How do we use gritstone and shale?
For many hundreds of years, people have extracted the rocks and minerals of the Peak District for a wide range of uses. The value of these natural resources has fluctuated over time. For many years gritstone was extracted and carved into millstones. Originally these were used to grind corn into flour, but this tended to leave the flour looking rather grey and unappetising and was eventually abandoned. However, with the growth of the Sheffield steel industry, millstones became useful once again – for sharpening knives.
