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Strategic Stone Study (SSS) and English Building Stone Pits (EBSPits) Website

Church column, © Tarnia McAlester

England has a fantastically rich and varied architectural landscape. Much of this is due to the great variety of stones that were used in buildings and other structures. Stone buildings reflect local geology and it is this which makes so many towns, villages and rural landscapes so distinctive. Stone is the major building material in many of the half–a–million listed buildings and 9,500 conservation areas.

Supplies of new stone are needed to repair these buildings and to match in new extensions. The problem is that most of the original quarries have closed and detailed information on the stones used is difficult to find. This means that it can be extremely challenging to find suitable alternatives. The Strategic Stone Study (SSS) aims to address these problems.

What is the Study?

English Heritage (EH) is working with the British Geological Survey (BGS), local geologists and historic buildings experts from each county in England to;

  • identify the stone used in historic buildings, ranging from castles and cathedrals to houses, walls, roofs, bridges, kerbs, paving etc; and then to

  • publish this information on the EBSPits freely available website.

Why is it being done?

Roofs and chimneys on terraced houses, © Tarnia McAlester
  • In conservation work it is important to obtain stone that matches the original, not only in appearance, but also in its mineral composition, density and porosity. If not, the new stone could lead to an ugly mismatching, patchwork of stonework. In the worst case, it could hasten the weathering and decay of the original structure.

  • The Department of Communities and Local Government. Minerals Policy Statement 1 (MPS1) Annex 3 Natural Building and Roofing Stone (2006) recommends that local authorities safeguard important sources of building stone and the SSS aims to provide this vital information and data by identifying:

    1. the most important stones used for building and roofing

    2. representative examples of the buildings and villages

    3. active/historic building stone quarries
Lyveden New Bield, © Don Cameron

How is it being done?

EH is commissioning an experienced local geologist and historic buildings expert in each county to provide data on quarries, building stones and historic buildings/villages by;

  • supplying existing information/records, supplemented by limited fieldwork and entering it into a database supplied by BGS, supported by county maps.

Publishing the Study

Stone buildings, © Tarnia McAlester
  • The results are to be made freely available on a Geographical Information System (GIS) via the web. EH has commissioned BGS to expand its database of quarries, mines and mineral workings in the UK to accommodate this innovative database under a new site called EBSPits (England’s Building Stone Pits).
  • Studies in several counties, including Derbyshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire, have been carried out successfully and the data is being added to EBSPits with other county data being added when they are completed.

English Heritage county building stone atlases

As part of the Strategic Stone Survey, EH has commissioned a set of atlases covering the building stones of the English counties. These are freely available as pdf downloads from this site and can be found by following the links below:

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information included in this atlas and website is accurate, individuals or organisations should independently verify information before acting on it. Neither English Heritage, the British Geological Survey, the Natural Environment Research Council nor any of the sources of the information shall be responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the use of or results obtained from the use of this information.

Tarnia McAlester (English Heritage) is gratefully acknowledged for her contribution to these web pages.

More detailed information