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STRATEGIC STONE
STUDYA Building Stone Atlas of
DERBYSHIRE & THE PEAKNATIONAL PARK
Published September 2011
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Derbyshire Strategic Stone Study 1
Click on this link to visit Derbyshires geology and their contribution to known building stones, stone structures and building
stone quarries (Opens in new window http://maps.bgs.ac.uk/buildingstone?County=Derbyshire )
Derbyshire Bedrock GeologyDerived rom BGS digital geological mapping
at 1:625,000 scale, British Geological Survey
NERC. All rights reserved
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Introduction
Rocks which were deposited during the
Carbonierous period (350 290 million years
ago) underlie almost all o the Peak National
Park and probably two thirds o the remainder
o Derbyshire. Limestones (mainly in the
White Peak) and sandstones (largely in the
Dark Peak) comprise the main building stones.
However, there are many variants within those
broad categories, and a number o other minor
rock types in the same area. In the north east
o the county, Permian doLomitic limestones
([300] million years old) and in the southern
third, Triassic mudstones, and soter sandstones
(210 250 M years old) account or most o
the remaining areas.
Both historically and in the present day, the area
is seen as a major source o stone, both or local
use and throughout Britain. For example, current
reurbishment o buildings in Scotland relies in
part upon sandstone quarries in this area.
Geologically the oldest rocks (o Lower
Carbonierous, Dinantian, age) are ound in
the heart o the White Peak, in deep valleys
in the west and central parts o the outcrop,
extending into Staordshire. Very generally, these
older rocks (all limestones and dolostones)
are encircled progressively byoutcrops o
younger rocks, rather like the layers o an
onion. In the core o the area the Dinantian
limestones and their associated igneous rocks
are overlain by mudstones and sandstones o
Upper Carbonierous age. The mudstones are
exposed along the major valley bottoms while
the sandstones orm the oldest limestones
and associated igneous rocks, all o Lower
Carbonierous age. Wrapped around these are
mudstones exposed in the major valleys and
sandstones, (the latter oten coarse) which
orm the bleak edges and moors o Namurian
age, traditionally known as the Millstone Grit.
Beyond these, overlying the Namurian rocks
is the Pennine Coal Measures succession o
Westphalian age.
In the north-east and south o Derbyshire the
younger dolomitic limestones, mudstones and
sandstones o the Permian and Triassic crop out.
Rocks o later geological periods are almost
entirely absent rom the area until the great
spreads o clay, sand and gravel deposited mainly
to the south o the area by glaciers and rivers
rom the Pleistocene to the present. This simple
model does not hold in all areas, or instance,
there are examples o small Carbonierous
Limestone and Millstone Grit outcrops south o
the River Trent.
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Derbyshire Strategic Stone Study 3
CARBONIFEROUSLIMESTONE SUPERGROUP(ormerly the DINANTIAN)
In broad terms this rock succession is dominated by grey
limestones, commonlyfossiLiferous and exhibiting a
considerable range o bedding styles. They contribute
considerably to the character o the built environment
o the White Peak as they orm the principle stone used
in vernacular buildings and in the network o drystone
eld walls that crisscross the area. Again, to the outsider
these limestones appear at rst glance to be uniorm in
character, but subtle dierences, or example, in colour,
bedding and grain size, add considerable variety. With a
ew notable exceptions, the building limestones o the
White Peak have seldom travelled ar rom their quarry
source. Today only about 7000 tonnes o limestone
are produced annually in the area as building stone
(compared with 12.4 M tonnes or aggregates).
The lack o reliable water supplies, a consequence o
the limestone dominated geology o the White Peak
heartland means that there are ew large villages. With the
exception o Tideswell most o the area is served by a
string o market towns around the edge o the limestone/
mudstone outcrop, places towns such as Castleton,
Buxton, Bakewell and Wirksworth.
In buildings a very common vernacular approach,
addressing the intractable nature o many o the
limestones, is to use the randomly coursed grey
limestone, rubbLestone as a general walling material, with
local pink or bu Millstone Grit sandstones used or door
and window mouldings and orquoins, as can be seen
in the below image o vernacular architecture in Tideswell
village. Although this appears to fy in the ace o some
conventional views about not mixing sandstone and
limestone, in general this style appears to suer rom no
obvious weathering ill-eects. The sandstones were usually
quarried rom the nearest available sources outside the
White Peak area (see Namurian Sandstones - Dark Peak).
Peak Limestone Group
Milldale Limestone Formation
Milldale Limestone
Only rarely were substantial limestone buildings
constructed oashLar or as rock-aced material trimmed
back to near-ashlar plane suraces. Sawn suraces are
even less common e.g. Castleton Hall (with the possible
exception o Hartington but do eature in chimney
stacks). Much o the limestone won in the western
valleys within the Staordshire section o the Peak Park
tends to be more muddy in character and mid to dark
grey in colour. Alstoneld is a good example o a villageconstructed in part on these beds.
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Woo Dale Limestone Formation
Woo Dale Limestone
The outcrops o the Woo Dale Limestone in the
Derbyshire area o the Park, in the Via Gellia, near
Hartington, Wye Dale and Peak Forest, are almost devoid
o other settlements.
Bee Low Limestone Formation
Bee Low Limestone
In the central parts o the White Peak, the limestone
beds are generally much thicker and produce a light grey
and o-white stone rom the Bee Low Limestone. These
are some o the cleanest calcium carbonates in the
UK and are worked on a large scale on account o their
chemical purity (accounting or over 50% o national
requirements or this type o stone). The limestone beds
are up to 10 metres thick and were not easily worked to
supply the everyday building needs o local communities.
Most o the drystone eld walls will have been gathered
in the course o surace stone clearance, augmented by
Enclosure Act quarries.
Hopton Wood Stone
The paucity o villages and the narrowness o the outcrop
in this, the driest par t o the White Peak, means that there
are relatively ew villages that consistently used this stone,
although parts o Chelmorton and Hartington (below
image) are examples.
One most notable exceptions to this generally limited
local application have been the exploitation o the Bee
Low Limestone in the south east o the outcrop to
produce Hopton Wood Stone.
This is a consistent ne-grained, ossilierous, crystalline,
pale, cream coloured limestone, perhaps the UKs most
widely used decorative indigenous limestone. From the18C onwards it has predominantly been used in interior
work (staircases, foors, door surrounds, wall cladding)
in grand houses and ocial buildings, notably Kedleston
Hall and during the construction o the present Houses
o Parliament. It was much in vogue rom 1850 to 1950
and still is, although it is still available in small quantities,
but much in demand. From the late 1920s to the present,
it has been an important contributor to the work o the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission and used as
grave markers in their cemeteries across the World. It was
sourced at various times rom up to six quarr ies, in some
instances this lead to High Court claims and counter
claims disputing the use o the name. Hopton Wood
was also a stone o choice or leading sculptors including
Epstein, Gill, Moore and Hepworth. The great beds o the
Bee Low Limestone Formation are commonly associated
with coarsely ossilierous ree knolls which provide a
much more rubbly rock. However, their limited outcrop
and proximity o more easily worked sandstones, means
that it has attracted ew users.
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Monsal Dale Limestone Formation
Monsal Dale Limestone
Higher in the limestone succession, the limestones o
the Monsal Dale Formation comprise mid-grey shelly
rocks in most areas, with thinner bedding than the Bee
Low Limestones. They orm extensive outcrops clustered
around Monyash (rom Elton to Litton) betweenCastleton, Tideswell and Wardlow and a smaller area
around Biggin. They were widely used or building in
these areas. The same limestone interval also includes
darker varieties o limestones. These are more restricted
in extent but are particularly important (together
with the overlying Eyam limestones) in contributing
to the character o buildings in Bakewell, Ashord
and the Longstones. It has been identied in some
construction o the town o Wirksworth, below image.
These limestones tend to be much thinner bedded,sometimes fLaggy and although generally dark when
reshly broken (and giving o a bituminous smell) may
weather to a lighter grey. The presence o the chert
bands and bituminous character o these limestones
represent a gradual deepening o the limestone shel at
this time.chert is relatively common in these darker
beds, although insucient and too brittle in character
to be used in the manner o fint nodules as a building
material in its own r ight. However, it is commonly seen in
some villages within the wall stones as at Hognaston.Thismaterial does not lighten noticeably on weathering, giving
the stone a mottled grey/black appearance. The chert
has been mined to supply glazing material to the pottery
industry.
Ashord Black Marble
This dark coloured facies o the Monsal Dale limestones
hosts two distinctive, decorative, materials, highly popular
with the Victorians, namely Ashord Black Marble and
Rosewood Marble. Both were quarried then mined to
the south and west o Ashord-in-the Water until the
early 1900s. The ormer has the appearance o ebony;
the latter displays nely variegated but uneven mid/dark
grey/black laminations like wood cut on the grain. Ashord
Black was widely used as a setting or delicate inlaid stone
ornaments, tables, mantle pieces (part o Englands Pietre
dure crats). A black limestone with occasional small white
eatures (brachiopod ossils) known as Birds Eye Marble
was also produced in this area.
Dukes Red Marble
The other material is Dukes Red Marble. This is a blood
red, iron-rich limestone. Its origins are much disputed
but documentary evidence puts its source at Newhaven
in the 1830s. The entire deposit was worked out and
all stocks were held at Chatsworth. It was used most
sparingly e.g. in Edensor Church (above image)and in a
foor set in the House o Lords.
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Eyam Limestone Formation
Eyam Limestone
The limestones o this ormation are rather similar to the
dark Monsal Dale limestone beds being consistently thinly
bedded (except in ree areas - see below) and were
worked down the eastern fank o the White Peak as a
readily accessible source o limestone block. It was used
in the construction o settlements such as Eyam, Youlgrave
(right image) and Bakewell, image below.
There are some other important variants, or example,
within the normal bedded Eyam limestone sequence
which ormed as isolated patch rees. These rees
orm relatively horizontal structures rising only slightly
above the normal bedding as shallow domes, but are
densely packed with ossils predominantly o crinoid and
brachiopod (and to a lesser extent coral) debris. Theywere signicant stone sources, having been worked at a
number o locations, particularly around Monyash and in
the Cromord - Wirkswor th areas. They have been cut
and polished to great eect or interior decoration, in
some cases since about 1600.
These decorative stones are collectively known as
Derbyshire Fossil Marbles but individual sources are oten
dicult to identiy, some varieties may even have been
won rom outside the area.
For a shor t period ater World War II, Derby Dene (a
variety o Derbyshire Fossil Marble) and Hadene (similar
to Hopton Wood Stone) were quarr ied on a large scale
at Cromord and used widely in post-war reconstruction
in London e.g. the interior o the Royal Festival Hall.
Varieties o Birds Eye and some Black marbles were also
extracted and polished at Matlock, and near Middleton by
Wirksworth.
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Craven Group
Widmerpool Formation
Mixon Limestones
At the very edge o the limestone outcrop are thin, very
faggy, dark grey, muddy limestones locally known as the
Longstone mudstones. In general the outcrop is verynarrow except around the Bakewell - Ashord - Great
Longstone area where it was used locally and in the
south, particularly in the Staordshire Moorlands, where
there are beds o comparable age (ormerly the Mixon
Limestone Shales). Between Butterton and Mixon these
tend to include thin and limeycaLcareous sandstones,
and have been used on a small scale or building, but
elsewhere other local limestones or sandstones are
avoured.
The Widmerpool Formation also has an irregular outcrop
in the valley foor between Turnditch and Mackworth,
but again, it is generally ar too sot and riable to be
employed as a building stone. An exception is the thin
faggy limestone dug rom the Flower Lillies Quarry near
Turnditch which, although mainly used as a hydraulic lime,
did produce a natural stone, at rst glance, not unlike
concrete paving in appearance!
IGNEOUS ROCKSIntrusive and extrusive igneous rocks occur at a number
o locations in the White Peak area. They were used
almost exclusively or roadstone in the early 1900s, but
very occasionally or building and even then, only or eld
walls e.g. around Bonsall, Tissington and Peak Forest.
Two areas o dolomitized limestone extend rom Parsley
Hay to Masson Hill (Matlock) and rom Royston Grange
almost to Wirksworth.They are colloquially known as
dunstone and comprise a brownish honeycombed rock
with a sugary texture which requently appears in stone
walls and occasionally in buildings such as Bradbourne
Church, below image.
VEIN MINERALSVein minerals, notably baryte, fuorite and calcite
accompanying lead ore (galena), have been used or
internal decorative work, especially inlaid work and also to
line Victorian grottos and ollies. They sometimes eature
in rockeries and landscaping. This ormed the basis (with
the marbles already mentioned), or a substantial local
Victorian industry (the artists were known as baublers)
and traded in the 19C.
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Blue John, Oakstone & Calcspar
The variety o fuorite known as Blue John and to a
lesser extent barite, locally termed Oakstone, were
especially popular. Although these minerals are still being
processed or industrial uses, only Blue John and calcite
(Calcspar or Derbyshire Spar) are used decoratively, the
ormer or ornaments and jewellery (Castleton being anotable centre o production); pieces o the spar were
commonly set in cement panels and external renders.
These and other vein minerals also spawned a signicant
pigments industry in the Derwent Valley but what remains
today relies upon imported raw materials. Unlike in
other countries, these products do not appear to have
infuenced local architectural styles.
NAMURIANMillstone Grit Group - Dark Peak
The term Millstone Grit was applied geologically to this
thickinterbeddedsuccession o very coarse sandstones
with mudstones and ner sandstones, rst described in
this area by Whitehurst in 1778. Its name refected the
signicance o the moors between the Derwent and the
Coaleld as a national source o abrasive stones rom
medieval, i not Roman times. There are documented
reerences to quarrying in this respect rom the 13C
onwards. Early hand querns gave way to millstones
and millstones to grindstones then to exported pulp
stones to make wood pulp or the paper industry.
The same physical properties also rendered these
stones particularly suited or use as building materials.
Collectively, the sandstones o this group worked in
this area account or almost exactly a quarter o the
sandstone building stone production in Great Britain
(104,000 tonnes o 419,000 tonnes in 2007).
Hebden FormationKinderscout Grit
The Kinderscout Grit, the oldest o the Millstone
Grit sandstone beds, orms the extensive area o the
Kinder Scout - Bleaklow moors and tends to be a very
coarse, hard sandstone; it dies out between Baslow
and Bakewell. However its very hardness and the
inaccessible nature o most o the outcrop means that
this sandstone was seldom exploited. It was used locally
in the Edale and Upper Derwent Valley.
In the ormer, a ner grained variety is still produced at
Shire Hill Quarry, Glossop and in the latter, at Stoke Hall
Quarry, Grindleord (one o the last producers o pulp
stones). It was previously worked at Teggs Nose Quarry
above Maccleseld. Probably its main contribution to
the built environment can be seen in Glossop (rom
which stone slates were also produced on a large scale
at Glossop Low), the Longdendale Valley (particular ly in
the orm o reservoir dams), Hayeld and in the scattered
hamlets o the Eyam and Abney Moors.
Marsden Formation
Ashover Grit
The Ashover Grit (and its equivalents the Roaches Grit
in the west, the Corbar Grit/Five Clouds Sandstone
around Buxton and the Beacon Hill Flags/Heyden Rock
in the north) has a much more sinuous and ragmented
outcrop. In the Derwent Valley it is ound as ar nor th as
Calver and runs down to Little Eaton. It has some decided
advantages over the more prominent Kinderscout Grit
below and the Chatsworth Grit above, namely in many
areas, it is consistently ne to medium grained, oten
well bedded and requently more easily accessed in the
past by railways and canals and more recently, roads. In
some areas the bedding is particularly massive, notably
on Stanton Moor, around Whatstandwell and Little Eaton.
The below image is o Chatsworth House, built in 1698 in
the Baroque style and constructed o Ashover Grit.
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At the rst o these, over many centuries, several hundred
quarries have been opened up. Here and at Stanclie
(an isolated outcrop at Darley Dale) and Dukes Quarry
(Whatstandwell) the stone has achieved a national
reputation or its durability and aesthetic qualities
generally having a consistent bu, light orange or pink
colouration.
Between Belper and Little Eaton there is seldom the
space o a eld between ormer quarries. Indeed
the Ashover Grit accounts or the bulk o the areas
sandstone production, and or example, is oten
considered especially suitable by speciers or prestige
projects throughout the UK. However in at least two
areas, Cromord (image below) and Buxworth, the
Ashover Grit is a strong pink, even red in parts and
medium to coarse grained, giving local villages a distinctive
character.
The Corbar Grit was a major contributor to 18C and
19C Buxton including the Crescent (top right image) and
the Devonshire Hospital.
Chatsworth Grit
The Chatsworth Grit tends to be rather coarser than
the Ashover but, like many o the younger Millstone
Grit sandstones and even some o the Coal Measure
(Westphalian) sandstones, is oten dicult to identiy
with certainty in buildings. Although exposures are usually
relatively narrow, it extends along both fanks o the
Pennines (in the ar north it is known as the Hudderseld
White Rock and its counterpart in the Sheeld area is
the Rivelin Grit).
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On the west it runs as ar south as the Roaches. In part
or reasons o inaccessibility (most o the beds orm
high moorland). Chatsworth Grit has been exploited
on a more limited scale, but was particularly important
or the construction o the Victorian spas and villas o
the Matlocks (top right image).The main quarries were
high above the town to the east. Like the Ashover Grit,
consistent bu evenly grained varieties were particularly
(and still are) avoured. It was also a signicant source o
abrasive stones.
Rossendale Formation
Rough Rock
The uppermost sandstones o the Millstone Grit orm
the Rough Rock. In some areas west o Sheeld the
lower parts o this sandstone interval are dierentiated
as the Rough Rock Flags. The Rough Rock has a very long,
noticeably aulted outcrop which encircles the whole o
the Dark Peak. It was heavily exploited at Coxbench and
Belper or building stone.
The Coxbench Quarries constituted the main source o
building sandstone or the development o Derby and
was used in the building o Kedleston Hall (below image).
Further north, in the area between the upper Rivelin and
Loxley valleys and on a more concentrated area north oWinscar Reservoir, the Rough Rock sandstone beds were
riven (on a particularly large scale at Magnum Bonum)
or stone slates serving markets on both sides o the
Pennines. The western outcrops o the Rough Rock in the
area were not widely worked.
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WESTPHALIANCoal Measures Sandstone
In most cases, the sandstones o the Pennine Coal
Measures are thinner and usually regarded as being less
robust than those o the Millstone Grit. None o the
quarries in this area have achieved the national status o
the Millstone Grit sandstone beds. However they have
been very widely exploited locally, or example in colliery
company housing and many o the smaller country houses
in the main coaleld. Many o the ormer mining villages
have road or place names reerring to quarries, long
ater the workings themselves have totally disappeared.
Although many ormer quarries have been lled and built
over, or totally removed by opencast coal extraction, the
trawl o documentary evidence revealed relatively ew
workings.
Pennine Lower Coal MeasuresGroup
Three ormations within the group were particularly
signicant, albeit only on a local scale.
Crawshaw Sandstone
At the very base o the ormation, the Crawshaw
Sandstone (Woodhead Rock in the north and west)
was quarried at Stanage and on Holymoor (both west
o Chestereld) and Buxworth, and until recently, at
Ambergate, Birch Vale/New Mills.
Wingfeld Flags
The Wingeld Flags have a very narrow outcrop, but
can be traced over a considerable area o the Pennine
fanks and into the Derbyshire area. They orm a marked
scarp along the western edge o the main coaleld.The
sandstones have been used locally at various locationsand is oten, as the name suggests, thinly bedded or
faggy, notably as seen at Wingeld Manor, top right
image In contrast, it displays a more massive orm
near Wingerworth where it was once quarried as an
important reestone.
Silkstone Rock
The only other sandstone o note as a building stone
source in the coaleld is the Silkstone Rock, underlying
a series o loty escarpments o land between DroneldWoodhouse and Eckington.
Many small quarries in this area supplied building stone or
local building use and it was avoured by scythe makers
or sharpening stones. Marsh Lane Quarry was probably
the only operation o any scale.
Green Moor RockGrenoside Sandstone
The Green Moor Rock (or Brinclie Edge Rock) and
Grenoside Sandstone eature in a number o buildings
in ormer parts o Derbyshire, almost all now absorbed
into Sheeld. Elsewhere in the coaleld, apart rom
community quarries, there were exceptionally a ew
major buildings which depended upon local sources.
Notable examples include the considerable Sutton
Scarsdale, image below (precise source uncertain).
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It was also used in the two Hardwick Halls, below image,
dating rom the 16C (sandstone below the Clowne Coal),
Renishaw Hall (sandstone above the Clay Cross Marine
Band) and the medieval Codnor Castle.
On occasions, when attempts have been made to use
large blocks o sandstone encountered in the course o
opencast coal working since 1942 or building stone, the
results have been inconsistent, possibly on account o
the lack o careul selection but also possibly ollowing
racturing by deep mining subsidence. None o the Coal
Measure sandstones ound in the South Derbyshire
Coaleld nor in the parts o the North West Coaleld
alling within the area, were worked on any signicant
scale, but were used or local building purposes.
PERMIANZechstein GroupCadeby Formation
The Permian dolostones or dolomitic limestones
belonging to the Cadeby Formation, (previously known
as the Lower Magnesian Limestone) occur in the north
east o the county, east o a line between Hardwick and
Barlborough. The beds represent a small section o a long
narrow outcrop running rom the Nottingham area to the
coast in County Durham. It is typied by an apparently
uniorm bu coloured dolostone or magnesium-rich
dolomitic limestones which generally weathers to a
cream, grey or o-white colour. They were widely used
within the outcrop itsel and beyond, both as ashlar and as
dressings or brick buildings.
The dolostones best known application was in thereconstruction o the Houses o Parliament in the mid
19C. Ater a trawl o stones throughout the UK, the
committee concerned, recommended the stone used
in Southwell Minster which was thought to be rom
Manseld Woodhouse, Manseld (both in neighbouring
areas o Nottinghamshire) or Bolsover Moor. There is
uncertainty as to whether the Bolsover source was ever
used; eventually the bulk o supplies came rom Anston
just over the border in South Yorkshire.
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In detail, the stone tends to be pink and sandy near
the base and in the Pleasley Vale area (right image), but
elsewhere the stone picture is indeed relatively uniorm in
character.The pre-1850 cores o a number o the colliery
villages and towns, (now largely surrounded by brick
buildings), such asBolsover (bottom right and bottom
image), Clowne, Shirebrook, Whitwell, Langwith, Manseld,
Manseld Woodhouse and Creswell are o this yellowish
limestone contrasting with typical vermillion coloured
pantile roong.
TRIASSICThe Triassic rocks in the county all occur south o a line
rom Ashbourne to Stanton-by-Dale. Most o the Triassic
ormations seen in this area are oten regarded as too
sot to constitute viable building stones, however, in some
areas they have been used quite extensively or buildingpurposes. The plethora o geological terms which have
been applied to published maps o this and neighbouring
areas are still being resolved. The fuidity and complexity
o the present situation in this respect precludes a
detailed account here. In essence, the older sandstone
dominated beds belong to the Sherwood Sandstone
Group above which is the red mudstone dominated
succession, with thin discontinuous beds o pale coloured
dolomitic skerry sandstones, comprising the Mercia
Mudstone Group.
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Sherwood Sandstone Group
The sandstones which have historically provided building
stone however, are principally to be ound in the
Sherwood Sandstone Group and were ormerly reerred
to as the Keuper Sandstones and the Waterstones. The
sandstones are very ne grained and range rom o-white
to greenish grey or pale pinkish red in colour.
The occurrence o Triassic building sandstone sources
is limited to those ew areas where they are suciently
well cemented (indurated) to be a reasonably durable
stone.The sandstones were quarried around Mayeld to
supply Ashbourne. The below image is o Ashbourne Old
Grammar School, a Triassic sandstone building.
Nearby but within the county, quarries at Cliton and
Norbury produced stone rom this group. The sandstone
was also worked at Bowbridge Fields in Kirk Langley
and elsewhere in that area. The Bromsgrove Sandstone
Formation and the Polesworth Formation o the
Sherwood Sandstone Group were quarried at Weston
Cli (Weston on Trent) in the Bretby and Stapenhill area
near Burton-on-Trent, Repton and at Pistern Hill near
Smisby.
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From the records, it would appear that a relatively
small group o quarry sites and mainly those just noted,
provided the source or a remarkable number o
signicant properties, most notably including, Calke Abbey
(top right image), Swarkestone Pavilion, and Foremark
Hall. Workings at Repton are documented in the 13C
and rom archaeological evidence that long pre-date the
written accounts.
These stones were widely deployed as dressings either
with other harder stone used or walling as at Kedleston
Hall, orcomplementing the pervasive brick o southern
Derbyshire as at Sudbury (bottom right image), Elvaston
(below image) and Egginton. Use in vernacular building
in the main applied as dressings, was also relatively
widespread, but was oten in competition with the
Millstone Grit sandstones. The usage o such material,
usually regarded as too sot or building construction,
which have proved to withstand 200 years or more o
weathering, appear to be testimony to the value o very
careul selection and placing, presumably resulting rom
many centuries o trial and error.
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Derbyshire Strategic Stone Study 16
QUARTERNARYPleistocene
Tua
Two urther commodities were won on this area. Tua (or
calcareous tua) rom Matlock Bath, Via Gellia and Alport-
by-Youlgreave. Examples o these include Marl Cottage
(locally known as the Hansel and Gretel House on
account o its gingerbread appearance) in the Via Gellia
andWormhill Church north o Buxton (below image). It
was also widely used in lining Victorian grottoes.
POST TRIASSICWith the exception o very small scattered outliers
o Neogene/Palaeogene clays and sands, all the more
recent deposits belong to the Quaternary and comprise
sand, gravels and clays with no building stone. However
not only do these and their main source beds in the
Sherwood Sandstone Group urnish large volumes o highquality ne and coarse aggregates, in the orm o selected
large liver-coloured pebbles, they are widely used in
landscaping and occasionally or paving.
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Glossary
Ashlar: Stone masonry comprising blocks with careully
worked beds and joints, nely jointed (generally under
6mm) and set in horizontal courses. Stones within each
course are o the same height, though successive courses
may be o dierent heights. Ashlar is oten wrongly used
as a synonym or acing stone.
Calcareous: A rock which contains signicant (10-50%)
calcium carbonate principally in the orm o a cement or
matrix.
Carbonate A general term used or sedimentary
rocks consisting o 50 per cent or more o either calcite
(calcium carbonate) or dolomite (magnesium carbonate).
Cementation: The digenetic process by which the
constituent ramework grains o a rock are bound
together by minerals precipitated rom associated pore
fuids e.g silica, calcite.
Chert: A granular microcrystalline to cryptocrystalline
variety o quartz.
Dolomitic, dolomitised limestone: Descriptive
terms or a limestone that has had some o its calcium
carbonate replaced by magnesium carbonate.
Facies: A term describing the principal characteristics o
a sedimentary rock that help describe its mode o genesis
e.g. dune sandstone acies, marine mudstone acies.
Flaggy: A nely laminated, sedimentary rock that splits
into thin sheets when exposed to weathering.
Fossilierous: Bearing or containing ossils.
Igneous rock: Rocks ormed when molten magma
cools and solidies. It includes extrusive rocks erupted
rom volcanoes (e.g. basalt) and intrusive rocks that
cool beneath the Earths surace (e.g. granite, gabbro,
granodiorite, dolerite).
Interbedded: Occurs when beds (layers or rock) o a
particular lithology lie between or alternate with beds o
a dierent lithology. For example, sedimentary rocks may
be interbedded i there were sea level variations in their
sedimentary depositional environment.
Limestone: A sedimentary rock consisting mainly o
calcium carbonate (CaCO
3) grains such as ooids, shell and
coral ragments and lime mud. Oten highly ossilierous.
Mudstone: A ne-grained sedimentary rock composed
o a mixture o clay and silt-sized particles.
Outcrop: Area where a rock unit is exposed at the
ground surace.
Quoin: The external angle o a building. The dressed
alternate header and stretcher stones at the corners o
buildings.
Rubble: Rough, undressed or roughly dressed building
stones typically laid uncoursed (random rubble) or
brought to courses at intervals. In squared rubble, the
stones are dressed roughly square, and typically laid in
courses (coursed squared rubble).
Sandstone: A sedimentary rock composed o sand-
sized grains (i.e. generally visible to the eye, but less than 2
mm in size)..
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Acknowledgements
This study, written by Ian Thomas, National Stone Centre, Wirkswor th, is part o Derbyshire and the Peak Parkscontribution to the Strategic Stone Study, sponsored by English Heritage.
Edited by Graham Lott, British Geological Survey
Designed by Tarnia McAlester, English Heritage
We are grateul or advice rom the ollowing:
Don Cameron, British Geological Survey
Graham Lott, British Geological Survey
Further Reading
Craven M and Stanley M, 1982 The Derbyshire Country House, Derbyshire Museum Service. Matlock 99 pp (a)
Craven M and Stanley M, 1984 The Derbyshire Country House. Vol II. Matlock 111 pp
Craven M and Stanley M, 1984 The Derbyshire Country House. Breedon Books, Derby. 255 pp (b).
Curl, J.S (2003) Encyclopaedia o Architectural Terms. Donhead.
Farey J, 1811 (acsimile 1989 with preace by Ford TD and Torrens HS) General view o the agriculture and minerals oDerbyshire. Vol I Peak District Mines Historical Society, Matlock Bath 532 pp (c).
Firman R, 1989 A tale o two excursions; geological, historical and environmental aspects o gypsum in Derbyshire andStaordshire. Mercian Geologist Vol 12 No.1.
Ford TD, 2000 Vernacular Stone and Slate Roos o England pp 28-43 in Englands Heritage in Stone. English Stone Forum,Folkestone.
Hughes, T. G (1996) The Grey Slates o the South Pennines; report o a study into the potential to re-establish the roongslate industry o the region Vol 1 The Industry. English Heritage, Derbyshire County Council and Peak Park Joint PlanningBoard (inc Historical Context by P Strange) London.
Hughes, T. G (1996) The Grey Slates o the South Pennines; report o a study into the potential to re-establish the roongslate industry o the region Vol 2. The Quarries and Slates (Geology and quarry research by IA Thomas) English Heritage,Derbyshire County Council and Peak Park Joint Planning Board. London.
Kearey, P (2001) Dictionary o Geology. Penguin Books.
Lott, G. K & Cooper, A. H (2008) Field Guide to the Building Limestones o the Upper Permian Cadeby Formation(Magnesian Limestone) o Yorkshire pp 80-89 in Englands Heritage in Stone. English Stone Forum, Folkestone (d).
Lott, G. K (2001) Geology and Building Stones in the East Midlands. Mercian Geologist Vol 15 Part 2 pp 97.
Thomas, I. A Tarmacs Derbyshire Heritage. Tarmac Papers Vol IV , Wolverhampton (e).
Thomas, I. A & Cooper, M (2008) The Geology o Chatsworth House Derbyshire. pp 27-42 Mercian Geologist Vol I7 Part 1.[Also available as a separate publication by East Midlands Geological Society].
Thomas, I. A (2008) Hopton Wood Stone Englands Premier Decorative Stone. pp 90-105 in Englands Heritage in Stone.English Stone Forum, Folkestone.
Toghill, P (2010) The Geology o Britain - An Introduction. Airlie.
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Derbyshire Strategic Stone Study 19
Tomlinson, J. M (with TD Ford) (1996) Derbyshire Black Marble. Peak District Mines Historical Society Spec. Pub. No. 4 95pp.
Young, J (1990) Alabaster, Derbyshire Museum Service, Matlock. 68 pp.
(a) This publication contains a comprehensive list o buildings and stones used and is eectively Volume I
(b) This combines volumes I and II, but stone coverage is less consistent
(c) Contains extensive lists o quarries
(d) Although relating to Yorkshire, it sets a general context or Derbyshire
(e) Includes historical descriptions o quarries and companies