Derby Shire

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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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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.

Tarnia McAlester


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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.

Tarnia McAlester

Tarnia McAlester


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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.

Tarnia McAlester

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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).

Tarnia McAlester

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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.

Tarnia McAlester

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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).

Tarnia McAlester

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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.

Tarnia McAlester

Graham Lott

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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.

Tarnia McAlester

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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.

Tarnia McAlester


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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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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

Derby Shire

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Transcript of Derby Shire