Three Scottish building stone specimens

BGS Image ID: P519461

Rock specimen of sandstone from Bloody Mires Quarry, Kippen Muir, Central Region, Scotland.

Sample of red sandstone, showing uniform grainsize and colour. This specimen is of Devonian age. British Geological Survey Petrology Collection sample number MC2092. This sample is from an abandoned quarry which may have been used for local building stone. Red sandstone was commonly used in Scotland from the late 19th century. The largest and most significant quarries of red sandstone in Scotland were in Ayrshire and Dumfriesshire, from where the stone was transported by railway.

BGS Image ID: P519533

Rock specimen of sandstone from Hailes Quarry, Edinburgh, Lothian Region, Scotland.

Oblique photograph of a specimen of Hailes sandstone, with the name of the quarry carved on one side. This specimen is of Carboniferous age. British Geological Survey Petrology Collection sample number MC1318. The upper surface has been left in its natural state, showing the uneven bedding surface. Such samples were prepared by the quarry in order to market the stone. This sample dates from before the First World War. Size of specimen: 11x11x5 cm. Munsell colour code and colour 5YR8/1, pinkish grey.

BGS Image ID: P519560

Specimen of roofing slate quarried from Easdale Island, Argyllshire, Scotland

This slate shows the trade mark stamp of the Easdale Slate Company. The specimen is of Precambrian, Dalradian age. British Geological Survey Petrology Collection sample number EMC 5736. The slate is a typical dark grey colour with a strong 'grain' and containing pyrite crystals. This specimen was donated to the Geological Survey of Scotland sometime before 1916. For hundreds of years slate was the preferred roofing material in Scotland. The geological variation found in slate quarries from across Scotland meant that each produced a characteristic slate, with a colour, texture and thickness varying from region to region.

Bob McIntosh

St. Mary's Church, Sompting, West Sussex. Saxon church constructed from quarried flints

BGS image ID: P212490

St. Mary's Church, Sompting, West Sussex.

This church with its rare but distinctive Saxon tower with a 'gabled pyramidal cap' or Rheinish Helm (Rhineland Helmet) is suggestive of early German (Saxon) architectural influence. Nevertheless it is built principally of flint nodules and local sandstones from the Weald Clay Formation. The walls of Sompting Church are built mainly of undressed flint nodules. The quoins are of a variety of rock types, some possibly derived from older buildings. The nave and transept are roofed with thin sandstone slabs from the Weald Clay. The unusual tower of this church is an important Saxon structure. Many of the churches of West Sussex were principally constructed from locally 'quarried' flints, the only suitable building stone readily available. The Rheinish Helm on top of the tower is an original Anglo-Saxon spire, the only one in the country.

Original BGS photograph number: A 133394. Date of image 1979.

Virtual tour: The Friends of Sompting Church

Bob McIntosh