Industrial Heritage
Quarries
There were many quarries around Odd Down, mainly worked between the 18th and 20th centuries. They were part of a series of quarries around the outskirts of Bath that provided the Bath stone that built the Georgian city. None of the Odd Down quarries remain today.
Bath's stone quarries
(Source: Philip Wooster, 1978)
Odd Down's stone quarries
More information on Bath stone quarrying​
(Source: the-past.com, 2012)
Cross Manufacturing
Cross Manufacturing is an engineering company that was founded in the 1920s and it still going strong today, with premises in Bath and Devizes. It originated in the Union Quarry site on Midford Road and its headquarters are still there. It manufactures components for many industries such as automotive, aerospace, medical, marine and motorsport. It was founded by Roland Cross and is still run by the Cross family.
(Further content coming soon!)
Clarks Shoe Factory
The Clarks Shoe Factory was opened in the 1950s on Rush Hill. It was a major employer in Odd Down until its closure in 1999. It was one of 15 shoe factories opened near to Street, where Clarks originated. It is now a housing estate.
Fuller's Earthworks
The Glasshouse
Fuller's earth is a type of clay that was used for cleaning woollen cloth for thousands of years. The process of cleaning and thickening cloth is called 'fulling' and a person carrying out this process is known as a 'fuller'. This is what gave the clay the name 'Fuller's earth'.
Fuller's earth has been used in Bath since Roman times. The Fuller's earthworks at Odd Down was mined between 1811 and 1967.
About Fuller's earth
Source: British Geological Survey, 2006)
About the Fuller's earthworks at Odd Down
(Source: Bath Voice, 2023)
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The Glasshouse was a glass manufactory which is listed among the many which suddenly appeared in and around Bristol in the late 17th century. Although production had ceased at the Glasshouse by the 1730s, the furnace cone remained a prominent landmark until it collapsed in 1764. Remains of its base are said to lie under the site, now occupied by flats. After this, the site was used as a farm and alehouse. By the early 20th century, the Glasshouse Tea Rooms were located there. Glasshouse was also a stop on the tram route to central Bath. Following the closure of the Tea Rooms, the site has been used as a petrol station.
Map of the area south of Bath, showing the Fuller's earth sites with grid references.
Source: Neil Macmillen with Mike Chapman, A History of the Fuller's earth mining industry around Bath (2009).