The Common has, since before living memory, been a source of sand and gravel for villagers to utilise for their personal use, although maybe not always legally. The entrance from Mill Street comprised 2 posts sited 10 feet apart, with a cross-piece about 3 foot from the ground which allowed entry for wheelbarrows and small trailers, but no large vehicles. By about 1930 there was a locked gate at the entrance to the small pit, which was situated near to where the large concrete base now stands. This pit was just used by local builders for sand and gravel.
In 1942 the gravel workings were taken over by Wimpey & Costain and the size of the pit increased greatly as the gravel was needed for building runways at nearby airfields, mainly Holton, Leiston and Parham. Large numbers of 7 ton lorries ( small by today’s standards ) were a common sight conveying this gravel. These lorries were loaded by caterpillar-wheeled vehicles, known as Draglines, which had a long jib (or arm) with a bucket attached to a cable, which was called the Grab.
Before the usable gravel could be reached, the top metre of soil had to be removed, this was bulldozed to the edge of the area, these heaps of spoil are still visible. Excavation to within a few feet of Mill House, Mill Cottage took place. For safety reasons, the sheer cliff which was formed had to be reprofiled to form a slope. A similar sheer cliff came to within 2 metres of Mill Road.
After the war other changes occurred. The quality of the gravel was rated as poor because of the sand, thus only the stones were required. The sand was washed out in the centre of the site and can still be seen in the slopes around the site. The concrete base which we still see on the common once had a large a crushing plant standing on it. The stones were taken to this crusher to be reduced to a suitable size. This was an extremely noisy process. Large lakes formed from the washing water, and the areas which were used for washing had to be fenced off for safety reasons. Notices were positioned warning of dangerous Quicksand. These areas are now thought to be safe. Working the Quarry was scaled down in the early 1960s and eventually ceased altogether by the middle of the decade.
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Before all this excavation took place the whole area was a gentle, undulating slope from Black Slough to the area where the houses on Mill Street begin. The Common as it is today was shaped by all of the gravel workings. Without this the area would probably be just another area of heathland without the diversity of habitats that it now provides, especially the large open areas of bare sand which are so important to various small insects and other invertebrates.
