Abstract
The character of the UK’s built heritage has been largely determined by the country’s diverse geology. Indigenous natural stone forms a major component of the nation’s pre-1919 building stock. Stone has been used traditionally for roofing, roads, pavements, bridges, engineering works, and all forms of walling. Today it is mostly employed as thin panel cladding to concrete frameworks in modern construction and is now increasingly being used in large volumes for new city streetscapes. This paper outlines the material requirements for the repair and maintenance of the stone-built heritage and illustrates a range of initiatives across the UK aimed at safeguarding and redeveloping indigenous resources. The importance, particularly for the repair and conservation sector, of selecting appropriate replacement stone is being recognized by architectural and conservation professionals and by local authority officials. There is also increasing recognition of the importance to the economy of the local character of the built environment in terms of its value to tourism and to architectural, historical, and cultural identity. The paper also examines the historical sources of information on stone in the UK and offers recommendations for databasing and disseminating stone resource information. This may assist the redevelopment of a healthy indigenous stone industry and ensure that the unique built heritage character of the UK is maintained and enhanced.
Highlights
During the mid- to late-1800s the UK had several thousand working building stone quarries and mines in sandstone, limestone, and igneous and metamorphic rocks that supplied local and national requirements
In the early part of the 20th century the decline of the building stone industry coincided with the manufacture and utilization of other building materials, most notably concrete
In Scotland, for example, new supplies of indigenous slate, principally for roofing, have not been available since the 1950s, and there are currently less than 20 quarries supplying sandstone, one of the most important building materials in northern Britain
Summary
This paper outlines the material requirements for the repair and maintenance of the stone-built heritage and illustrates a range of initiatives across the UK aimed at safeguarding and redeveloping indigenous resources. During the mid- to late-1800s the UK had several thousand working building stone quarries and mines in sandstone, limestone, and igneous and metamorphic rocks that supplied local and national requirements. In Scotland, for example, new supplies of indigenous slate, principally for roofing, have not been available since the 1950s, and there are currently less than 20 quarries supplying sandstone, one of the most important building materials in northern Britain.
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