Editing Cheddar, Somerset (section)

=== Quarries ===
[[File:Batts Combe Quarry from tower.JPG|alt=Exposed stone face of quarry, and buildings|thumb|upright=1.5|Batts Combe Quarry from the lookout tower above [[Cheddar Gorge]]]]
Close to the village and gorge are [[Batts Combe quarry]] and [[Callow Rock quarry]], two of the active [[Quarries of the Mendip Hills]] where [[limestone]] is still extracted. Operating since the early 20th century, Batts Combe is owned and operated by [[Hanson plc|Hanson Aggregates]]. The output in 2005 was around 4,000 tonnes of limestone per day, one third of which was supplied to an on-site lime kiln, which closed in 2009;<ref>{{cite web |title=Notice of variation and consolidation with introductory note |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/607057/Variation_Notice.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125164112/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/607057/Variation_Notice.pdf |archive-date=2018-11-25 |url-status=live |publisher=Environment Agency |access-date=25 November 2018}}</ref> the remainder was sold as coated or dusted aggregates. The limestone at this site is close to 99&nbsp;percent [[carbonate]] of [[calcium]] and [[magnesium]] ([[Dolomite (mineral)|dolomite]]).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Atthill |first=Robin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_KMwAAAAMAAJ&q=99%25 |title=Mendip: A new study |year=1976 |pages=22 |publisher=David & Charles |location=Newton Abbott |isbn= 0-7153-7297-1 }}</ref>

The Chelmscombe Quarry finished its work as a limestone quarry in the 1950s and was then used by the [[Central Electricity Generating Board]] as a [[tower testing station]].<ref>{{cite web|title=West Mendip Quarries|url=http://www.bgs.ac.uk/mendips/more_info/west_mendip_quarries_history.htm|publisher=British Geological Survey|access-date=22 February 2011}}</ref> During the 1970s and 1980s it was also used to test the ability of containers of radioactive material to withstand impacts and other accidents.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Farrant |first1=Andrew |year=2024 |title=Foundations of the Mendips. Detailed site information. History — West Mendip quarries. Chelms Combe Quarry, Cheddar |publisher=[[British Geological Survey]] |website=www2.bgs.ac.uk |location=Keyworth |language=en |url=https://www2.bgs.ac.uk/mendips/more_info/west_mendip_quarries_history.htm |access-date=24 September 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924043837/https://www2.bgs.ac.uk/mendips/more_info/west_mendip_quarries_history.htm |archive-date=24 September 2024}}</ref>