A PROJECT to unearth Purbeck’s quarrying heritage has been completed at Durlston Country Park.

The renovated site, a perfect example of one of the many hand-dug quarries which dotted the coastline in the late 18th century, is open for public view.

Durlston ranger Katie Black said: “We want to help visitors imagine how tough quarrying was, without power tools or any of today’s protective clothing.

“For example, instead of hard hats, waterproofs and steel toe-capped boots, quarry workers had to manage with their everyday cloth caps, woollen clothing and ordinary boots.”

The Jurassic Coast Trust project, initiated to help document the history of Purbeck stone, was helped along by a £2,000 donation from local cottage company Dorset Coastal Cottages, which sponsored signage at the site.

The Durlston quarry is made up of spack and capstan, which would have been turned by a donkey and a trolley for moving the stone enclosed in by a dry-stone wall.

Dorset Coastal Cottages’ Jeremy Smith, said: “We’re delighted to support this project.

“Our customers continually rate Durlston as one of their favourite places to visit.

“This quarrying project is particularly relevant to us because many of our cottages are built of Purbeck stone.”

This is just one of the Jurassic Coast Trust projects, which works to provide educational material, conservation, running workshops for people with special needs and beach cleans.

A spokesman said: “This new project brings the quarrs history to life and helps visitors and local schools to understand the history of quarrying Purbeck stone and the lives of people who worked it.”