History
The Quarr in Sherborne has been many things in the past.
175,000,000 years ago it was a sea in which ammonites and sponges were abundant. As they died the sedimentary rock that formed on the sea bed became their resting place, and with heat, pressure and the passage of time they helped form the Inferior Oolite which is much sought after for building stone, hence the site becoming a quarry.
It is often said to be ‘the hole out of which Sherborne emerged’ since many of its buildings feature this limestone. However, the quarry closed in 1939 and the hole began to be filled. The Quarr became a landfill site and this continued until 1970.
However, the northern end, which was filled first, began to take on several new roles. From 1945, the Pack Monday fair was held in this part, and this continued until the early 1980s. It was also the home to a travelling circus and zoo, and even a local football team – North End F.C.
In the 1980s the site was also home to Sherborne’s Firework Display, run by the local youth club and many a local ‘guy’ has met their end at the Quarr. However, it started to be developed as a wildlife park by the Town Council in 1993 when 40 trees were donated to Sherborne by HM The Queen to commemmorate her 40 years on the throne. Many trees were planted at this time.
They were starting to mature on 4 August 2004 when the Quarr was designated as a Local Nature Reserve – as it is today.