Beer Quarry Caves

Beer Quarry Caves is a man-made limestone underground complex located about a mile west of the village of Beer, Devon, and the main source in England for Beer stone [1]. The tunnels resulted from 2,000 years of quarrying Beer stone, which was particularly favoured for cathedral and church features such as door and window surrounds because of its colour and workability for carving [1]. Extraction was particularly intense during the Middle Ages, but continued until the 1920s [1]. The Roman section is typified by large arches which support the roof and was hand excavated using picks and wooden wedges [1]. Beer stone was used in the Roman villa of Honeyditches, Seaton [1].