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Considered one of the best surviving examples of limestone quarrying, the Seven
Sisters caverns had to be filled in after a major roof collapse and mine cave-in occurred in 2001, to prevent further collapse. More recent work had also began on infilling the huge Cathedral Gallery with loose sand. The
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The caves were mined for hundreds of years for the valuable limestone, used firstly for mortar and agriculture, and then principally iron production during the
Industrial Revolution. The Victorians installed the world's first industrial steam engine next to the Wren's Nest, which pumped water from
455:. The most impressive part of this is the last remaining surface opening limestone cavern in the world – formerly reaching more than 100 metres underground – which is known as the Seven Sisters. The workings were originally connected by underground canal to the
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321:, which was formed some 420 to 425 million years ago from the material remnants of an ancient tropical sea bed, and contain ripple marks made from the sea's action on the sand. Wren's Nest Hill was extensively quarried during the
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During the height of the
Industrial Revolution, up to 20,000 tons of limestone was quarried annually. Local industrialisation was considerable at this time, as the district had become highly industrialised in the heyday of the
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292:. Considered the most diverse and abundant fossil site in the British Isles, more than 700 types of fossil have been found at the site, 86 of which are unique to the location, including
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In 2007, Dudley
Council lost out on a £50,000,000 national lottery grant to redevelop and re-open the cavern complex, but did later secure an £800,000 grant from the
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in 1839, and now both the ex-quarry and the tunnels are visited by scientists from all over the world to study its valuable content.
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were declared
Scheduled Ancient Monuments, as they represented the best surviving remains of the limestone industry in
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former limestone mine and adjacent vast underground canal basin, which leads to a now blocked off passage to
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by 18th century quarrymen. An image of this trilobite featured on the town's coat of arms until 1974.
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420:, who was one of the fathers of the Industrial Revolution, was born on Wren's Nest Hill in 1678.
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265:. The caverns are also a nationally important hibernation site for seven different species of
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Closer view of
Silurian sea bed fossils collected from Wren's Nest Nature Reserve, Dudley, UK
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The Wren's Nest
National Nature Reserve is world-famous geologically for its well-preserved
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491:, contain some of what local historians claimed to be some of the world's most important
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Silurian sea bed fossils collected from Wren's Nest Nature
Reserve, Dudley UK. June 2014.
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Silurian sea bed fossils collected from Wren's Nest Nature
Reserve, Dudley UK. June 2014.
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Silurian sea bed fossils collected from Wren's Nest Nature
Reserve, Dudley UK. June 2014.
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Silurian sea bed fossils collected from Wren's Nest Nature Reserve, Dudley UK. June 2014.
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Silurian sea bed fossils collected from Wren's Nest Nature Reserve, Dudley UK. June 2014.
432:'s industrial past. When quarrying officially finished in 1925, the site was abandoned.
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Part of the Seven Sisters tunnel complex; This cave is in Castle Hill, just behind
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235:. It is one of the most important geological locations in Britain. It is also a
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817:"The secret cave world beneath Dudley that could open up with lottery funds"
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Photos of some of the geological sites around the Wren's Nest locality
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23:. For the U.S. National Historic Landmark in Atlanta, Georgia, see
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Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the West Midlands (county)
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in 1956, the UK's first national nature reserve for geology.
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complex, which has now been blocked off for safety reasons.
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production. The site was originally studied by the Scottish
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The Wren's Nest's geological value was first recognised by
585:. Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England
563:. Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England
862:. Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from
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746:. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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Local Nature Reserves in the West Midlands (county)
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933:"Works starts to improve Dudley nature reserve"
836:. Friends of Wrens Nest National Nature Reserve
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46:Fossilized ripple markings at Wren's Nest
629:. Local Nature Reserves. Natural England
607:. Local Nature Reserves. Natural England
908:"Last chance for Seven Sisters project"
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273:The Wren's Nest National Nature Reserve
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986:Geology of the West Midlands (county)
794:. Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
658:. Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
656:"Wren's Nest National Nature Reserve"
506:for lesser improvements to the site.
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819:. Birmingham Live. 29 November 2007.
744:Sites of Special Scientific Interest
447:In 2004, Wren's Nest and the nearby
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961:National nature reserves in England
792:Wren's Nest National Nature Reserve
740:"Wren's Nest: history set in stone"
223:, north west of the town centre of
217:Site of Special Scientific Interest
184:Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
72:Location of Wren's Nest within the
768:. Black Country Geological Society
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695:"Wren's Nest – a geological gem"
470:The Seven Sisters tunnel complex
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526:Dudley Freightliner Terminal
440:Wren's Nest was declared a
221:Dudley Metropolitan Borough
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424:mines and access tunnels.
245:Scheduled Ancient Monument
25:Joel Chandler Harris House
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713:"Wildlife at Wren's Nest"
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16:Nature reserve in England
715:. BBC. 24 September 2014
888:. Black Country History
442:national nature reserve
325:for building stone and
317:outcrops belong to the
241:national nature reserve
886:"Seven Sisters Cavern"
558:"Wren's Nest citation"
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464:Sir Roderick Murchison
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504:Heritage Lottery Fund
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413:Industrial Revolution
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295:Calymene blumenbachii
627:"Map of Wren's Nest"
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237:Local Nature Reserve
254:Scabiosa columbaria
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935:. Stourbridge News
912:Express & Star
701:. 1 December 2009.
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335:Roderick Murchison
257:(small scabious),
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937:. Retrieved
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864:the original
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213:Wren's Nest
152: /
127:Coordinates
35:Wren's Nest
955:Categories
834:"Welcome!"
544:References
499:heritage.
304:Dudley Bug
287:coral reef
251:, such as
243:(NNR) and
137:52°31′34″N
856:"Geology"
840:9 October
788:"Fossils"
719:9 October
662:9 October
315:limestone
300:trilobite
227:, in the
140:2°05′37″W
699:BBC News
510:See also
284:Silurian
259:milkwort
193:All year
119:SO937921
94:Location
939:8 April
917:8 April
892:8 April
870:8 April
798:8 April
772:8 April
750:8 April
633:26 July
611:26 July
589:26 July
567:26 July
493:geology
290:fossils
233:England
219:in the
198:Website
170: (
165:Created
113:OS grid
106:England
981:Dudley
497:mining
453:Dudley
225:Dudley
98:Dudley
561:(PDF)
249:flora
941:2012
919:2012
894:2012
872:2012
842:2019
800:2012
774:2012
752:2012
721:2019
664:2019
635:2013
613:2013
591:2013
569:2013
495:and
333:Sir
327:lime
313:The
298:, a
261:and
239:, a
211:The
203:link
190:Open
172:1956
168:1956
84:Type
306:or
267:bat
231:of
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
