For two centuries it was mined for the sparkling granite that gives Aberdeen its unique appearance and its solid profile. Today, it stands unused and waterlogged.
Now, however, Europe’s biggest man-made hole is going on the market, with offers over £30,000 invited. The publicity-shy sellers believe that its unique structure may make it ideal for a diving or climbing centre.
Rubislaw Quarry has been described as the “hole that Aberdeen came out of”. Although dormant since 1971, it was once as intrinsically linked to the northeast economy as North Sea oil “It is definitely one of the most unusual sites we have been instructed to sell,” said Alex Robb, the managing director of the chartered surveyors AB Robb. Planning restrictions mean that traditional, large developments, such as offices or flats, are ruled out, and potential buyers will have to be more imaginative.
“It offers up intriguing possibilities for any buyer whether in the leisure, tourism or residential business areas,” Mr Robb said. “Ideas mentioned so far have included draining it to create some kind of leisure destination in the quarry area, possibly a climbing facility, or even keeping it filled with water and using it for water sports such as recreational diving.’’
The seller, which has owned the quarry for 13 years, is a firm called Bixen Ltd, but little is known about it. A spokeswoman said that those involved wished to remain anonymous.
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The site measures 7.3 acres. It includes the 142m (466ft) deep and 120m (394ft) wide oval-shaped quarry, which covers about five acres. Sunlight has never penetrated its depths, 180ft of which are below sea level, and for the past 50 years it has been full of water.
Although the site, above the Hill of Rubislaw, is known throughout the world, it has been seen by few, even in the city itself, as it is fenced in and obscured by trees. In its heyday, however, it was a hive of industry, employing hundreds and, throughout its lifetime, yielding about six million tonnes of granite.
It was opened in 1741 by Aberdeen Council but sold to a local businessman 38 years later — for the princely sum of £13 — as it was not believed to be a source of good building material.
A boom in demand for Rubislaw granite began in 1811. Stones for the old Waterloo Bridge in London were quarried and dressed at Rubislaw and shipped directly to London.
When the bridge was replaced in the 1930s, one of the balusters was presented to Aberdeen by the London Council as a souvenir of the 1,200 that had been cut and dressed by the Rubislaw craftsmen.
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It was also used in the terraces of the Houses of Parliament, the New York Opera House, the Titanic Memorial in Liverpool and the Forth Rail Bridge.
In the years before its closure, rumours persisted that work was going to stop at the quarry. It was finally closed by Aberdeen Construction Group Ltd in 1971 after no worthwhile rock emerged in 24 months. It took with it the jobs of 26 quarrymen, crushers, masons and stone-cutters.
Since then, it has lain unused, as the West End of Aberdeen has flourished around it, with offices, executive flats and independent shops taking root. Far from the region struggling after the collapse of an employer, the post code has become one of the most affluent in Scotland.
And whatever the quarry becomes, its legacy will remain, not least in the facades of the houses in the surrounding streets that glitter silver in the sunshine.
Robert Fraser, a director at the Aberdeen Solicitors Property Centre said that he was surprised at the low price tag. “In this city £30,000 would only get you a caravan. You wouldn’t even get a one-bedroom flat for that amount,” he said. “You would have to pay at least £75,000 for a one-bedroom flat in Aberdeen. For that amount of land it does seem very cheap.
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“But then, whoever buys it would have to spend a lot of money to develop it. They would probably have to fill it in, which could cost millions.”
Jim Farquharson, a local councillor, said that he would prefer to see the quarry left alone, as it was filling up with water and its flooding risk was being monitored. “Once you start developing it or trying to fill it in, I’m concerned it would be more of a risk for the properties surrounding it,” he said.