By Harry Mottram: Homes in Axbridge shook and there was a loud thumping sound heard in the town on Friday morning at 11.22am (12th June, 2026). I thought ‘was it me’ and last night’s curry – but no. Linda shouted upstairs to my office about it and after I posted a note on FaceBook Community page it became apparent that everyone from Shipham to Shute Shelve and the Furlong had heard it. Comments included: “Happens regularly on Cheddar road. It was very strong today!” and “The blasting shocks have got worse in the last year or so.” and “Yes I felt it too. Was about to tell son off for slamming the patio doors! Made the whole wall shake!” and “Yep! The whole house shook!” and “Yes at Shute Shelve too.” Whatever it was I didn’t imagine it.
Was it an earth tremor or possibly blasting from one of the quarries? I contacted Batts Combe in Cheddar and they denied it was them and so I contacted Callow Rock Quarry at the top of Shipham Hill. So far they’ve not got back. Quarrying in the Mendips is as old as when people first came to live here several thousand years ago – but there is no denying the current industrial scale of the industry and blasting if a regular feature of the business. And it is big business with stone and its aggregates needed for construction, road building and infrastructure projects.
There is a long history of legislation governing how quarries and mines are operated – mostly to do with health and safety and subsidence due to redundant mine shafts. However, it is the 1999 Quarries Regulations which may be the most pertinent: “General duties of the operator. 6.—(1) It shall be the duty of the operator of every quarry to take the necessary measures to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the quarry and its plant are designed, constructed, equipped, commissioned, operated and maintained in such a way that persons at work can perform the work assigned to them without endangering their own health and safety or the health and safety of others.” That includes residents nearby of course.
Technically if your home develops cracks, wobbles and bits fall off or pipes rupture as a result of a blast you can claim off the quarry firm. You need to take photos of before and after and document everything – and you can also claim if there is a nuisance factor – noise, dust etc. But the onus is on you, so it is not straight forward.
Blasting is part of the work of quarries on the Mendips – and back in the day with dust and debris from blasting and general extraction of stone was the main concerns for locals. In general, the two quarries close to Axbridge are well run and their owners are sensitive to any problems. When I worked for the Cheddar Valley Gazette there was an issue of too many lorries leaving the quarry at certain times and driving past ‘the magic roundabout’ at the top of Upper New Road and the roundabout at Compton Manor at the Townsend intersection in Axbridge – creating dust and noise. That was a problem of heavy traffic, and some will say it continues to this day. But back to the blast – if it came from Callow Rock and Axbridge News is not saying that is was – then we need an explanation as it can impact on the lives of residents. Batts Combe have a blast notification service which sends out emails ahead of a blast. Email battscombequarry@uk.heidelbergmaterials.com to be put on the list and ask for the service.
The Callow Rock quarry which you can see at the top of Shipham Hill is owned by Holcim – a large firm that traces its roots back to the 19th century. Before that it was known as Aggregate Industries and Bardon Hill Quarries (Ellis and Everard) Ltd. Locals will tell you the noise of blasting is semi regular and has gone on for as long as there have been explosives used in the business.
Interestingly on Saturday 25 July, 2026, Batts Combe Quarry has an Open Day. Heidelberg Materials UK is opening the doors to its Batts Combe quarry operations from 10am to 3pm on Saturday 25 July 2026. Many people locally have jobs in the quarries – and those businesses related to the industry such as transport, construction and sales also – so a chance to find out more about the business which is as old as the hills.
When I get an update from Callow Rock I will publish it. But note – it may have been a natural earth tremor as there are around 200 or so tremors in the UK a year – all minor – but many in the South West. All I would say is that it wasn’t my imagination or last night’s curry as literally scores of people have commentated on the ‘event’ so it did happen.
For Batts Combe in Cheddar see https://www.holcim.co.uk/about-us
For Callow Rock in Shipham see https://www.agg-net.com/aggregates/callow-rock-quarry
Axbridge Diary of Events
Some Axbridge dates coming up. Send Axbridge events to me and I’ll try to keep the list updated. Email: harryfmottram@gmail.com I’ll also post on my website at https://www.harrymottram.co.uk/diary/
Coming up is a Fun Day in the Square, Open Gardens, pantomime recruitment and lots of events at the Axe Vale Arts centre – check them out as for a small town Axbridge punches above its weight.
Harry Mottram
Note: I get asked this frequently so just to repeat I write up these stories from time to time out of personal interest – all the information is in the public domain – I put it together, so it makes sense to me. I am not paid – my main job is covering Bath for Bath Voice News and ICSM of Bridgwater which is about business insolvencies. I have lived in Old Church Road for over 25 years and am married to Linda – our four children went to the local state schools. I’ve always taken an interest in local affairs having worked as a journalist in Somerset for many years. More at at www.harrymottram.co.uk and social media on X as @harrythe spiv, Facebook, Blue Sky, LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads and God knows where else!
You must be logged in to post a comment.