Quarrying and Mineral Extraction - Why do we Quarry?

For thousands of years humans have used stone for building, whether it was for monuments, religious buildings or houses. Early on, when Britain was only sparsely populated, humans' use of stone and their primitive quarrying would have had little lasting impact on the environment. Gradually, as time went on, more stone was used in building. It was a good material with which to build castles, walls, churches and important buildings since it was strong and weather resistant. As the demand for stone grew, so did the demand for quarrying.

During the Industrial Revolution demand soared. The Victorians used stone for all their major buildings and with better transport and new technology they were able to meet these increasing demands, probably with little thought as to their impact on the environment.