Back to gritstone and shale

How do we use gritstone and shale?

For many hundreds of years, people have extracted the rocks and minerals of the Peak District for a wide range of uses.

The value of these natural resources has fluctuated over time.  For many years gritstone was extracted and carved into millstones.  Originally these were used to grind corn into flour, but this tended to leave the flour looking rather grey and unappetising and was eventually abandoned.  However, with the growth of the Sheffield steel industry, millstones became useful once again - for sharpening knives.

Millstones lie abandoned in the snow.

To find out more about how people use the Peak District gritstone and shale today explore the table below:

There have been many past uses for the rocks and minerals of the Peak District.  To find out more about history of gritstone quarrying go to the time section on industry.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Back to top