WHEN I travel along the A483 from Oswestry to Welshpool, the scenery of the Breiddens never fails to take my attention.

Such a natural and dramatic borderline between England and Wales, overlooking the River Severn as it flows into Shropshire along a flood plain on its way to Ironbridge and beyond, many miles later entering the Severn Estuary into the Bristol Channel.

I would say the view from the top of the Breiddens is most impressive, looking over Shropshire and in another direction of 50 miles on a clear day can be seen across into Wales, places such as Cader Idris. The Breidden Hill is one of three peaks. Of this trio at 1,324ft, Moel y Golfa has the greatest height. The others are known as Cefn y Castell, also called Middletown Hill.

Rock was first extracted from Breidden Hill in the early part of the 1800s. After a while the workings came to a halt but there was resumption of the quarrying in 1911 a few years before the First World War began. In its history, the quarry at Criggion supplied stones used for cobbles specially produced as what is known as setts.

This practice was to cease in 1967. At one time, the stone at the quarry was extracted by men on ropes. (Very brave workers but extremely dangerous as regards health and safety!). Over the years, stone from Criggion quarry has been used all over this country in various guises.

Its characteristic grey-green shading has been seen on motorways, decoration on buildings, on tennis courts and adornments on the QE2.

When reading an article from about 10 years ago, the stone was being quarried 700ft up, working from the top and taking away the south-west flank of Breidden Hill.

It appears at that time about 750,000 tons were extracted every year with the aid of large lorries. (Until 1959, a railway was used but was proved not to be an economical proposition).

In the late 1970s account concerning the history of the quarry it states that when the men hanging on ropes were replaced, a new working commenced on the southerly area of the hill. This was somewhat unsuccessful due to the quality of the rock at this end.

This 1970s story refers to a dusty road (equally treacherous in wet conditions) winding up a steep route which was as wide as a three-lane highway. This route terminates to a then-new quarry face situated close to the monument dedicated to Admiral Rodney.

Rodney’s Pillar was built in 1782 on the highest point of Breidden Hill. The apparent reason for this was to commemorate victory over the French fleet by British ships made and constructed of Powysland Oaks. A ‘ball’ supposedly made of ‘gold’ was said to adorn the top of the pillar. In 1885, the ball fell victim to lightning and local people learned then that the ball was not made of gold! The replacement ball was made of copper. During 1967, the pillar would be seen surrounded by scaffolding while essential repairs were carried out. Without that pillar, the hill, in my opinion, would not look the same. It is such an interesting landmark for the area between Oswestry and Welshpool.

Referring to the stone-carrying trucks of the 1970s (I think low gears would certainly be the order of the day!) there would be five each taking, it appears, the one-and-a-half-mile journey approximately 15 times a day. Clouds of dust during arid conditions would almost obscure the large weighty lorries conveying the stone. When the heavy rain developed it would be quite the opposite. The roadway would quickly resemble a fast-flowing stream as the rainwater makes its way to the lower ground. I would imagine these conditions would make it even more hazardous for the heavily-laden trucks as they descended along the steep downward slope at Criggion.

The concern to safety issues and improved efficiency etc from 40 years ago related to Amey Roadstone Corporation Ltd considering a new way of extracting the stone from the Quarry at Criggion. Their proposal was supposedly at that time groundbreaking (in more ways than one) in this country as regards quarry workings.

Their intention was to create a rock pass. This involved boring or cutting a hole through the hill which would be two metres in diameter. The crushed stone would then be dispatched to a tunnel close to the bottom of the hill. A conveyer belt would then carry the extracted stone into the daylight. While this was going on the tunnel would shut and operation would be by remote control.

This would be cutting-edge technology in the 1970s although it had been practiced before in metal mining. Nevertheless, at that time this method had not been exercised in Britain. It had on the European continent but not on the large scale as the one then projected at Criggion. In 1978 it was envisaged this would provide a cleaner environment with 25,000 gallons of fuel oil saved annually, reducing the need for most of the 40- and 50-ton trucks. Some transport would obviously be required but noticeably reduced.

So, did this plan from the 1970s materialise? Yes, it did, and it worked successfully. Unfortunately, quite recently, due to the practicalities and geometrical reasons, the present company had no choice but revert to the process of using trucks again to transport the stone from the quarry.

Obviously, the trucks of today would be far more efficient than those used until the late 1970s.

Criggion is not only renowned for its stone quarry. It has also been known for being involved in clandestine nature in contributing to the security of the UK. In the local area during the last war, apparently in 1942, three radio communication masts and the same number of towers were constructed. The towers were 600ft high, visible within the shadow of Rodney’s Pillar and erected for the purpose of communication between the Royal Navy fleet and the Admiralty worldwide. As regards vital communications, messages were passed/relayed through this station such as the sinking of the German battleship the Scharnhorst and the capture of the Altmark.

According to certain records, the Criggion station was probably a back-up to the one at Rugby in Warwickshire. I would imagine, if the Luftwaffe had continued bombing Coventry and surrounding area their local relay radio communication station would almost certainly have fallen victim to stray bombs eventually. Interestingly, the Rugby facility was inoperable for a while due to a fire. At this time, Criggion was still under test conditions but it appears was ready to operate within three days if the one at Rugby could not be repaired in time.

When the Second World War ended in 1945 the radio station at Criggion was not made redundant. It would be required as a very important signal relay facility for the navy’s nuclear submarine force during the Cold War. Another function it displayed was that of playing a part in an overseas telephone communication system.

It seems this radio station with about 160 employees was far busier in the 1960s than during the war. Watchtowers were also placed on the local hillside. There was obviously quite a high security presence.