at Masham Town Hall on April 22.

A spokeswoman for pressure group, Friends of Thornborough, said it challenged the decision in the name of one of its members.

She said: ''A number of faults were identified in the way the county council had made their decision.

They agree they have got it wrong on three counts and have agreed to the quashing of the decision through the judicial review procedure.

''There are still five grounds outstanding which remain to be challenged and on that score they should be extremely careful when they take their decision at the meeting due to take place on April 22.'' Gordon Gresty, the council's director of business and environmental services, said: ''This development has had a contentious history and the legal challenge needs to be seen against the background of the wide range of issues the committee took into account when it made its decision. Those issues were properly and comprehensively considered.

''However, in order to avoid further legal proceedings we have agreed to the quashing of the present planning approval and it would be our intention to take the issue back to the committee in the future.'' Some preliminary work has been done at Ladybridge, but mineral extraction has not yet started.

A Tarmac spokesman said: ''We understand that following legal submissions, the planning consent is no longer in effect.

We hope that a corrected report will be placed before the committee at the earliest opportunity. Meanwhile, we have stopped work at the Ladybridge site.''

darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/search/display.var.2100713.0.legal_dispute_overturns_quarrying_permission.php

TIMEWATCH.ORG MEDIA RELEASE – 10/09/2007

Huge Labyrinth walk ceremony will herald the launch of new Thornborough restoration campaign

Thornborough Henges to be target of Restoration campaign

More the 500 candles will be used to create a massive labyrinth at Thornborough's Central Henge as part of the opening ceremony for TimeWatch's new campaign to restore Thorborough's ancient cursus.

Heritage campaign Group TimeWatch has announced that the group is to launch a new campaign aimed at restoring what the group is calling the "sacred Landscape" of Thornborough Henges.

To kick off the campaign, and in recognition of the ancient site's ritual purpose, TimeWatch have invited local religious and spiritual groups to participate in a ceremony of good fortune for the campaign. The ceremony will begin at 7pm on Saturday 22nd September and will involve pagan, Christian and people from other faiths who all agree that restoring one of Yorkshires oldest and largest ritual monuments is an important next step for the campaign. The ceremony will last for two hours and will include a partial walk of the cursus and story telling.

"In recognising the religious origins for the mighty monuments at Thornborough, we also recognise that no particular group has ownership of these structures; they belong to us all and we invite all-comers to come and help us begin the task of restoration by taking part in this spectacular ceremony" Said TimeWatch Chairman George Chaplin.

After more than five years of campaigning against quarrying at Thornborough, and following the planning ruling that the important archaeology surrounding the henges had to be protected TimeWatch have announced that it is time to begin restoring parts of the site that have been previously ruined.

"Thornborough Cursus is potentially the oldest major monument in the world aligned to the Constellation Orion. It is also the largest monument at Thornborough; almost a mile long" Said Mr Chaplin "On the 22nd of September we will be launching an entirely new campaign to restore the section that has been quarried back to its original state. We believe that this move will be positive for all involved since it will return the land back to original quality.

The Cursus at Thornborough is thought to have been built around 3,500BC, some five hundred years before the henges. It is a fifty meter wide strip of land, almost a mile long that was cleared in order to create a ceremonial causeway that some think of as a "spirit path" for the soul to return to the heavens.

Thornborough's cursus has been compared to the shaft within the King's Chamber in the Great Pyramid in Giza. This was also aligned to Orion and emanates from the central pyramid of three structures that mirror Orion's Belt. This too has been equated to a spirit path – a passageway for the soul of the pharaoh to travel to Orion.

"We think we can best protect Thornborough by helping to promote it as a unique site of international importance. Restoring the cursus will greatly help with this and will have local and regional environmental and economic benefits" Said Mr Chaplin.

Controversial plans to extend a quarry close to an ancient monument in North Yorkshire have been given the go-ahead despite opposition from campaigners.

Construction firm Tarmac can now extend its works at Ladybridge Farm, near the historic Thornborough Henges.

Campaigners had been fighting the plans for three years – fearing further work would damage the 5,000 year old site.

The henges – earth works – are believed to be one of the largest ritual gathering places of the Neolithic era.

A revised scheme was granted after the original bid was rejected in February.

Tarmac Estates manager Bob Nicholson said the decision had come as "a great relief" to the company's employees, hauliers and others whose livelihoods rely on the Nosterfield quarry.

The approval of the reduced plans will allow Tarmac to take out sand and gravel on a site east of Nosterfield quarry at Ladybridge Farm on condition the company gives legal safeguards to protect the site.

Map showing location of Thornborough Henges

A Tarmac spokesman confirmed the firm's appeal against refusal of its earlier application would be withdrawn.

George Chaplin, chairman of the campaign group Timewatch, said the petition, which included 10,000 names and addresses, was ruled inadmissible to the planning committee.

He said: "I find it very concerning with regards to democracy.

"We had hoped the council would incorporate the views of their voters in to the minerals planning strategy by now, but it hasn't happened.

"We always hear about how apathetic the voters are meant to be, but when the voters actually put their names and addresses down on a petition it's just ignored. What does this mean for democracy?"

Mr Chaplin added the campaign would continue and take its case to central government.

An English Heritage spokeswoman said the area between the Rivers Ure and Swale contains the most significant concentration of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments and related archaeological deposits in the north of England.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/6268043.stm

Raising the stakes

TARMAC Northern's submission of a revised planning application to quarry land near the Thornborough henges ancient monument site increases the stakes in this long-running saga.

The company has already appealed against North Yorkshire County Council's refusal of the original application to quarry 45 hectares. This new application – for 31 hectares – is Tarmac's tactical fall-back position. If it can't have the whole site, seeking permission for a lesser area may be a means of dealing with some of the conservation/archaeological objections. It perhaps is also a signal of the company's intention to take this battle to the next stage – a legal one – should the Government planning inspector dismiss Tarmac's appeal.

The pressure is unquestionably stepped up on the county council, which will in due course decide whether to grant the revised application permission. That process will once more concentrate minds on the status of the setting of the henges and to what extent it is critical to the henge complex as a whole. Does the removal of 14

hectares of farmland closest to one of the three henges make a difference to archaeologists who say the monuments are more than the three circular earthworks and that the surrounding landscape is just as important if we are to understand their significance?

continued...

Our understanding of the concerns of the county council and English Heritage is that those 14 hectares will not make a great deal of difference to the conservation argument which, taken to its limit, suggests that an even wider area, including the Devil's Arrows at Boroughbridge, is a vast landscape of prehistoric significance.

It is a fiendishly difficult issue for the county council to deal with. The conservationists have already demonstrated how important it is in their eyes. The issue's importance to Tarmac Northern is now also underlined.

12:20pm Friday 28th July 2006

darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/commentopinion/display.var.856025.0.raising_the_stakes.php

A quarry company yesterday confirmed it is to challenge the rejection of controversial plans to extract sand and gravel from land close to a 5,000-year-old monument site.

Tarmac Northern employs 15 full-time workers at Nosterfield quarry, between Bedale and Ripon, in North Yorkshire, where supplies are expected to be exhausted within the next two years.

It sought planning consent to extract 2.2m tonnes over four years from 112 acres at nearby Ladybridge Farm, half a mile from the nearest of three Neolithic earthwork henges outside the village of Thornborough.

The henges have been described as the Stonehenge of the North.

The site represents a scheduled ancient monument with legal protection, but campaigners who bombarded North Yorkshire County Council with protests insisted that its immediate surroundings, including Ladybridge, must be saved from the effects of more quarrying.

In February, the application was rejected by six votes to three by the county council's planning committee.

Tarmac, which warned that the decision could lead to job losses, said yesterday it will appeal and seek a public inquiry, but a spokesman indicated that this was still not the end of the story.

Bob Nicholson, Tarmac estates manager for the area, said: "We are anxious to safeguard employment and maintain supply from the quarry to the construction industry.

"We are also discussing the possibility of a revised application for a smaller extraction area at Ladybridge, avoiding areas which were the subject of archaeological concern.

"Nosterfield is recognised as being a well-run quarry, close to the A1 for transport purposes, with a good record of co-operating with the community and with the various archaelogical, environmental and wildlife protection agencies.

We hope to achieve a fair balance taking account of all interests, including continuity of employment and supply of construction materials."

Alwyn Shaw, head of minerals at the county council, said no revised planning application had been received.

link

here

Hi folks,

Here's the latest on Beltane at Thornborough Henge 2006.

Sunday 30th April, 12pm onwards, Thornborough Henge, near Ripon, North Yorkshire.

Everyone welcome, admission FREE!

Visit the event website:

sacredbrigantia.com

Camping:

Camping is available for the entire weekend for £3 a night. Please get in touch soon if you would like details and directions.

Stalls:

If you want to set up a stall to sell your wares or provide refreshments, please get in touch and let us know that you are coming. Stall-holders can keep all the money they make, all we ask is that they do something to contribute to the ambience of the festival (We'll leave he details up to you).

Do your own thing!

After the main ceremony, which we will be performing to celebrate Beltane, we are encouraging as many people as possible to perform their own rituals and ceremonies. There is plenty of room in the Henge for everyone who wants to, to celebrate the coming of summer in accordance with their own beliefs.

Get involved:

The success of an FREE event like this depends on the involvement as many people as possible. We are still looking for people to participate in the main ceremony and help with other aspects of running the event. Musicians, performers, jugglers, drummers, didgeridoo players etc., your contributions would be especially welcome!

Either email us: [email protected]

Or, for an up to date list of things that we need, visit:

sacredbrigantia.com /help

Thanks for your time and hopefully see you soon.

Beltane Blessings!

(Well. Probably not.)

The man who created the Lightwater Valley theme park wants to turn the ancient Thornborough Henges into a tourist attraction.

Landowner Robert Staveley outlined his ideas at a public meeting called by West Tanfield Parish Council on Wednesday.

Mr Staveley said he aimed to create a car park and visitor centre, build a 'transport system' around the site and recreate the southernmost henge so visitors could see how it would have looked when it was built more than 5,000 years ago.

He said the henge mound would be covered in a membrane and earth added on top so as not to harm the archaeology.

"At the moment, when people come here they are so disappointed because there is so little there," he said.

He added his plans were at a very early stage and more discussion would need to take place.

George Chaplain, of heritage campaign group, TimeWatch, who was at Wednesday's meeting, said: "Mr Staveley's proposals were not quite as frightening as they could have been.

"But I am concerned about recreating the southern henge. I would like to see entry to Thornborough Henges remain free of charge – I worry he is looking at it purely from a commercial perspective."

Last week quarry firm Tarmac was refused planning permission to expand its current operations near the henges because of the importance of the site.

Commenting on Mr Staveley's tourism scheme, a spokesman for the firm said: "We see no conflict in principle between tourists visiting the henges and continuation of our quarry at Nosterfield with the useful employment it provides.

"Visitors already come to the Nosterfield Quarry visitor centre and viewing area which opened last year – it is free and is popular with birdwatchers and walkers."

03 March 2006

nidderdaletoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=22&ArticleID=1372826

Fragment from Yorkshire Today web site:

[Timewatch] spokesman George Chaplin said: "The threat of quarrying has not been removed by the planning refusal but it has given time to take stock and for everyone to agree upon the best future for the whole area."

The Timewatch proposals are for:

– a much wider "no quarry zone" extending at least a mile radius from the central monuments

– the preservation of all archaeology within the zone to be the top priority

ripontoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=18&ArticleID=1365226

"Plans to quarry gravel from part of Britain's biggest prehistoric site were rejected yesterday but the construction company Tarmac is to appeal.

A full public inquiry is now likely over the fate of land surrounding Thornborough Henges, three giant discs encircled by earthen ramparts which have survived from a complex of eight erected around 5000BC in the Vale of York." – The Guardian, 22nd Feb 2006, Martin Wainwright guardian.co.uk/arts/news/story/0,,1715002,00.html

Campaigners are rejoicing after controversial plans to extend a quarry near an ancient monument in North Yorkshire were rejected by councillors.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/4734994.stm

From an article by Brian Dooks, published on 15th February 2006 in the Yorkshire Post:

English Heritage wants 'Stonehenge of the North' preserved after claiming it is of archaeological importance.

Controversial plans for sand and gravel quarrying near Thornborough Henges in North Yorkshire look set to founder as new research offers further evidence the ancient monument was aligned with the stars.

Councillors have been urged to turn down an application to quarry 112 acres of land on a site just over half a mile away from the henges at Ladybridge Farm, near Masham, amid claims they are of national importance.

Last year councillors deferred a decision on plans by Tarmac Northern to extract a further 2.2 million tonnes of minerals by extending the existing Nosterfield Quarry after English Heritage claimed that archaeological investigation of the site had been insufficient.

Further archaeological work has taken place which has confirmed that features from the Neolithic or Bronze Age period are confined to an area of slightly higher land in the south west part of the site.

yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=55&ArticleID=1351443

"Researchers at Newcastle University have found the Thornborough Henges are one of the earliest major monuments aligned to the constellation Orion.

The 5,500-year-old earthworks, north of Ripon, and the Egyptian pyramids are thought to have been built to mirror Orion's belt for its religious focus.

The research will be published in 2007 in a new report on the henges complex.

Senior lecturer at the university Dr Jan Harding said they used a three dimensional model to confirm the stellar alignments of the henges, which date back to the Neolithic period."

BBC report

Groups campaigning to stop quarrying around Thornborough Henges have slammed a recently published conservation plan. TimeWatch is disappointed with the proposed Thornborough Henges Conservation Plan announced last week, saying it neither includes the entire Thornborough complex nor addresses all the important issues.

"The consultation group and the proposed conservation plan are a response to a number of concerns raised by many people regarding the preservation and appearance of the Thornborough Henges complex," said George Chaplin, TimeWatch chairman.

"In particular, people are concerned that the wider archaeological landscape is being quarried and many thousands have signed the petition calling for a one mile 'no quarry zone' around the henges. The proposed area fails to address this."

TimeWatch says that in early consultations the conservation plan area was shown to cover a stretch of the landscape from Kirklington to West Tanfield. Now they say the proposed conservation area is barely larger than the scheduled areas at Thornborough and omits Ladybridge Farm (the proposed site for further quarrying by Tarmac) and other areas known to hold archaeology related to the henges.

"In addition, there are concerns about the ongoing impact of the landfill site next door to the central henge, on the setting of the national monument in terms of looks and smell," said Mr Chaplin. "This landfill site is outside of the conservation area."

The group says it will be responding to the consultation and requesting that the plan be redrawn so that it addresses these fundamental concerns.

More of the article at Ripon News

nidderdaletoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=18&ArticleID=1338713

TimeWatch has called for international support in the battle to save the Thornborough Henges from the threat of quarrying nearby.

Quarry company Tarmac Northern Ltd was granted a delay to the planning process while it carried out further archaeological investigations at its proposed quarry site at Ladybridge Farm, half a mile from the triple henge complex. These have now been completed and there is a new consultation process ahead of the the North Yorkshire County Council planning meeting on February 21 which will determine the firm's application.

"As a result of Tarmac's latest work, English Heritage have confirmed that the proposals will destroy archaeology of national importance," said TimeWatch chairman George Chaplin this week. "This has vindicated our position and proves the area needs to be regarded as part of the setting of the Thornborough Henges complex".

"NYCC have already confirmed there is no need for the gravel, and that the application fails several planning policies, but we are still concerned that any perceived drop in public concern may have a detrimental outcome on the decision. We are therefore asking the international community to show support for our campaign".

Responses to this latest consultation should be sent to Mr Shaw, at the Minerals and Waste Planning Unit, County Hall, Northallerton, DL7 8AH by February 3 February.

nidderdaletoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=18&ArticleID=1321648

The Chairman of TimeWatch, George Chaplin, is unhappy with the way the further examination of the Ladybridge farm site is being conducted.

"This newest digging will not produce the eight to ten per cent sample required by English Heritage and, in fact, is focused on an area where artefacts have already been found," he said this week. The researchers appear to be focusing only on Neolithic archaeology in one location while additional important archaeology is likely to be located where they are not looking.

"We are concerned that the current digging is being done in a hurried manner, in bad weather, using heavy equipment, and without the constant supervision of an outside group of archaeologists who have no vested interest in the outcome."

But archaeologist Steve Timms, who is heading the team conducting the additional archaeological investigation at Ladybridge, has dismissed the group's claims.

More at knaresboroughtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=18&ArticleID=1244009

There is an open morning at the site tomorrow between 8am and noon.

Campaigners are calling for an independent assessment by archaeologists of the threatened quarry site near the Thornborough Henges.

Last week North Yorkshire County Council put off a decision on controversial plans by quarry firm Tarmac to extract 2.2 million tonnes of sand a gravel from the Ladybridge Farm site, half a mile from the triple henge complex north of Ripon.

But campaign group TimeWatch has voiced concerns regarding the agreed strategy of allowing Tarmac a further four months to carry out research into the archaeology at the proposed quarry site.

The group has now called on North Yorkshire councillors to ensure that the archaeological work due to be carried out at Ladybridge is done by an independent third party.

"There is a massive gulf between Tarmac and the rest of the archaeological world regarding the importance of Thornborough's archaeology," said George Chaplin, chairman of TimeWatch.

"Now that Tarmac's evaluation has effectively been rejected by the council, we are pressing to get this new evaluation done by an independent third party otherwise we can see that this confused situation will only continue.

"For more than three years Tarmac have abjectly refused to accept the notion that there could be archaeology of national importance at Ladybridge. This line has remained unchanged despite the protestations of a great many archaeologists, campaigners and now English Heritage.

"When Tarmac was faced with rejection of the planning application, they ask for a delay, not so they can work out how much nationally important archaeology they are looking at, but to try yet again to prove that it is not important at all.

"This is turning into a critical situation, one that could have ramifications for every major heritage site in North Yorkshire."

Tarmac's existing Nosterfield Quarry, close to the henges, is nearing the end of its working life and the firm wants to continue production by expanding on to the adjacent Ladybridge site.

The firm's estates manager, Bob Nicholson, said: "The application site is more than half a mile from the nearest henge and in our view truly poses no threat to the monument. Tarmac has no wish or intention to affect the henges but naturally we want to continue in production and keep the employment in place."

Commenting on the deferment of a decision on their application, he said: "The deferment will give time to discuss the archaeological aspects with English Heritage in more detail and hopefully reach an informed decision based on additional factual evidence if required."

The county council is expected to consider the matter again in January.

30 September 2005

ripontoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=18&ArticleID=1207264

Campaigners opposing plans for quarrying near an ancient monument in North Yorkshire must wait until the New Year for a decision by councillors.

Tarmac has applied to quarry sand and gravel at Ladybridge Farm, north of Ripon, near Thornborough Henges.

Opponents fear it could destroy clues about the 5,000-year-old earthworks' history but Tarmac says the land could cope with quarrying and conservation.

A decision was deferred on Tuesday to await a full report in January.

On Tuesday North Yorkshire County Council issued a statement saying: "Today's meeting has decided to defer this matter to allow a further archaeological investigation to be carried out.

"We hope to have a full report for members to consider in January."

Members of the North Yorkshire County Council planning board had visited the site in August and were recommended to refuse permission by planning officers.

The henges are believed to be one of Britain's largest ritual gathering places from the Neolithic period.

The henges are in open countryside near the A1

Local campaign group TimeWatch has collected a petition of more than 10,000 signatures against the plans which would see work about half a mile away from the henges.

It said the quarry would contribute to the permanent loss of nationally important archaeology.

US-based conservation group the Landmarks Foundation has also voiced its concern at the quarry proposals, describing them as a tragedy.

But several people have expressed their support for the quarry extension.

Tarmac already has a quarry at Nosterfield, close to the ancient henges which consist of three earthworks built in a line running north-south for about a mile.

Workers at the Nosterfield Quarry and local building firms have sent in 80 letters and a 350-signature petition arguing that more than 50 livelihoods depend on the application's approval.

Tarmac has said the extension is on farmland where there is only "thin and scattered" evidence of prehistoric activity, according to a recent study by archaeological consultants.

The actual henges are under no threat from quarrying because of their status as protected ancient monuments, the company added.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/4261022.stm

Decision-makers urged to reject quarrying near henges

From the archive, first published Wednesday 14th Sep 2005.

THE long and often acrimonious battle over the future of one of Britain's most important archaeological sites will come to a head next week.

At a meeting in Masham town hall, North Yorkshire county councillors will decide on the future of quarrying operations by the 5,000-year-old Thornborough henges.

In a major blow for quarry operator Tarmac, they are being recommended to throw out plans to extend extractions near the three large Neolithic earthworks.

Planning officials said the proposal would have "an unacceptable impact on nationally important archaeological remains".

They also said the move would be contrary to the authority's policy on mineral extraction and that there was no overriding need for it.

Tarmac Northern wants to extend Nosterfield Quarry at Ladybridge Farm, Thornborough, near Ripon, to extract 2.2 million tonnes of sand and gravel over four years.

An application was submitted in June last year and immediately brought protests from those who feared for the future of the henges, about a kilometre south-east of the extension area.

Almost 850 letters of objection and three petitions with a total of 9,680 signatures were sent in. Some of the objections came from overseas.

The Council for British Archaeology, Yorkshire Archaeology Society and action groups the Friends of Thornborough Henges and Timewatch also submitted detailed responses calling for the scheme to be rejected.

Tarmac has insisted throughout that the development would pose no threat to the henges, saying the extension would be further from the earthworks than the existing quarry site.

Yesterday, their response to the recommendation to refuse permission was muted.

Tarmac Northern estates manager Bob Nicholson said: "We have only just learnt of the officers' recommendation and will need to study the report to committee in detail before we are able to comment further."

Councillors will meet at 1pm on Tuesday, and the public turnout is expected to be high. The chairman of Timewatch, George Chaplin, was not making any early celebrations yesterday.

He said: "The messages we are getting are that refusal is far from certain."

archive.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/2005/9/14/206072.html

Quarry firm Tarmac is offering to give 60 acres of land adjacent the ancient Thornborough Henges to the nation.

The company, currently in dispute with conservationists over its plans to extend quarrying operations near the 5,000 year old site, says its "significant donation" will help ensure the preservation of the henges.

But the offer by Tarmac has been given a cautious welcome by campaigners, amid accusations the gesture was both 'a public relations exercise' and 'a fob'.

Announcing the offer, Tarmac area director Simon Phillips said: "We are proposing to gift the area of land to English Heritage or alternatively to a suitable charitable trust."

Tarmac has previously discussed the long term management of the henges with English Heritage, but in the past they have declined the opportunity to take over direct responsibility. "We hope they will consider this new proposal and agree to the significant donation we have offered today," said Mr Phillips.

"The monument is attracting increasing numbers of visitors and we believe the time is right for this area of land to be donated to an appropriate conservation body.

"The gift will enable the area to be put down in perpetuity to pasture. For the first time ever, the immediate setting of the northern henge will be preserved forever as an archaeological reserve.

"The preservation of the henges is vitally important to us all, and we look forward to working with English Heritage and North Yorkshire County Council to develop this charitable trust."

In response, chairman of the Friends of Thornborough, Jon Lowery said: "My initial reaction is we have got to welcome any such move but the devil is in the detail – to whom will it be given?

"Of course, we have to realise all this talk about preserving the heritage is all a fob. The whole thing is a public relations exercise – they are not there as a benevolent organisation, they are there as a mining company."

Chairman of campaign group TimeWatch, George Chaplin, also urged caution.

"The fact is, the ritual landscape of the Thornborough Henges covers a great deal more than 60 acres and whilst we welcome this offer, we think that this may be a case of Tarmac attempting to buy off the protestors without taking into account the true extent of the archaeology," he said.

"However, this does mean that Tarmac are now willing to accept that preserving the archaeology of the Thornborough Henges is important."

North Yorkshire County Council is expected to make a decision on Tarmac's planning application for quarrying at Ladybridge Farm, half a mile from the henges, in September.

29 July 2005

ripontoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=18&ArticleID=1099950

Controversial plans to extend quarrying near an ancient monument known as the Stonehenge of the north are being discussed by councillors.

Tarmac has applied to extend its sand and gravel operations at a site near Thornborough Henges, North Yorkshire.

If approved, campaigners fear the work could destroy clues as to why the 5,000-year-old earthworks were built.

Tarmac said only scattered evidence of prehistoric activity had been found at the Ladybridge Farm site, near Ripon.

On Tuesday, members of the North Yorkshire County Council planning board will discuss the application for quarrying at the farm.

Local campaign group Timewatch, which has collected a petition of more than 1,500 signatures against the plans, said the quarry would cause the permanent loss of nationally important archaeology.

US-based conservation group the Landmarks Foundation has described the quarry proposals as a tragedy.

The henges are believed to represent one of Britain's largest ritual gathering places from the Neolithic period.

Tarmac already has a quarry at Nosterfield, close to the ancient henges which consist of three earthworks built in a line running north-south for about a mile.

Tarmac has said the planned quarry extension is on farmland where there is only "thin and scattered" evidence of prehistoric activity, according to a recent study by archaeological consultants.

The company has said archaeologists would be present on the site and if they found anything of significance, they had the power to stop quarrying activity.

Story from BBC NEWS:

news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/4693695.stm

Published: 2005/07/18 18:36:30 GMT

Protesters to deluge council over quarry

By Richard Edwards

Protesters fighting a quarry plan near an ancient Yorkshire monument are to hit a council with the biggest number of objections in its history. Campaign groups Timewatch and the Friends of Thornborough Henges have been campaigning for more than a year against Tarmac's scheme at Ladybridge Farm, Nosterfield, near Ripon.

Timewatch will hand 1,500 letters of objection and a petition on Monday that will carry more than 10,000 signatures to North Yorkshire County Council planning chiefs.

The response will be the largest number of objections the council has ever received to a single application.

Timewatch chairman George Chaplin said: "Our response shows that the application is fundamentally flawed and contrary to council planning policy on many counts.

He added: "We feel that by showing we are more than willing to argue our case, together with significant public support, we can ensure that right is done at Thornborough."

taken from the article at Leeds Today

leedstoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=39&ArticleID=1073879

coverage also at the bbc website

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/4642175.stm

From BBCi, 16 June 2005

A New York-based conservation group has joined the battle to prevent further quarrying near an ancient monument known as the Stonehenge of the North.

The Landmarks Foundation said plans by Tarmac to extend its sand and gravel quarry close to Thornborough Henges, near Ripon, would be a "tragedy".

North Yorkshire County Council is due to consider the application to extend the quarry later in the year.

The foundation said: "We strongly urge the council to reject the application."

Tarmac already has a quarry at Nosterfield, close to the ancient henges.

The new site at Ladybridge Farm is also near the henges, which consist of three earthworks built in a line running north-south for about a mile.

Residents fear further quarrying could destroy clues about why the 5,000-year-old earthworks were built.

Their fears have come to the attention of the Landmarks Foundation, which says its mission is to conserve sacred sites and landscapes around the world.

Continues...

A company which wants to quarry near an ancient monument has dismissed suggestions that the site contains items of archaeological importance.

Tarmac wants to extend its sand and gravel operations next to Thornborough Henges near Ripon, North Yorks.

Residents fear further quarrying could destroy clues about why the 5,000-year-old earthworks were built.

But archaeologists working for Tarmac say there is only "thin and scattered" evidence of prehistoric activity.

Tarmac commissioned York-based Mike Griffiths and Associates (MGA) to carry out a visual survey as part of its application to the county council to extend its present quarry at Nosterfield.

The new site at Ladybridge Farm would bring quarrying much nearer the henges which consist of three earthworks built in a line running north-south for about a mile.

Each henge consists of circular earth banks and ditches which may have been covered with gypsum.

Archaeologist Steve Timms from MGA said: "With the exception of just seven shallow pits which contained Neolithic finds, very little else has been found.

"Apart from two fragments of pottery we have no evidence for Roman or medieval activity at all and most of the prehistoric finds were collected from the surface of the fields during the field walking

"The evidence suggests that people were doing something on the site in the Neolithic period but there is not enough evidence to say what it was."

North Yorkshire County Council is due to consider the application to extend the quarry later in the year.

Mike Sanders from Friends of Thornborough Henges said the MGA survey was "quite inadequate".

"Less than 2% of the Ladybridge Farm site has been surveyed," he claimed.

Mr Sanders added that advances in archaeological techniques in future years might turn up more evidence and destroying the landscape now meant that opportunity would be lost.

from bbc.co.uk, 24 May 2005

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/4577241.stm

From This is Richmond, 19 may 2005

A QUARRY firm's own archaeologists said a site chosen for excavation should not be disturbed, according to campaigners.

Pressure group Timewatch said finds from an archaeological study paid for by Tarmac Northern meant no further quarrying should be allowed at Nosterfield Quarry, near Masham, North Yorkshire.

Quarry bosses said the study of Ladybridge Farm found "thin and scattered evidence of activity dating back to the Mesolithic period that had been dispersed by thousands of years of farming".

But George Chaplin, chairman of Timewatch, said a site of even greater archaeological potential than even they had suspected had been uncovered.

Mr Chaplin said: "The little that is left must be protected from quarrying."

The study was conducted to accompany a planning application to extend the quarry, which will be looked at by North Yorkshire County Council later this year.

Tarmac estates manager Bob Nisholson said: "The survey and report were produced by professional archaeologists. The report has been submitted to North Yorkshire County Council and the county council will evaluate it as part of the planning application process."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/north_yorkshire/4505191.stm

Opponents say the plans threaten the 'Stonehenge of the North'

More than 100 pagans joined a fight against proposals to extend quarrying at a historic site in North Yorkshire.

Tarmac Northern wants to extend its present operations close to the Thornborough Henges ancient earthworks near Ripon.

The druids met at the site to mark the May Day ritual of Beltane, a pagan celebration of the height of spring.

Local archaeologists also joined the protest. The group claims the Henges are under threat from the quarrying.

The area has the greatest concentration of late Neolithic and early Bronze Age sites in the UK.

It also boasts the country's largest quarrying operation on prehistoric land, Nosterfield Quarry, which produces more than 500,000 tonnes of sand and gravel each year.

The firm says it is not seeking to quarry on the earthworks which form the three 5,000-year-old circles which may have been a ceremonial meeting place.

Atkins Heritage was commissioned by English Heritage and the Thornborough Henges Consultation Group to prepare a conservation plan for the local area. At a meeting with residents on Wednesday they suggested an eight square mile "exclusion zone". Project manager Andrew Croft said the aim of the plan, due to be completed by next March, was to aid decisions on planning applications, archaeological research and landscape management. The area covered includes Nosterfield Quarry, which has a pending planning application for quarrying only half a mile from the henges.

Local landowners are concerned controls could hit their livelihoods. For example, potato farmer David Robinson, of Howgrave Hall, said a ploughing depth restriction of eight inches would put him out of business.

Mike Sanders, of the Friends of Thornborough, said he hoped North Yorkshire Council would act on the plan's recommendations. He suggested the area would benefit from tourism, and that farmers could be offered compensation or subsidies to allow access to the sites.

summarised from the Yorkshire Post article at

yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=55&ArticleID=1006494

Burying treasures

There are no guarantees against development of land that is 'protected' or part of a national park. Paul Evans on how hundreds of sites are at risk

Wednesday April 13, 2005

The Guardian

Thornborough Henges, in the Vale of York near Ripon, is one of the largest complexes of megalithic sites in Britain. But the grassy ring of undulating earthworks – 5 metres high and some 250 metres in diameter, with other great rings beyond – is no Stonehenge. There are no signs guiding tourists to the site, no interpretation boards, ticket kiosks, or gift shops, just a fence and a locked gate.

You know when you get to this important archaeological site because of the sound of bulldozers. Thornborough Henges has Britain's largest quarrying operation on prehistoric land. Nosterfield Quarry – run by construction firm Tarmac Northern – produces more than 500,000 tonnes of sand and gravel each year and, until last week, the firm was planning to extend its activities all around and right up to the site.

Following protests, it has now agreed not to quarry sand and gravel from the nearby Thornborough Moor, but is applying to expand its existing quarry by 45 hectares (111 acres), which at its closest point will be half a mile away from the nearest of the three Thornborough Henges. A Tarmac spokesman this week said: "We are committed to the protection of the monument and have provided financial assistance to English Heritage for its conservation plan study."

Although the rings will not be damaged, much of the historical landscape around them has already been destroyed by generations of quarrying, – something inconceivable at Stonehenge or at many sites of far less historical importance in the south of England.

David Austin, a landscape archaeologist and co-editor of the journal Landscapes is appalled. "Thornborough Henges have had a presence in the landscape for 5,000 years and every fibre of that [wider] landscape can tell us something about deep histories. But if this is stripped out by quarrying, we lose that history. We're back to year zero. It's an archaeological Pol Pot." The problem is that landscape protection in Britain is arbitrary, eccentric and frequently unable to stop the bulldozers. Almost one in three of Britain's designated 7,100 sites of special scientific interest (SSSI) are not in their target condition, and national parks and many sites of historical, ecological and cultural value are under threat from large scale developments.

The Welsh assembly has recently demanded that sand and gravel beds in the Usk estuary, which has SSSI status, be protected from future mining. Morlais Owen, chair of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales says: "These potential sand beds have not been evaluated for their quality, nor has there been an environmental impact assessment."

In Britain SSSI have been obliterated to make way for the Newbury bypass, the Twyford Down road, the M6 toll road, Fairmile, Manchester airport, and the Cardiff Bay development. It seems that having legal protection is just asking for trouble.

The problem, says the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is that no government has had the guts to revoke the archaic planning system that 50 years ago handed out mineral extraction permissions. According to Andy Tickle, senior countryside campaigner at the CPRE, these "dormant" quarries in national parks are "ticking time-bombs".

A recent report by Friends of the Peak District National Park revealed that there are 119 permissions in national parks across England: including 46 in the Peak District, 27 in the Lake District, 16 on Dartmoor and 14 in the Yorkshire Dales. All could re-open at any time until 2042.

More than a third of these old permissions have not been reviewed and 20 quarries are still working without any modern environmental control. Moreover, progress on closing damaging quarries using "prohibition orders" has been poor.

"There are still quarry sites in national parks and elsewhere that have not been reviewed and are working with no environmental impact assessment or control because of a presumption that permission was given years ago. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has said it will bring these quarries back under control, but it hasn't done so yet," says Tickle.

At Backdale Quarry in Derbyshire's Peak District National Park, quarrying restarted in July 2003. The operator, Merrimans of Leicester, had been given permission to remove a small amount of limestone in order to reach a vein of mineral fluorspar. But 175,000 tonnes of limestone later – which was sold as construction aggregate – and the fluorspar is still there.

The national park authority ordered Merrimans to stop in January, but the decision is being appealed against and next week will go to a public inquiry.

Just a few miles from Backdale quarry at Stanton Lees, protesters have for five years been camped out to try to protect the bronze age Nine Ladies stones from quarrying. Operator Stancliffe Stone is taking the Peak District National Park authority to court over its classification of the quarry as dormant. Stancliffe claims the quarry is active and that working it would not impact on the ancient monument.

"If the national park loses it will be awful," says Dot McGahan, a CPRE director. "Stancliffe could start quarrying or trade the site for another."

The quarry industry is pragmatic. "To close quarries down would mean a local authority buying out the owners," says Duncan Pollock, planning director of the Quarry Products Association (QPA). "In the Peak District National Park it would mean the park authority buying 137m tonnes of the permitted reserves at £5 per tonne."

Quarrying is believed to provide up to 10% of the UK's GDP. According to the QPA, each person in the UK generates 4 tonnes of aggregates a year (about 240m tonnes in total) and every new house uses 60 tonnes of quarry products. The Treasury's recent review of future housing needs by Kate Barker suggests that for supply to meet demand, 140,000 new houses must be built every year. That means some 8.4m extra tonnes of stone will have to be quarried annually.

Despite the demand being talked up in government plans, the QPA does not believe that there will be a significant increase in aggregate extraction. "During the construction boom of the 1980s the UK market was being supplied with 300m tonnes of aggregate," explains Jerry McLaughlin, a spokesman for QPA. "Today, the market is 200m tonnes of extracted aggregates and 65m tonnes of recycled material."

Although the association has a four-point plan that aims to control or phase out extraction from protected areas, it believes that if it is forced out of quarrying reserves in the Peak District and North Yorkshire, the industry would have to exploit other areas such as the East Midlands and Wales.

Not surprisingly, the QPA is not in favour of the aggregates levy, a tax on quarry companies to provide funds for communities suffering from thundering lorries, noise and dust from quarrying on their doorsteps. "The levy is a way of collecting money for the Treasury," says Pollock, "and is no incentive to improving local operations."

Back at Thornborough, it is not the henges that sit as ruins on the landscape; they have weathered the past 5,000 years. Instead, it is the landscape that is ruined.

The printed article includes a large image of the central henge credited to www.timewatch.org

society.guardian.co.uk/environment/story/0,14124,1457896,00.html

Ripon Gazette – 18/03/05 – Henges: Tarmac gives moor pledge

By Lee Sobot.

A quarry firm has stated that it has no intention to extract sand and gravel

from Thornborough Moor – home of the Thornborough Henges – within the next

ten years.

Tarmac Northern Ltd is currently quarrying nearby Nosterfield Quarry and has

applied to quarry Ladybridge Farm half a mile from the henges next year.

The application has upset archaeological campaigners who say Ladybridge Farm

is part of the henges setting and fear Thornborough Moor may be next on

Tarmac's list.

But on Wednesday Tarmac declared they will "not be seeking Thornborough Moor

to be included for allocation in the forthcoming review of North Yorkshire

County Council's minerals local plan".

The review covers the next ten-year period and is designed to ensure that

the county can meet its supply quota to the local construction industry.

Tarmac Northern company estates manager Rob Moore said the decision was

taken after listening to concerns expressed by local people.

He said "Some had mistakenly believed that the henges were under threat from

the imminent minerals local plan review and believed that this allocation

would be tantamount to permission to extract sand and gravel from beneath

Thornborough Moor.

"We have said time and time again and repeat that the henges, which are

scheduled ancient monuments within a scheduled protection zone, are not

threatened by quarrying.

"We hope that this move will help to allay any fears and confusion that

people may have in relation to our current planning application, remove the

that there is time pressure to conserve the henges and allow time for a full

conservation plan study for the henges."

George Chaplin, chairman of TimeWatch, said the news was "welcomed" but

questioned Tarmac's commitment to staying away from Thornborough Moor long

term.

He said "What we would like is an uncomplicated, unambiguous statement from

Tarmac saying they have no intention ever of quarrying Thornborough Moor,

that should be pretty straightforward."

While John Lowry, chairman of Friends of Thornborough, said Tarmac's

declaration was "reassuring", he added "it is not relevant to the Ladybridge

Farm application which is our main concern, I think it is a bit of a red

herring.

"I suppose it is reassuring but we were never too worried about Thornborough

Moor – the chances of Tarmac being given permission to quarry Thornborough

Moor are pretty remote now that we have raised the profile. They could never

quarry right up to the henges – they are internationally important

recognised monuments."

* Tarmac is holding a public meeting on Wednesday at West Tanfield Memorial

Hall at 7.30pm. The company will provide updated reports on archaeology,

ecology and the proposals for Ladybridge Farm which, they say, have been

substantially revised following feedback from local residents.

Please take the time to support the Thornborough Henges by signing the petition here: petitiononline.com/TimeW1/petition.html

"The quarry application is going to be decided within the next couple of months and we want our government to have a clear statement that we think this is wrong.

If you take a minute to view the animation on the TimeWatch homepage (http://www.timewatch.org)you will get a good idea of what we are complaining about.

N.B. The Petition is international."

(a quote of Hengist's plea to sign the Thornborough Henges Petition: brigantesnation.com/index.html)

Campaigners have hit back at claims by quarry company Tarmac over the threat of job losses if it is not allowed to expand its operations close to the Thornborough Henges.

In a statement last week Tarmac warned the local economy would suffer if quarrying had to cease and said tourism would not compensate for the loss of some £2.3m resulting from its present operations at Nosterfield Quarry.

Responding to the claims this week, the Friends of Thornborough campaign group insisted that quarrying did not provide long-term jobs.

Chairman, John Lowry said: "Aggregates quarries actually create very few jobs in relation to the amount of land they sterilise, and the employees know those jobs are relatively short-lived because all mining ventures have a limited life.

"To ensure a constant supply of minerals, well-managed mining companies buy up mineral reserves in advance, phasing development so that a new quarry is opened as an existing one becomes exhausted. So jobs are not 'lost' – they are simply transferred to the new quarry and the sub-contractors follow them.

Mr Lowry, who is a qualified exploration geologist and chartered engineer, added: "In trying to reduce this issue to a simple contest between the relative economic benefits of quarrying versus tourism, Tarmac is cynically ignoring the over-riding need to save Yorkshire's greatest archaeological treasure for future generations.

"Due to the concern our campaign has raised in both Parliament and the EEC, Tarmac now has to prove that it is necessary to destroy a landscape of international importance in order to supply a local market with sand and gravel that could readily be obtained from a less sensitive site like those already quarried by its competitors."

Tarmac is applying for planning permission to quarry further land close to the henges, at the Ladybridge Farm site.

But Mr Lowry said: "Tarmac's employees should be demanding that the company gives up its plans to expand near the henges and turns its attentions to opening a replacement quarry in a location already designated by the county council. Surely good management practice dictates that a contingency plan should already be in place, in case the application to extend the present quarry is refused?"

Knaresborough Today at

knaresboroughtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=18&ArticleID=968360

THE Thornborough Henges, three huge prehistoric circle-and-ditch structures near Ripon in North Yorkshire, have been described as "the Stonehenge of the North".

Such is the archaeological importance of these little-known monuments, laid out some 5,000 years ago in an area as rich with barrows, cursuses, and other remains as Salisbury Plain, that English Heritage describes Thornborough as the most important ancient site between Wiltshire and the Orkneys. Each of Thornborough's circles is 240 metres across – large enough to contain 10 Stonehenges. But the visitor who turns off the A1 in search of the henges will find no helpful brown sign to guide him. Better to look out for the giant conveyors on which Tarmac Northern Ltd, a subsidiary of Anglo-American, the world's biggest mining company, extracts 500,000 tons of gravel a year from its Nosterfield quarry, a couple of hundred yards to the north of the monument.

Tarmac has already worked out large quarries immediately to the west of the henges, and Nosterfield is coming to the end of its life. Tarmac has therefore applied to North Yorkshire county council (NYCC) for planning permission to open another quarry at nearby Ladybridge farm. In the longer term it plans to excavate all the land around the henges, in some places coming as close as 50 metres to the monuments. When quarrying is finished the henges would survive as an island in the middle of a series of lakes, as it is cheaper for Tarmac to let the holes it has made fill up with water (and call them "nature reserves") than restore the landscape to farmland.

For many people who care about Britain's heritage, the thought of this important ancient landscape being torn up is appalling. In a parliamentary answer to Vale of York MP Anne McIntosh in December 2003, culture secretary Tessa Jowell said: "My officials are supporting English Heritage's firm opposition to any further gravel extraction in the vicinity of the scheduled site until...the archaeology is better understood. English Heritage is concerned about the wider landscape setting of the henge monuments and is currently funding a project by Newcastle University to undertake extensive archaeological research in this area."

Alas the campaign to save the henge landscape is seemingly being undermined by the very man whose job it is to protect it. North Yorkshire county archaeologist Neil Campling has told people not to sign a petition calling for an end to quarrying within a mile of the henges because "there are currently no planning applications for, and not even any discussions about, quarrying around the middle and southern henges" – which isn't true – and because there is "little archaeology" in the fields around the henges.

How Mr Campling can know this, when little investigation has been done, is a mystery. He is happy for Tarmac's own archaeologist Mike Griffiths (Campling's predecessor at the county council) to investigate a sample of just two percent of the Ladybridge site. Other archaeologists believe a sample of eight to 10 percent would give a better idea of what may be there. Ten years ago a two percent survey of Nosterfield – just 50 metres from Ladybridge – led to the conclusion that there was little of interest in the ground, and the planning application was passed. When the diggers went in, Tarmac's archaeologists were "surprised" to find what they admitted was "the largest group of Neolithic features of this type so far recognised in the North of England". Now Tarmac is poised to make the same "mistake" again. But at least it'll get its gravel.

TimeWatch Media Release – 28.02.05

TimeWatch group launches major attack on Tarmac plc.

After six months of campaigning under the banner of Heritage Action, the Thornborough Campaign is now to be launched as a separate, independent campaign group, called TimeWatch.

"When we first started campaigning about Thornborough, there was just a handful of us and we were extremely pleased to find a supportive home within Heritage Action" commented George Chaplin. "Now our campaign group has grown so large within Heritage Action that it made sense to launch an independent group in it's own right, with a wider remit and set of priorities.

"The new group will keep its focus on Thornborough's archaeology but will widen its involvement into all other related issues. The impacts of quarrying will be felt far beyond the purely archaeological ones and we intend to ensure the public is fully informed of them."

Nigel Swift, chairman of Heritage Action said: "This reflects well on all who have worked so hard on the Thornborough Campaign. It has grown to be one of the largest of its kind in Britain, reflecting the grave national concern that exists.

"The two organisations will now take up parallel but independent roles. Heritage Action will continue campaigning on threats to all ancient sites and supporting the campaigns of others. TimeWatch will concentrate on raising national awareness of individual sites under threat, starting with Thornborough. We wish them well and look forward to working closely with

them in future."

For more information on TimeWatch and the Thornborough campaign, the public are urged to visit the TimeWatch website at www.timewatch.org

Campaigners fighting further quarrying near a site of historical interest will demonstrate at a museum at the weekend.

Members of Heritage Action, angry at plans by Tarmac Northern to extend its Nosterfield Quarry close to Thornborough Henges, near Masham, North Yorkshire, will protest outside the Buried Treasures exhibition staged at Manchester Museum. They are unhappy at Tarmac Northern's sponsorship of the event.

Heritage Action spokesman George Chaplin said: "This is a marvellous exhibition and we hope as many people as possible will see it, but we want them to also reflect on who is sponsoring it and why.

"Tarmac Northern are applying to quarry the surroundings of Thornborough Henges, in North Yorkshire, and the buried archaeology there is treasure as well. We find Tarmac's behaviour breathtakingly hypocritical."

Tarmac chief executive officer Robbie Robertson said he was saddened and surprised that Heritage Action should want to picket the exhibition.

"Careful investigation, recovery and recording of artefacts is an on-going feature of our quarrying operations," he said. "Through working with professional archaeologists, we believe that we have added significantly to knowledge and understanding at Nosterfield and other sites across the UK. At Nosterfield alone, we have spent in excess of £400,000 on detailed archaeological work covering more than 100 acres of land."

He said this included intensive field work, geophysical surveys, trial excavations, sieving and sampling, radio carbon dating and logging of all finds on a website that people could view.

From 'This is the North East'

thisisthenortheast.co.uk/the_north_east/news/NEWS12.html

Heritage Action Media Release – 19th October 2004

A 5,000 year old ceremony is to be recreated this week as campaigners carry an ancient ceremonial axe through Yorkshire's "Sacred Vale" to Thornborough.

"The area between Catterick and Boroughbridge can claim to be Britain's first great religious and ceremonial centre" said George Chaplin of Heritage Action. "It contains Britain's largest concentration of prehistoric henges, vast circular earthworks that were used as ceremonial meeting places. We are staging a march through this "Sacred Vale" to highlight that the area is an immensely important part of our local and national heritage and that plans to quarry the surrounding archaeology are akin to vandalism."

The trek will take place on Friday and Saturday 22nd and 23rd of October and takes in all of the original ancient ritual landscape – seven mighty henges and a giant stone row, as well as many other monuments that line the route. The route focuses on the mile-long triple henge monument at Thornborough, the location of a bitter battle between protestors and quarry firm Tarmac.

The marchers will carry with them a prehistoric stone axe that last travelled the route five millennia ago. The axe was originally brought from Scotland, and was deposited in a ritual location close to Thornborough.

"We believe it's vitally important that the Sacred Vale is recognised for what it is" said Mr Chaplin. "It's not just important to Yorkshire, it's important to Britain. If the destruction of the surroundings of any of these monuments is allowed to continue it would be a national disgrace, not just a Yorkshire one. We hope that by setting up this heritage trail people can be given the chance to explore this little known but supremely important landscape. The more people that get to know about it the more chance there is that it will be saved".

A more comprehensive article appears in the Ripon Gazette:

Horses find shows that we are not riding roughshod through archaeology – Tarmac

Quarry firm Tarmac has faced bitter criticism from campaigners fighting to protect the prehistoric Thornborough Henges and has been accused of destroying archaeological remains in the same area. But nothing could be further from the truth, the company tells Lee Sobot.

Earlier this year, the skeletal remains of four horses were discovered at Nosterfield Quarry, near West Tanfield.

A fragment was sent for carbon dating in Scotland and the recently revealed results tell us that the horses date back to the Iron Age – in this case about 50AD.

The horses were lying nose to tail, suggesting something remarkably ritualistic about the find. The skeletons are now being stored at Kings Manor in York, part of the University.

Discoveries like this are rare, highly significant and of major archaeological interest.

So who discovered them? It was Tarmac, the firm that stands accused not caring about the archaeology of the area.

Tarmac say discoveries like these are proof they want to preserve archaeology, quite the opposite of destroying it.

"Quarrying in the UK has provided us with a massive amount of archaeological finds" says Mike Griffiths, the site's archaeologist employed by Tarmac.

"I have been doing this since the 1960's and I am happy to say that more archaeological information has come through quarrying than any other source".

Mr Griffiths began looking at the Nosterfield Quarry and Ladybridge Farm sites ten years ago. He is paid by Tarmac to ensure they are not quarrying land containing significant archaeology. He must also ensure any archaeology found is removed and recorded.

Over the years, field walking, test pitting, trial excavations, geophysical surveys and sieving and sampling have been among the performed by Mr Griffith's team.

The discovery of four Iron Age horses at Nosterfield Quarry proves that Tarmac and Mr Griffiths are doing their job and the skeletal remains are by far the most significant discovery on the site.

But Mr Griffiths says he can assure campaigners, including Friends of Thornborough, that similar finds are unlikely to exist at Ladybridge Farm, set to be quarried in 2006 if planning permission is granted. After years of research he says he knows best.

"The Iron Age horses are a significant find and are probably connected to the Romans," he says.

"But there is not as much archaeology here as people say. We have done the work, we have done the topsoiling and we know. I get really annoyed when people say Tarmac are not bothered about archaeology and just want to bulldoze their way through – people have misconceived what Tarmac are about."

"We strip the area first to check for archaeology and every single discovery is recorded and reported."

Mr Griffiths says that, unfairly, he and Tarmac are on a loser as regards any archaeological investigations, despite the fact that Tarmac have spent £420,000 researching the archaeology of Nosterfield Quarry and Ladybridge Farm. If archaeology is found "we told you so" will be the response from campaign groups like the Friends of Thornborough. If not, Tarmac will be seen to be quite literally, hiding the facts.

"Now we are producing the results of our archaeological studies and we are not producing the picture that people want to see," says Mr Griffiths.

"But we are producing the real picture. A lot of emotion has got into this but we are producing the facts and it is time that some of that emotion was diffused."

A huge file on the table is bursting with extensive archaeological research, and Mr Griffiths says Tarmac has stopped at nothing to ensure meticulous studying has taken place. Tarmac is now preparing to present the council with a detailed evaluation report of Ladybridge early next year. It will say there is little significant archaeology and what there is is scattered.

Rob Moore, estates manager for Tarmac Northern says "We have gone well beyond the legal requirements in our research."

As well as arguing there is little archaeology on Ladybridge Farm, Tarmac say there are numerous other reasons why quarrying on Ladybridge must go ahead, and leading them is demand.

TV hope for henges protestors

A campaign group fighting to stop quarrying being extended near an ancient landmark say a BBC series will aid their efforts.

Thornborough Henges, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, will feature on British

Isles – A Natural History, which is being presented by Alan Titchmarsh.

A forthcoming episode will cover the Ice Age, showing how the end of the

glacial period left much of Britain covered with gravel.

A later episode will explore the impact which humans had on the landscape,

including a look at Thornborough Henges, which was the largest construction of the Neolithic period.

Tarmac Northern, which already quarries land near the monuments, has asked North Yorkshire County Council for permission to extend its operation in the area.

George Chaplin, Thornborough campaign co-ordinator for Heritage Action,

said: "The programme will first show how extensive the gravel beds in the

north of England are and later how important the henges are. We just have to make sure that the people who watch this know about the quarrying."

Published: 04/10/2004

thisisthenortheast.co.uk/the_north_east/entertainment/TV1.html

From a Yorkshire Today article by David Garner, published on 28th September 2004:

The man who helped unlock the secrets of one of Britain's most important Neolithic sites has launched a fierce attack on plans to extend nearby quarry workings.

Dr Jan Harding, of Newcastle University, has criticised Tarmac Northern's plans to expand open-cast extraction of sand and gravel in the prehistoric landscape around Thornborough Henges near Ripon.

The company is seeking approval from North Yorkshire County Council to extract thousands of tonnes of aggregate from 111 acres at Ladybridge Farm, Nosterfield, close to the 5,500-year-old scheduled ancient monument. The henges, earthworks with a diameter of 240 metres – more than 250 yards are thought to have been a centre for ritual worship drawing pilgrims from across the North. They are part of a concentration of monuments stretching south-west roughly parallel with the course of the River Ure. Dr Harding, senior lecturer in archaeology and director of graduate studies at Newcastle, has been leading research in the area for nearly a decade. He says the company has submitted factually misleading statements and failed to recognise the importance of Ladybridge.

Pressure group the Friends of Thornborough say Dr Harding's status as an authority on the archaeology of the monument suggests his criticism of the Tarmac plans should be heeded by County Hall. He insists that the existing quarry at Nosterfield has already destroyed part of the remains of a settlement occupied by the Neolithic builders and users of the henges, while proposed extension would obliterate the remainder, preventing it being studied by researchers in the future.

"The archaeological value of Ladybridge cannot be over-estimated. It has a unique contribution to make to understanding both Thornborough's archaeology and settlement patterns in later Neolithic Britain," Dr Harding said. Tarmac plans to employ similar rescue techniques for any buried archaeology at Ladybridge to those it has used in Nosterfield quarry but these are dismissed by Dr Harding as "badly conceived". In a strongly worded critique of the company's proposals submitted to County Hall, he says:

"It would be misguided for the shabby treatment of an archaeological landscape of regional, national and international significance to be followed with the rapid and complete destruction of what remains of the settlement area to the north of the henge complex."

Dr Harding has warned county councillors that allowing quarrying to go ahead would be "widely condemned as an act of vandalism." County Hall has allowed until tomorrow for public comments about the Tarmac proposals. But Tarmac Northern's company estates manager, Rob Moore, said yesterday:

"It is usual with planning applications of this nature for the planning

authority to seek additional information on a wide range of issues.

"Among the additional information that we will be providing is a detailed archaeological evaluation of the Ladybridge Farm site following the completion of investigations involving geophysical surveys, field walking, test pitting, trial excavations, sieving and sampling.

"This evaluation was proposed in the environmental impact assessment that we submitted as part of our application and is designed to provide the county council and other interested parties with an accurate picture of the archaeological make up of the Ladybridge site."

Original article.

Campaigners fighting to preserve one of the most important ancient sites in Britain have been given a six-month breathing space before its future is decided.

As the 24 Hour Museum has previously reported, the land surrounding Thornborough Henges, Yorkshire, has been threatened by an application for quarrying work, which would dash undisturbed archaeological evidence.

However, building materials supplier Tarmac Northern, which wishes to extract gravel from nearby Ladybridge Farm, failed to meet North Yorkshire County Council's September deadline for producing an essential archaeological report.

The henges measure 240 metres across and stretch over 20 miles of Yorkshire countryside. Courtesy Friends of Thornborough

In the absence of the report, the council have chosen to delay any planning meetings about the application until 2005.

George Chaplin of the Thornborough Action campaign group told the 24 Hour Museum: "We know there's a high chance of nationally important archaeology sitting with Ladybridge … The archaeology report will now be available to the planning committee when they discuss the application, this is very good news."

The 5000-year-old complex of henges at Thornborough, close to Ripon, is considered by archaeologists to be one of the most important and best preserved prehistoric sites in the country.

The henges themselves are scheduled ancient monuments, and thus protected, but the surrounding land is not, although it is of high importance to researchers because it makes up the ritual landscape – an area stretching at least a mile around the site believed to contain hundreds of archaeological features related to ceremonial practices.

George feels that Thornborough Action has been given a platform to galvanise their campaign: "This additional six months is welcomed by us. We're now going to concentrate on spreading the word – by next year we'll have more objection letters than ever before."

Support for the campaign is not confined to locals anymore – a recent meeting in London attracted a healthy contingent, while more and more people are attending Yorkshire meetings. Considerable interest has also been shown by farmers when the group has taken its message to Masham Sheep Festival.

"We're building up a head of steam," George continued. "We have to break that critical mass."

The next campaign meeting will be held at the Forest of Galtres Society, Easingwold on September 28. Attendees can expect an interesting talk from George, who enlivens the evening with a multimedia presentation. The meetings focus on informing people about the henges themselves – George believes that after people are educated about "Britain's ancient ritual capital", they realise why preservation is so important.

The ritual landscape will see another Christmas thanks to the council's decision to hold off planning meetings until 2005. Courtesy George Chaplin.

The campaign group has also produced a range of Christmas cards depicting the henges. By the time they start dropping on doormats, Tarmac's report should be in the hands of the council.

George said: "Of course, even if the archaeological report goes some way to confirm the clear signs of ritual culture that have already been noted on the site, Tarmac will still apply to quarry the lot."

A spokesman for Tarmac Northern stressed that it is usual for planning authorities to seek additional information with applications of this nature.

He said: "Among the additional information that we will be providing is a detailed archaeological evaluation of the Ladybridge Farm site following the completion of investigations involving geophysical surveys, field walking, test pitting, trial excavations, sieving and sampling."

24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART24211.html

Quarry firm Tarmac Northern Ltd wants to open up a new area of extraction at

its sand and gravel quarry close to the Thornborough Henges. These proposals

have been the focus of widespread condemnation from heritage groups across

the UK.

In June 2004 Heritage Action raised concerns that Tarmac were trying to

derail the planning process by failing to submit important archaeological

documents with their planning application. The archaeological significance

of the Thornborough Henges is a paramount concern for a great many people.

Any plan submitted without taking into account archaeological evidence of

what is "in the ground" at Ladybridge is clearly not in accordance with

planning guidelines.

At that time North Yorkshire County Council chose to press ahead with the

application despite this report being omitted from the application. At that

time, Tarmac had apparently made a commitment to provide the missing report

by September 2004.

However, that report has not been forthcoming and is now not expected until

sometime around Christmas. With this in mind the council have decided to

delay any discussion about the Ladybridge application until the new year.

This turn of events is welcomed by Heritage Action. It should effectively

mean that a new consultation process will start the New Year, with a

revamped planning application that should fully take into account all of the

items required by planning rules, not just a selected few.

So far, North Yorkshire County Council have received an unprecedented number

of objections to the planning application thanks to Heritage Action's

Thornborough Campaign Team, who have been extremely proactive in lobbying

against this development.

A preliminary report of the plans was set to go before council committee

next month, but both Tarmac and English Heritage are now collecting further

archaeological information regarding the site. As a result, a new public

consultation process will have to follow early next year.

Chris Jarvis, of North Yorkshire County Council's Planning and Countryside

Unit, confirmed the delay this week.

He said: "The archaeological information being collected all forms part of

the consultation process and it is going to be some time before we get

anywhere."

Among those opposed to any further quarrying is top archaeologist Aubrey

Burl, who likened Tarmac's plans to "dropping Stonehenge into the River

Avon".

The Council for British Archaeology (CBA), the Yorkshire Archaeological

Society (YAS) and the British Archaeological Trust (BAT) also oppose the

plans and the issue has been featured in the national press and the UK's

most popular archaeology publications.

Thornborough is now the target for growing international concern and is

becoming increasingly accepted as one of the UK's top heritage sites. Mr

Chaplin said "Tarmac and its parent company Anglo American Plc need to think

carefully how this (their application) is going to impact on their

international reputation".

Taken from article by Joe Willis at This Is the North East: complete story at thisisthenortheast.co.uk/the_north_east/news/NEWS4.html

George Lambrick, director of the Council for British Archaeology, is one of several senior archaeologists who have spoken out against the plans by owners Tarmac Northern. He said: "The proposals are contrary to national and local policy. The application is incomplete, non-compliant with regulatory requirements, and granting consent would set unacceptable precedents."

Other experts backing campaign group Heritage Action in their fight against the extension include Peter Addyman, of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society. He said: "This area is part of an extensive area of archaeological importance and potential, the destruction of which, even with archaeological recording and surveys, is not in the local, regional or national interest."

Meanwhile, archaeologist and Stonehenge expert Aubrey Burl likened Tarmac's plans to dropping the Wiltshire stone circle into the River Avon.

...

The planning application will be considered by councillors next month.

by Norman Hammond, Archaeology Correspondent of The Times Online, 24 August 2004

UNPRECEDENTED protests have been made in Yorkshire about plans to quarry the prehistoric ritual landscape around the Thornborough Henges.

Although the closing date for comments on the proposals is still more than a month away, North Yorkshire County Council has received more objections than for any other planning application, according to the magazine Current Archaeology.

Thornborough — sometimes called "the Stonehenge of the North" although the monuments consist of three huge earthen banked circles without stones — has long been a scheduled ancient monument in recognition of its importance.

But protesters say that the problem is that, as at Stonehenge, the visible monument is just the core of a densely packed ritual area of other ancient sites. "The quarry has already eaten 40 per cent of the ritual landscape of the henges, we cannot afford to lose more," Current Archaeology says.

English Heritage stated this year that Thornborough was "the most important ancient site between Stonehenge and the Orkneys", but quarrying so far has come within yards of the henges. Although Tarmac Northern Ltd, the company involved, has responded by announcing that it will hold off plans to quarry Thornborough Moor, one of its potential gravel sources that is closest to the henges, it has applied to expand at the Ladybridge Farm site to the north.

"If permission is granted to quarry there, it will cause the loss of a further 111 acres of archaeology that is of critical importance", Current Archaeology says. More than 10,000 people have already signed a petition against the development, organised by Heritage Action, which claims that the Ladybridge site "is potentially the most important remaining area of archaeology in the ritual landscape of the henges".

George Chaplin of Heritage Action said that Ladybridge included the remains of a settlement between the henges and a dried-up glacial lake to the north which may have been used by those attending rituals. "Current quarrying in this general zone has already turned up large amounts of archaeology: smaller investigative excavations indicate even more lies within the Ladybridge area. It is a tragedy that despite knowing this, Tarmac is intent on going ahead," Chaplin told the magazine.

The landscape includes settlement, alignments of pits creating avenues to structures no longer visible, and burials covering three millennia of ceremonial activity. "Much of this archaeology is extremely rare and nationally important in its own right," Current Archaeology says.

Heritage campaigners fighting to stop the destruction of the massive Thornborough henge complex this week delivered more than 600 written objections to the planning department of North Yorkshire County Council in Northallerton, northern England.

     The letters – which were delivered in a wheelbarrow – are as a result of a local, national and international campaign being co-ordinated by George Chaplin, the Thornborough Campaign co-ordinator for Heritage Action.

read more....

More national publicity for the threatened henge complex. Mr Chaplin puts the case in Martin Wainwright's article at:

'Diggers threaten ancient monument'

guardian.co.uk/arts/news/story/0,11711,1276469,00.html

A HUGE number of objections are being delivered to County Hall today, protesting against a quarry firm's bid to extend its operations near the 'Stonehenge of the North'.

Thornborough Henge campaigners hope to have collected a massive 1,000 individual letters of objection against Tarmac Northern Ltd's plan to extend their sand and gravel extractions at Nosterfield Quarry.

The Friends of Thornborough and Heritage Action have also collected thousands more signatures on petitions, including on the internet, protesting against the threat to the prehistoric site, near Bedale.

Today they will be using a wheelbarrow to take the objections to North Yorkshire County Council which is set to decide on the issue.

Speaking of the massive support, George Chaplin, Heritage Action's Thornborough Campaign co-ordinator and member of the Friends of Thornborough, said: "We have really upped the ante; we want to make a splash and show the powers that be some clear confirmation of the level of support.

"We feel that by presenting the council with more objections than it has ever received for any application, we can send a clear message about the strength of public concern."

The campaign involved members visiting houses throughout the area and asking residents if they were interested in giving their support and writing a letter of protest.

Houses in Masham, Thornton Watlass, Newton-le-Willows, Well, Thornborough and Crayke Hall were all targeted and by Wednesday the group had already received around 600 letters with the promise of more to come.

Around ten per cent of the protest letters are from abroad, reflecting the international interest in the site, and an online petition has so far gained 3,300 signatures.

Although the statutory period for consultation officially ends tomorrow, people can still object to the application up to September 30.

Mr Chaplin said: "Once the statutory period is over we intend to concentrate on the quality rather than quantity of the objections as well as continuing the process of gaining international recognition for the Thornborough Henges.

In a statement, Tarmac Northern estates manager Bob Nicholson said the company shared the public's concern for local heritage and the need to protect the area of the henges.

"We have announced that we do not intend to go ahead with any planning application to excavate the area surrounding the protected henges, pending the outcome of a detailed English Heritage study which will reveal the extent of the area's competing land uses," he said.

"We have also explained that by progressing our application to excavate sand and gravel at nearby Ladybridge Farm in the meantime we will be uncovering artefacts which would otherwise be left undiscovered, or worse, damaged by modern agricultural practices.

"In fact, Tarmac has an exceptional record in the recovery and protection of important archeological finds.

"We also continue to operate an open door policy with all local interest groups and the relevant statutory authorities to ensure we work together to find a solution which protects our local heritage at the same time as drawing on much-needed resources for the region's construction industry."

Mr Alwyn Shaw, the county council's principal minerals and waste planning officer, could not confirm whether the number of objections was a record for such an application, as claimed by the campaigners.

"Everybody is entitled to make their views be known and we will look at them, read them, and present a summary of them to the planning committee," he said.

"This is a controversial application and there has been a lot of concerns, as there is with a lot of quarry and waste applications. They attract local interest."

Mr Shaw said a preliminary report would go before committee in October, and he believed a recommendation would be made that councillors undertake a site visit, probably in December.

"We would then have the full report with the full details and all representations heard. We accept that it is a difficult decision and we have to acknowledge people's concerns."

northallertontoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=22&ArticleID=831525

CAMPAIGNERS delivered a wheelbarrow full of objections against more quarrying near an ancient monument in North Yorkshire yesterday.

About 550 letters were handed to the county council from protestors fighting plans to extend the Nosterfield Quarry, close to Thornborough Henges, near Ripon, North Yorkshire.

Campaign group Heritage Action says the proposal by Tarmac Northern would destroy a significant archaeological site.

George Chaplin, Heritage Action campaign co-ordinator, said: "This is the most important monument between Stonehenge and the Orkneys and we expect it to be a long campaign.

"This is just an initial show of concern.

"Thornborough Henges has been woefully under-recognised as a site of importance and we aim to move forward with a national campaign to build awareness.

"Our work will be going on all summer. We have meetings set up all over the place to spotlight the issue."

The site is said to contain the greatest concentration of late Neolithic and early Bronze Age henges – or circular monuments – in the country.

It is thought the henges may have been the most important sacred site in Britain 5,000 years ago and English Heritage has backed the protest campaign.

The county council expects to produce a preliminary report for consideration by councillors in September. This is likely to recommend a site visit and it could be December before any decision is taken.

thisisthenortheast.co.uk/the_north_east/northallerton/news/NEWS2.html

16 July 2004, from 24hourmuseum.org.uk

Yorkshire campaigners opposing the proposed planning application by Tarmac Northern to quarry close to Thornborough Henges in North Yorkshire, say the application contravenes the local council's policy on quarrying in the area.

Heritage Action claim that North Yorkshire County Council's 'Minerals Action Plan', which regulates mineral extraction and quarrying in the region, recommends a reduction in the supply of sand and gravel from the county by 500, 000 tonnes per year.

This they maintain is not consistent with Tarmac's proposed plans to quarry the nearby Ladybridge area. Continues here...

A decision on plans to quarry near an ancient monument known as "Britain's best kept prehistoric secret" will not be rushed, North Yorkshire Council has promised.

The council is considering an application by Tarmac Northern to extract sand and gravel from Ladybridge Farm at Nosterfield, near Ripon, which is within a mile of Thornborough Henges – three 5,500-year-old ancient monuments forming part of a sacred landscape across North Yorkshire.

English Heritage is among the opponents of quarrying until more archaeological investigations are carried out.

The council is waiting for archaeological information from Tarmac, which will form part of the company's environmental statement in support of its plans.

Tarmac has sought to reassure local people, including the Friends of Thornborough Henges, who oppose any further quarrying, that the Ladybridge Farm application for an 111-acre quarrying extension would not damage the area's archaeology.

Simon Smales, North Yorkshire's assistant director (planning and countryside unit), responded to Friends' criticism over the council's handling of the planning application, saying it would be determined in the same way as any other scheme. He said: "Far from putting anyone at a disadvantage, the county council is providing everyone who has an interest in this particular application a period of time far in excess of that required by law to formulate their views and provide their comments.

"The county council must strike a balance between complying with the relevant legislation, the efficient handling of a planning application and obtaining the views of those people who are affected by, or have an interest in, a proposed development."

Mr Smales said the usual 21-day period for responses had been extended by a week to July 30 and the Friends had been told the council would accept representations received up to September 30.

Planning officers are not expected to prepare a report for councillors before late October and a site visit would follow.

See snipurl.com/7rz8 for the original article by Julie Hemmings, as published on 14th July 2004 on the YorkshireToday web site.

- Come and find out from the horse's mouth exactly why it's so important that Thornborough should be quarried. You can ask questions.

From Nidderdale Today

nidderdaletoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=18&ArticleID=818968

"A quarry firm at the centre of a bitter row with conservationists is squaring up to its critics by staging a public exhibition to explain its controversial plans to extend operations next to an ancient site near Ripon.

Tarmac Northern Ltd – part of Anglo American plc, one of the world's largest mining companies – is holding the event to enable members of the public to find out more about its plans for Nosterfield Quarry at Thornborough.

Tarmac submitted proposals to extract sand and gravel from a further 111 acres at Ladybridge Farm, east of the current quarry, last month, saying the expansion was necessary to provide much-needed sand and gravel supplies to North Yorkshire's construction industry.

Now members of the public will be able to see the plans in detail for themselves. Visitors to the exhibition being held at West Tanfield village hall on Saturday, July 10, from 11am to 4pm, will find information about the application and quarrying in general. They will also be able to follow a virtual tour of how the area will be restored once the quarrying has finished, access information on the archaeology of the area and view some of the finds from excavations as part of the quarrying process.

Bob Nicholson, estates manager at Tarmac, said: "This is a great opportunity for residents from the local communities to get a clear picture of our plans for Ladybridge Farm, why we need to quarry here and how the area is going to be restored in the future. There will be a team of us there to deal with any questions people may have."

The exhibition by Tarmac will be closely followed by a talk about the importance of the henge site and what should be done to protect it.

http://www.ripontoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=18&ArticleID=805861

A quarry firm has been warned it has a fight on its hands over plans to extend its operations next to an ancient site of national importance.

Campaigners this week pledged to step up their fight to protect the unique triple henge complex at Thornborough, north of Ripon, after it was revealed that quarry operators had submitted a planning application to extract more sand and gravel nearby.

National campaign group Heritage Action has formed a small sub-group to look at the issues surrounding the neolithic site and to support local action group, the Friends of Thornborough, in their fight against further quarrying.

The Friends have been building up support for the last year, and now Heritage Action are urging more people nationwide to back their cause – and protest against the planning application by quarry company Tarmac Northern Ltd.

Tarmac has just submitted proposals to North Yorkshire County Council for an area of 111 acres at Ladybridge Farm, which lies to the east of the current Nosterfield Quarry at Thornborough.

The company says the expansion is necessary to provide much-needed sand and gravel supplies to North Yorkshire's construction industry.

But the Friends this week accused the quarry company of sacrificing heritage for profits and said Tarmac was going ahead with the planning application despite being made fully aware of its national significance.

Jon Lowry, chairman of the Friends, said: "I can assure Tarmac that it is in for a long fight and call upon all citizens of this country to join our demand, by writing to their MPs, that the government takes immediate action to protect this outstanding example of our national heritage by declaring it an Area of Archaeological Importance."

Heritage Action is also urging people to protest against Tarmac's proposals to extend its operation around the henge site, which archaeologists have dubbed the 'Stonehenge of the north'.

It is asking members of the public to write to Prime Minister Tony Blair, his deputy John Prescott and Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, as well as the county council.

The group's chairman, George Chaplin, who is also a member of the Friends, said this week there was pressure for the application to be called in by Mr Prescott, which would involve a public inquiry.

He added: "The site is Yorkshire's oldest and most important monument complex, and it's one that's already had a massive amount of damage done to it.

"We are going to make sure that the Thornborough issue reaches national headlines. It is important that the government is aware that this is a national issue."

Tarmac this week sought to give assurances that the proposals would not impact on the archaeology of the area because they do not include the area of Thornborough Moor, which contains the 5,500 year old henges.

And it said any future plans for the Thornborough Moor area would take full account of the archaeological and environmental value of the site.

Bob Nicholson, Tarmac's estates manager, said that, without an extension of the excavation area, Nosterfield Quarry would have to close in three years' time.

He added: "Tarmac will not pursue any further proposals until the findings of the English Heritage sponsored Conservation Plan are known.

"The application to extend the area of excavation to Ladybridge Farm includes detailed plans for initial soil stripping works to be monitored by a professional archaeologist to ensure any artefacts which may be discovered are investigated and recorded. There are also plans to fully restore the site to enhance biodiversity and nature conservation.

"As responsible quarry operators, this care and respect for the environment and its archaeological heritage, is standard practice for Tarmac."

For more information about Heritage Action's campaign see www.heritageaction.org. The Friends' website is at www.friendsofthornborough.org.

11/06/04

http://www.thisisdarlington.co.uk/the_north_east/news/NEWS35.html

by staff of The Darlington & Stockton Times

A LEADING minerals company is prepared to sacrifice archaeological heritage near Bedale for profits, it was claimed this week.

A local campaign group has reacted angrily to the announcement that, as expected, Tarmac Northern has applied for planning permission to extract sand and gravel from an area next to Nosterfield quarry in a bid to secure the future of the operation.

The 111-acre site east of the quarry at Ladybridge Farm does not include the area of Thornborough Moor, which contains three earthwork henges classified as scheduled ancient monuments, but the campaign group warned that it would vigorously resist the application.

Tarmac Northern estates manager Bob Nicholson said Nosterfield quarry would close in three years' time unless the company was able to extend the extraction area. This would have a knock-on effect on local jobs and building projects.

Tarmac Northern has already said that it will defer any decision on whether to try to extend excavations on to Thornborough Moor until the results of a conservation plan commissioned by English Heritage are known.

The Friends of Thornborough, a voluntary group dedicated to protecting the surviving setting of the henges, is concerned about the potential effects of quarrying in that area but is also worried that excavations at Ladybridge Farm will destroy more archaeological evidence.

Tarmac Northern said, however, that it was seeking to reassure local stakeholders and interest groups that the Ladybridge Farm application would not have an impact on the archaeology of the site.

It added that any future plans for Thornborough Moor would take full account of the archaeological and environmental value of the site and would not affect the henges.

Mr Nicholson said: "The application to extend the area of excavation to Ladybridge Farm includes detailed plans for initial soil stripping works to be monitored by a professional archaeologist to ensure any artefacts which may be discovered are investigated and recorded.

"There are also plans to restore the site fully to enhance biodiversity and nature conservation. As responsible quarry operators, this care and respect for the environment and its archaeological heritage is standard practice for Tarmac Northern.''

He said Tarmac was doing important work in identifying and extracting new sand and gravel sources to meet the needs of local construction industry in accordance with the Government's supply guidelines.

If Nosterfield quarry were to close, North Yorkshire would face a supply shortfall of 500,000 tonnes a year.

Tarmac began consulting the local community and statutory authorities in November 2002.

Submission of the Ladybridge Farm application clashes with the stance taken by English Heritage, which said in April that it was opposed to any further extraction in that area until the archaeological value of the landscape surrounding the henges was better understood.

English Heritage is funding Dr Jan Harding, of Newcastle University, to conduct extensive fieldwork on the Thornborough landscape. It was Dr Harding who first highlighted the historic importance of the henges.

A spokesman for the Friends of Thornborough said the Ladybridge Farm application was a sad day for the henges complex, described by English Heritage as the most important prehistoric site between Stonehenge and the Orkneys.

Friends' chairman Jon Lowry said: "It is appalling that a company which attempts to project itself as a supporter of archaeology is prepared to sacrifice yet more of this national treasure for the sake of its own profits.

"I can assure Tarmac it is in for a long fight and call upon all citizens to join our demand by writing to their MPs that the Government takes immediate action to protect this outstanding example of our national heritage by declaring it an area of archaeological importance.''

Edited down from an article by David Prudames, published on www.24hourmuseum.org.uk on 7th June 2004:

Local campaigners have voiced their concerns following an application by building materials supplier Tarmac to extend gravel extraction operations near the Neolithic complex of henges at Thornborough in Yorkshire.

Last week Tarmac, which is already quarrying in areas around the henges, lodged a planning application with North Yorkshire County Council to begin gravel extraction at the nearby Ladybridge Farm site.

Campaign group the Friends of Thornborough has reacted by issuing a rallying call to the British public, seeking help in stopping the application's success.

"Up to now my objective has been to publicise the danger that exists to a little known site that we believe should be recognised as being of national importance," the organisation's Mike Sanders told the 24 Hour Museum.

A meeting is planned for the evening of June 8, when the organisation will look at ways in which they can raise objections to the application as well as mobilising public support.

From BBCi, 3 June 2004

Conservationists have vowed to fight plans to extend quarrying near one of Britain's most important archaeological areas.

Nosterfield sand and gravel quarry near Ripon is close to the Neolithic and Bronze Age site of Thornborough Henges.

John Lowry, chairman of the Friends of Thornborough Henges, believes there can be no compromise over its future.

But quarry owners Tarmac Northern says the site faces closure if the extension does not receive the go-ahead.

Tarmac Northern employs 15 full-time people and the proposal will guarantee the quarry's future for another four years. Continues

Letters to the Darlington and Stockton Times by DST readers – 12/03/04

Henge fanatics

Sir, – I am an employee at Nosterfield quarry, where the extraction of sand and gravel has been conducted for 50 years.

I have been reading and listening to reports by a small minority of people in the villages surrounding Nosterfield quarry who have set up a campaign and called themselves the Friends of Thornborough.

This group is campaigning to save the henges located on Thornborough moor. It accuses Tarmac (Nosterfield quarry's owners) of planning to destroy the henges and their settings. As an employee I know for a fact that the henges are protected and cannot be interfered with by anybody whatsoever.

I attended a meeting held by the Friends of Thornborough on March 4 to listen to their points of view. They know that Tarmac will not be quarrying the henges and for some reason they are hell-bent on trying to close down Nosterfield quarry and put myself and my colleagues out of work, using the henges as an excuse.

The majority of this group moved into the surrounding areas of Nosterfield quarry long after quarrying started. If they are against Nosterfield quarry operating why did they move here at all?

My colleagues and I are proud of the work we do at Nosterfield quarry, supplying one fifth of Yorkshire's sand and gravel. Why should we feel that our job security is being threatened by a group of fanatics out to spoil a tradition going back 50 years. Today's construction industry relies heavily on sand and gravel produced at Nosterfield quarry.

CHRIS COLE

Bullamoor Road,

Northallerton.

Quarry interests

Sir, – At the Friends of Thornborough meeting at West Tanfield last Thursday, Simon Smales (head of planning, North Yorkshire County Council) said that he had been disturbed by misleading statements which had been made concerning the council's involvement with mineral extraction and archaeology around Thornborough and Nosterfield.

I trust that he was referring to the county council's senior archaeologist's attempt to mislead another senior archaeologist by stating that there was no threat to the landscape around our henge complex from quarrying and that this "red herring" was the construct of a few individuals opposed to wetland restorations.

This was clearly aimed at people who are not opposed to well planned restorations, but who are strongly opposed to the county council-backed blue print for quarry restorations, spearheaded by the Lower Ure Conservation Trust on Nosterfield Nature Reserve.

The LUCT, which was set up in the Nineties with the prime objective to acquire quarried sites, has three trustees; one of whom is the county council's chief rural conservation officer. Part of his remit is to comment on the impact of quarry applications and after-use restoration plans.

This blueprint for the after-use strategy will be a supplement to the county's new minerals plan, which is heavily influenced by the Hambleton Biodiversity Action Plan – collated and launched by the LUCT.

Our national BAP was agreed following the 1992 Earth Summit, which says that one state must not cause environmental damage to another, and that food for an expanding world population must be provided by maintaining and improving existing agricultural land.

By quarrying and creating massive lakes, we are permanently removing some of the best agricultural land from use; thus placing the same pressures which previously destroyed much of our biodiversity on other areas of the world.

The county council has created an organisation which sucks in public money to purchase and restore quarry sites, and to publicise and promote the benefits of quarrying. This enables quarry companies to work in areas hitherto closed to them.

The whole issue is summed up by a Yorkshire Post article (Feb 11) headlined "Winning quarry wants to expand" which features a photograph of quarry chiefs standing in the Nosterfield Nature Reserve, pointing at plans for our henge complex surrounded by lakes.

R J LONSDALE

Nosterfield,

Bedale.

Be sceptical

Sir, – On the face of it many people would welcome Tarmac's statement that it does not intend to proceed with a planning application for Thornborough Moor until after English Heritage completes its conservation plan for the area surrounding the henges. However, Tarmac has confirmed that it intends to proceed with the application for Ladybridge – this site is also covered by the conservation plan!

So what's the difference between the two areas? Many people have heard that more archaeology is likely to be discovered at Ladybridge and Tarmac's own web site seems to confirm this. So what is the difference between Thornborough Moor and Ladybridge?

Timing, it appears is the important factor. The fact is that the conservation plan is due out later this year, and that Tarmac have never intended to apply for planning permission for Thornborough Moor before 2006 at the earliest. The statement was therefore no more than corporate spin.

So, rather than a change of position, Tarmac's press release is actually a confirmation that they intend to continue with their plans unchanged – this was put across in a way that was likely to mislead members of the public and the press.

As your own headlines and the local people have confirmed, Tarmac's press release did fool a lot of people into thinking Tarmac had made a complete u-turn.

I suggest in future when Tarmac issue a press release we all take a far more sceptical and informed view of it. Let's make sure local people are presented the facts, not corporate spin.

GEORGE CHAPLIN

Brompton Road,

Newton le Willows.

thisisdarlington.co.uk/the_north_east/opinion/OPINION4.html

A PREHISTORIC site at risk from quarrying appears to have found a new ally, with North Yorkshire County Council acknowledging its national importance.

Following growing concerns about the threat to the unique triple henge complex at Thornborough, near West Tanfield, the council has formed a special consultation group in a bid to help safeguard its future.

The site – said to be one of most important Neolithic remains in the country – lies next to the massive Nosterfield Quarry which is is feared will encroach even closer to the 5,000 year old henges.

The new consultation group includes representatives from the county council, who are responsible for giving planning permission to quarry at the site, as well as English Heritage, English Nature, Hambleton District Council and local action group The Friends of Thornborough, who last year stepped up their campaign to stop quarrying on the site.

Meetings will be held every six weeks, providing a forum for the exchange of information and views.

The move by the county council highlights the growing interest in the site, which is beginning to be recognised as being of national archaeological importance, and has even had questions about it raised in the House of Commons by MP for the area, Anne MacIntosh.

Coun Peter Sowray, the county council's executive member for environmental services who will chair the consultation group, said this week: "The county council recognises the importance of Thornborough Henges both locally and nationally. The group has been set up to reflect the county council's role in dealing with the henges.

"Further mineral working in the area of Thornborough Henges would have major implications, not only for the henges and the surrounding archaeological landscape, but also in terms of the impact it would have on local communities at Thornborough and Nosterfield.

"The current planning permission for sand and gravel extraction at Nosterfield Quarry was granted in 1994 subject to a detailed schedule of conditions, including restoration and archaeology. Proposals for site restoration are being progressed on a phased basis and in accordance with an agreed management plan. Setting up this consultation group will give us the opportunity to discuss all these issues with interested parties."

Chairman of the Friends, Jon Lowry, who will sit on the consultation group, said: "We are hopefully all working together towards a common end and I think the council is taking the issue seriously. Its rather good that at least now we can find somebody to talk to."

But he added: "Some of us may be a little wary because we have been trying to talk to these people for ages and all of a sudden the door's open. The timing of the consultation group coincided with the questions in the House of Commons.

"I have questions as to whether a meeting every six weeks will be enough and if anything will be done in between. But I'm hoping things will happen."

A large turnout was expected last night for a public meeting called by the Friends to canvas views from English Heritage, the county council and quarry company Tarmac Northern Limited.

A conference is due to take place in Northallerton at the end of the month to consider the archaeological consequences of continued quarrying at Thornborough. Run by the Yorkshire Group of the Council for British Archaeology and open to members of the public, it will feature presentations by eminent archaeologists and the main stakeholders in the dispute.

Mr Lowry said such events were indicative of the way recognition of the site's importance had snowballed in the last year.

He added: "I think we are finding doors are opening. People were a bit wary of us at first but now we have the support of some serious and well-respected archaeologists and that shows that our cause is at least legitimate."

l The CBA conference takes place at the Golden Lion Hotel, Northallerton on Saturday, March 27. Tickets cost £5 (£15 with buffet lunch) and are available on 01609 771878.

ripontoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=18&ArticleID=751734

From an article in Yorkshire Post Today by Brian Dooks:

Thornborough is the only triple henge complex in the world and the only one to share the same astronomical alignment as the pyramids at Giza in Egypt.

A recent theory is that the henges' alignment may follow that of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion.

The site, which may have been chosen because of its proximity to the River Ure, was first used about 3500BC and it continued to be a centre for religious ritual worship, drawing pilgrims from across the North, at least until 2500BC.

The henges are one of the largest earthmoving projects undertaken by Neolithic man. Together with other henges at Nunwick, Hutton Moor and Cana Barn, near Ripon, plus the Devil's Arrows at Roecliffe, near Boroughbridge, they form one of Britain's premier sacred sites.

Superficial investigations of the site took place in the late 19th century but the henges were largely ignored by archaeologists until 1994, when a team from Newcastle University launched an intensive research project, which still continues under senior lecturer Jan Harding.

Worked flints from the Pennines and the Yorkshire coast have been discovered there along with axeheads from Langdale in Cumbria.

Dr Harding says the henges are a mirror image of Orion in its highest position with the southern entrances framing Sirius as it appeared over the horizon.

If the banks were covered in gypsum, as some excavations suggest, they would have appeared silvery white in the moonlight.

The Friends of Thornborough – www.friendsofthornborough.org – say that after years of neglect, including the use of the central henge as an ammunition store in the Second World War, their setting is now threatened by an extension to Nosterfield sand and gravel quarry.

Lip service?

A new group has been set up to look at the future of one of Britain's most important archaeological areas. Thornborough Henges near Ripon in North Yorkshire is a concentration of late Neolithic and Bronze Age sites.

But there are fears it could be under threat if an application is made to extend sand and gravel quarrying.

Now the county council has set up a consultation group including local people and representatives of English Heritage and English Nature.

The members will meet about every six weeks to exchange information and views on the future of the henges.

County Councillor Peter Sowray, who chairs the group, said: "The county council recognises the importance of Thornborough Henges both locally and nationally.

"The group has been set up to reflect the county council's role in dealing with the henges.

"Further mineral working would have major implications not only for the henges and surrounding archaeological landscape but also in terms of the impact on local communities at Thornbrough and Nosterfield."

In October 2003, North Yorkshire County Council was criticised by Dr Mark Horton from the University of Bristol for not doing enough to protect the site against damage from quarrying.

Construction company Tarmac currently extracts more than 500,000 tonnes of sand and gravel each year from Nosterfield Quarry.

Tarmac says nothing it is planning would damage the henges.

Story from BBCi, 02/03/04

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/3524055.stm

9.30 – Editted highlights of Time Flyers and discussion by Dave Macleod and Richard Maude, presenter and producer.

10.05 – Planning for Change – some current princeples and past lessons – George Lambrick Director of CBA

10.20 – A comparison with Stonehenge: linkages in the landscape – Mike Parker Pearson.

10.50 – The Neolithic in Yorkshire – Terry Manby

11.20 – The Neolithic and Bronze Age Complex of Thornborough – Dr Jan Harding

12.10 – panel discussion on conservation issues at Thornborough

12.40 lunch

2.00 – A community view on the archaeology of Thornborough – George Chaplin

2.30 – The Archaeology of the Nosterfiedl and Ladybridge Sites – Mike Griffiths Associates on behalf of Tarmac

3.00 – The NYCC's role and consultation group – Simon Smales, NYCC head of Planning

3.30 – The English Heritage Position

4.00 – plenery discussion on policy implications

Location – Golden Lion, Northallerton. Saturday 27th March, price- £15.00 including lunch, £5.00 excluding lunch.

Bookings should be sent to John Sheehan, Hon. Secretary, CBA Yorkshire Group, 4 Arden Mews, Northallerton, DL6 1EN.

...which is good.

Read the story from the "This is Richmond" Website here.

Newcastle scientists are helping to save an ancient North site from destruction.

The archaeologists will help promote the little-known henges in Thornborough, near Ripon, North Yorkshire as tourist attractions.

The Neolithic site is said to be equal in importance to Stonehenge. Constructed in 3,000 BC, the triple henge occupies an area larger than Stonehenge itself.

Jan Harding, an archaeologist at Newcastle University, has spent six years leading a research project into the three henges.

Only limited archaeological work was done at Thornborough from the late 19th Century to the 1950s but Dr Harding's research involved extensive surveys and field walking which yielded a number of flint tools.

Her work coincides with a BBC 2 series in which TV presenter and archaeologist Mark Horton expressed his horror that one of the most important ancient sites in the region will be destroyed.

During the making of the Time Flyers programme, Dr Horton tells of his shock at current proposals to quarry the entire surrounding area, "which will leave the henges on an `island' surrounded by open gravel pits".

He was horrified to discover the extent that quarrying to date had already removed substantial areas of the surrounding landscape, during which a vast amount of related archaeology was destroyed.

Dr Horton, head of archaeology at Bristol University, said: "I've been appalled by what I've seen at Thornborough. Archaeological sites like this should be protected and plans such as these shouldn't even be proposed. That such destruction could even be considered around Stonehenge, or even lesser-known sites in the South, is unthinkable".

Original article – Newcastle Evening Chronicle

A TV archaeologist criticised a county council today over the destruction of the landscape around one of Britain's top prehistoric sites.

Thornborough Henges, near Ripon, has the greatest concentration of late Neolithic and early Bronze Age sites in the country.

It represents the largest prehistoric quarrying operation in Britain and construction firm Tarmac has proposed extending its activities in the area.

Dr Mark Horton, a presenter on the BBC's Time Flyers programme, criticised North Yorkshire County Council over the destruction of the landscape around the site.

Dr Horton, head of archaeology at the University of Bristol, said: "I've been appalled by what I've seen at Thornborough. Archaeological sites like this should be protected and plans such as these shouldn't even be proposed.

"That such landscape destruction could even be considered around Stonehenge, or even our lesser-known sites in the south, is unthinkable. "Yet at Thornborough, it is OK to seriously consider the total loss of a prehistoric landscape, arguably as important, for simple economic gain.''

North Yorkshire County Council permitted Tarmac to quarry in the area in 1994 with "only a very limited archaeological survey'', Dr Horton said. Nosterfield Quarry in Thornborough is one of the county's most important quarries, producing more than 500,000 tonnes of sand and gravel each year, but supplies from the existing reserves are expected to run out within three years.

Full Story:

thisisnorthallerton.co.uk/the_north_east/northallerton/news/NEWS0.html

Do I detect the hand of our very our BrigantesNation at work here?!

From www.24hour museum.org.uk

Archaeologists and local campaigners have expressed their concern at the possibility of further gravel extraction close to the Neolithic complex of henges at Thornborough in Yorkshire.

What a great news story!

Jon Lowry, chairman of the Friends of the Thornborough Henges, has received a letter confirming that Tarmac Northern Ltd, which is already quarrying in other areas around the henges, "is shortly to submit a planning application for the Ladybridge Farm area."

ripontoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=18&ArticleID=650053

article by staff of The Darlington & Stockton Times

thisisthenortheast

A CAMPAIGN to protect the setting of ancient monuments near Bedale is gathering momentum and a fighting fund has been set up.

The Thornborough henges – ancient earthworks – are said to be Yorkshire's rival to Stonehenge.

Following an enthusiastic open meeting last week, The Friends of Thornborough adopted new chairman Jon Lowry's strategic plan to intensify their campaign.

The group may even write to the Prince of Wales asking for his support.

The Friends are incensed that the landscape setting of the largest complex of prehistoric earthworks in Britain is being destroyed by aggregates mining.

Tarmac Northern wants to extend the workings of its quarrying and has stressed that English Heritage would be consulted on protection and preservation of the henges.

Part of the restoration would attempt to return the area to the appearance which archaeologists believed it once had.

The monuments, which are older than Stonehedge, were once used for ceremonial purposes by people from all over the North and were part of a network of prehistoric monuments including other henges near Ripon and the Devil's Arrows at Boroughbridge.

"We need to harness people power to both save and enhance the setting of such amazing Stone Age henge temples," said Mr Lowry

At the meeting a petition was organised on the night, and one member suggested asking for the support of the Prince of Wales who is known to have a deep concern for the country's heritage and environment.

It was decided to keep membership of the Friends open to anyone with the same concerns and to rely upon donations to provide a fighting fund.

Those attending promptly contributed £400 to start the ball rolling, although it was recognised that far more would be necessary to finance a professional campaign

Membership requests and donations to The Friends of Thornborough can be sent to Mr Lowry at 7 Beech Close, Snape, Bedale, DL8 2TP.