Coxwell Pit

Coxwell Pit is a disused quarry that used to extract the Faringdon Sponge Gravels. Since the quarrying, the site was neglected and used for many years as a scrap yard and rubbish tip. The quarry exposes an extremely rare outcrop of Faringdon Sponge Gravels, which are found nowhere else in the world, and many of the unique fossils found here were named after the town, for example the sponge Raphidonema Faringdonensis. The site is therefore internationally important, but it was destined for housing, with the potential loss of this valuable Earth Heritage. Therefore, OGT set out to conserve the site. We worked with the site owner and the local community, and managed to broker a deal whereby the housing development went ahead, but the local community was gifted a large part of the site containing the Sponge Gravel exposure, along with £20,000 worth of landscaping.

Coxwell Pit before the project.

Coxwell Pit today. The site is now safe and accessible
so everyone can come and look at the Sponge Gravels.

Since then, construction of the new houses has nearly finished, and work is now underway for landscaping and completing the site. The Faringdon Fossil Trust has been set up to manage this unique site, and to hold presentations, workshops, training events, guided fieldtrips and open days for local people.