The Blue John cavern and Craft Shops at Castleton is world famous cavern
and craft shop. It is home to eight of the fourteen known varieties of
Blue John Stone, a beautiful and ornamental fluor-spar. The mineral has
been mined here for centuries and continues to be so in the winter months.
The Blue John cavern is a series of caverns considered to be the finest
in the UK. It is of immense educational interest as it shows how caverns
and limestone are formed. The business was established in 1919 when, and
the Craft Shop was opened in 1950, throughout that time, and since, we
have tried to offer first class service to our customers and endeavoured
to supply only the best quality jewellery from our workshop, manufactured
by our own craftsmen to the highest standard.
The traditional methods of turning Blue John are still used, and the
skill of our craftsmen working in the Original Blue John craft shop in
the village of Castleton enable the visitor to view this unique stone
at its best
Blue-John is a unique and beautiful fluor-spar found only in Castleton.
The Romans were the first to discover Blue John some 2,000 years ago.
Should you visit the cavern, we hope that you will enjoy your guided tour
and in the shop at the entrance, you can see our fine display of jewellery
and ornaments crafted from the stone. Further evidence of the Romans love
for Blue John comes from Pompeii where two vases were unearthed during
excavations of the city.
There are regular tours of the caverns that are both informative and
spectacular.
