Greenwich

Artist's impression of Greenwich
  1. Wolf Statue: this has a plinth and steps of Portland Stone on setts of Portugese granite.
  2. Greenwich Observatory: the Meridian Line is paved with 'granite' setts. There are pale Cornish granites, blue-grey Guernsey diorite, pink Leicestershire porphyry and many others. Close by is the Halley Memorial of Purbeck Marble.
  3. Queen's House: inside the Queen's House, the Great Hall is floored with squares of black Belgium marble and white or grey, streaky Bardiglio Marble from Italy. The fireplace in the Queen's Antechamber is of Derbyshire Limestone.
  4. Royal Navy College Chapel: this is remarkable for its geological deception! The statues in the niches are of Coade Stone, an artificial stone paste that could be moulded into shapes and save the expense of stone carving.
  5. Painted Hall of King William's Block: the drama of elevation is controlled by the broad steps to the portico and the upper hall, carved from striped, blue-grey Bardiglio Marble from Italy. There are several other types of marble used in the floor.
  6. Queen Anne's Block: the east corner of Wren and Hawksmoor's building has massive slabs of Portland Stone with the fossil oyster beds upturned and running vertically through the blocks.
  7. King Charles's Block: the base courses are of buff-coloured Magnesian Limestone from Roche Abbey in Yorkshire. Higher up, white-weathering Portland Stone containing fossil shell traces is used.

Learn more about Greenwich's building stones in the Holiday Geology Guide available from the BGS Bookshop.