DORSET BUILDING STONE
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Heathstone, Carstone, Ironstone (Lead author JT)

The dark brown sandstones, sometimes pebbly, used for buildings in a wide area of south and east Dorset are colloquially known as Heathstone, Carstone or Ironstone - they are cemented into a strong building stone by their iron mineral content.  They all come from local sand and clay sequences that were deposited on top of the eroded surface of the Chalk.
Picture

​Basal Pebble Beds: The earliest Reading Beds and London Clay Formations contain pebble beds at their bases, deposited during a marine transgression, inundating river-flat and near-shore environments.  
Outliers of these rounded pebbles in a matrix of loose sand are scattered over the Chalk Downland. The loose pebbles, reminiscent of the pebbles on Chesil Beach and between 5 and 10 cm on the long axis, have been used for roadstone.
​On the Edmondsham Estate the crest of Castle Hill has a deep pit in the pebble bed that contains patches of iron-cemented sand creating a conglomerate with the pebbles. Some of these conglomerate blocks are used as boundary markers, or in old rubble walls.
Picture
London Clay Heathstone in the 12th century north wall of Canford Church. Photo: JT.
 West Park Farm Member:  Large boulders are found at the base of the sand, often with pebbles and gastropod fossils on the top surface.
Warmwell Farm Sand: Within the Parish of Lytchett Matravers this has yielded small blocks of sharp-grained sandstone used for cottages in Quarr Lane, but no quarries are now visible.  Three quarries were recorded in a Tudor Survey of the manor made for the landowner. [Three Tudor Surveys, 1584-1585 - The Manors of Okeford Fitzpaine, Durweston cum Knighton and Lytchett Minster. June Palmer (Ed), Dorset Record Society Vol.18, Nov. 2015].
​Lytchett Matravers Sandstone: This is a very fine to medium grained (‹0.5 mm), well-sorted and rounded, ferruginous-cemented sandstone which, when used as ashlar, can be seen to be current bedded.
Picture
Current bedded Heathstone block in Corfe Mullen church
Picture
The rounded grains of sand in Almer church are <3mm diam, coated in iron oxide. Photos: JT
Picture
London Clay Heathstone in the 12th century north wall of Canford Church. Photo: JT.
See Thomas, J. 2016:  Note on the use of Tertiary Heathstone in buildings over the area of outcrop of the Palaeogene in the Isle of Purbeck, South-central and East Dorset. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History & Archaeological Society. Vol. 137.
Poole Formation: This is a series of sands and clays that formed in river systems or estuaries.  The sandstone from this Formation tends to be iron-cemented ‘sharp sand’ (angular grains).  The sandstone used for buildings occurs as concretions, often very large, within the Broadstone Sand.   I have not identified any buildings using the Branksome Sand, though there is a question about some ‘sharp sand’ sandstone in Christchurch, which could just as likely be Poole Formation. In a building they are indistinguishable.  The Poole Formation Heathstones are variable, these are examples from Studland.
Picture
Poole Formation Redend Sandstone Studland, Broadstone Sand. Photo: JT
Picture
Poole Formation on Goathorn, sand below the Oakdale Clay. Photo: JT

​All the Heathstones are found in lenses, or small patches, rather than in beds which can be followed across country.  For this reason, there are few excavations or quarries specifically for Heathstone.  This stone was collected for building from isolated boulders, from exposures in sand or clay pits, or occasionally from small ‘delves’ (delph or delve = a small excavation).  This is in sharp contrast to the building sandstones in other parts of England, where continuous beds of well-cemented sandstone have been extensively quarried from thick deposits.  The Normans used Heathstone locally, when they could find it. The early Kingston Lacy Manor house was built of Heathstone, and that was Norman.  It never was easy to find.  
​Barton Beds: Hengistbury Head Ironstone  
Picture
A marine, micrite cemented, sandy concretion. Image: PJB
​There are two iron-rich sandstones in the Barton Beds, the Hengistbury  Ironstone nodules and the smaller nodules from Bed G of the Barton Beds at Barton Cliff.  Both of these are very fine-grained iron-rich calcareous sand.  The Hengistbury nodules are large concretions. Bed G at Barton contains many small white gastropod and bivalve fossils.
Picture
​In Higher magnification: oxidised siderite (red/orange/brown ferrous carbonate) with sub-rounded/sub-angular, well-sorted fine quartz sand .   In XPL birefringence: white, grey & some black grains of sand. Occasional brown-green (rusted/oxidised) glauconite pellets, many larger than in the Shaftesbury Sandstone (Upper Greensand) Image: PJB
Barton Bed G
The images below show different views of Stone Bed G from the Barton Beds
Picture
A micrite-cemented mudstone with finely comminuted shell, siderite & rare silt. Photo: PJB
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Crossed polar XPL thin section view. Comminuted shell - pink, yellow, green & blue speckles. Occasional white finest 0.005mm silt. Fine orange siderite known present. Image: PJB
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Weakly micritic cemented mudstone with articulate - (whole) - gastropod fossil shells. Photo: PJB
Revised Jan 2020 JT/WG
Picture

© DORSET BUILDING STONE
and contributors
  • Home
    • About Us
    • Glossary
    • References and Sources
    • Work in Progress
  • Building stones
    • How we study building stones
    • Palaeogene >
      • Heathstone
      • Sarsens
    • Cretaceous >
      • Chalk
      • Flint
      • Upper Greensand
      • Chert
      • Wealden
      • Purbeck >
        • Upper Purbeck (Purbeck Marble)
        • Upper Purbeck (Broken Shell Lst. aka Burr)
        • Middle Purbeck (Upper Building Stones)
        • Lower Purbeck (Cypris Freestones)
    • Jurassic >
      • Lower Purbeck >
        • Cypris Freestones
      • Portland Stone - Dorset
      • Chert
      • Kimmeridge Bay Dolomitic Limestone
      • Corallian
      • Cornbrash
      • Forest Marble
      • Fuller's Earth Rock
      • Inferior Oolite
      • Bridport Sands
      • Junction Bed
      • Blue Lias
    • Dorset Bricks
    • Non-Dorset Stone >
      • Tertiary >
        • Bembridge Limestones - Isle Of Wight
      • Cretaceous >
        • Beer Stone - SE Devon
      • Jurassic >
        • Bath Stone - Somerset & Wilts
        • Blue Lias of Somerset
        • Doulting Stone - Somerset
        • Ham Hill Stone - Somerset
        • Portland Limestone – Wilts (Chilmark)
        • Normandy >
          • Pierre de Caen (Caen Stone)
        • Pas de Calais
      • Triassic: White Lias of SE Devon
      • Carboniferous >
        • Carboniferous Limestones: Polished Black
      • Devonian
    • Building Stone Trails >
      • Devon Trails
      • Somerset Trails
    • Stone Index >
      • Stone Index A-B >
        • Abbotsbury Ironstone
        • Bath Stone
        • Beer Stone
        • Bembridge Stone
        • Binstead Stone
        • Blue Lias Stone
        • Bridport Sandstone
        • Broken Shell Limestone
        • Burr
        • Burton Limestone
      • Stone Index C-E >
        • Caen Stone
        • Carstone
        • Chert
        • Chilmark Lower Building Stone
        • Chilmark Main Building Stone
        • Chilmark Stone
        • Chilmark Upper Buiding Stone
        • Clavellata Beds
        • Cliff Stone
        • Clunch
        • Corallian
        • Cornbrash
        • Cypris Freestone
      • Stone Index F-O >
        • Featherbed Limestone
        • Featherstone
        • Forest Marble
        • Flint
        • Fuller's Earth Rock
        • Grey Chalk
        • Ham Hill Stone
        • Heathstone
        • Inferior Oolite
        • Ironstone
        • Lower Chalk
        • Lower Lias
        • Melbury Sandstone
        • Middle Chalk
        • Middle Lias
        • New Vein
        • Osmington Oolite
      • Stone Index P-T >
        • Portland Cherty Beds
        • Portland Cherty Series
        • Portland Stone
        • Purbeck Marble
        • Purbeck Stone
        • Quarr Stone
        • Rag
        • Sarsen Stone
        • Shaftesbury Sandstone
        • Sherborne Stone
        • Tisbury Stone
        • Todber Freestone
        • Trigonia Beds
      • Stone Index U-Z >
        • Upper Chalk
        • Wardour Lower Building Stone
        • Wardour Main Building Stone
        • Weald Clay
        • White Chalk
        • White Lias
        • Yeovil Stone
  • Churches
    • A-Z of Churches
    • East Dorset >
      • Almer
      • Bournemouth >
        • Talbot Village
      • Canford Magna Chapel
      • Corfe Mullen
      • Christchurch Priory
      • Cranborne
      • Edmondsham
      • Gussage All Saints
      • Gussage St. Andrew
      • Hampreston
      • Kinson
      • Knowlton
      • Morden
      • Pamphill
      • Poole St.James
      • Poole, the Spire Church
      • Shapwick
      • Sturminster Marshall
      • Tarrant Crawford
      • Tarrant Keyneston
      • West Parley
      • Wimborne St.Giles
      • Wimborne Minster Exterior Tour
      • Wimborne Minster Interior
      • Wimborne Minster: Purbeck Marble and Decorative Stone
    • Central Dorset >
      • Bloxworth
      • Bradford Peverell
      • Cerne Abbas
      • Hilton
      • Lytchett Matravers
      • Stratton
      • The Piddle Valley >
        • Affpuddle
        • Alton Pancras
        • Bere Regis
        • Piddlehinton
        • Piddletrenthide
        • Puddletown
        • Tolpuddle
      • Winterborne Tomson
    • North Dorset >
      • Batcombe
      • Belchalwell
      • Blandford Parish Church
      • Blandford St. Leonard's Chapel
      • Blandford St. Mary
      • Blandford Cemetery Chapels
      • Bradford Abbas
      • Chetnole
      • Child Okeford
      • Compton Abbas
      • Farnham
      • Folke
      • Gillingham
      • Hammoon
      • Hazelbury Bryan
      • Holnest
      • Ibberton
      • Iwerne Minster
      • Langton Long
      • Leigh
      • Mappowder
      • Margaret Marsh
      • Marnhull
      • Melbury Abbas
      • Melbury Bubb
      • Pimperne
      • Okeford Fitzpaine
      • Purse Caundle
      • Ryme Intrinseca
      • Shillingstone
      • Sixpenny Handley
      • Stockwood
      • Stourpaine
      • Tarrant Gunville
      • Tarrant Hinton
      • Tarrant Monkton
      • Tarrant Rushton
      • Todber
      • Winterborne Stickland
      • Winterborne Zelston
      • Woolland
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    • South Dorset >
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      • Portland: Reforne
      • Steeple
      • Stinsford
      • Studland
      • Swanage
      • Upwey
      • Wareham St. Martin-on-the Walls
      • Wareham St.Mary >
        • St. Martin's-on-the-walls
      • Winterborne Came
      • Winterborne Steepleton
      • Wool
      • Worth Matravers
    • West Dorset >
      • Beaminster
      • Bothenhampton
      • Bradpole
      • Bridport
      • Broadwindsor
      • Burton Bradstock
      • Burstock
      • Catherston Leweston
      • Chelborough
      • Evershot
      • Eype
      • Loders
      • Monkton Wyld
      • Netherbury
      • North Poorton
      • Powerstock
      • St. Gabriel’s
      • Shipton Gorge
      • Lulworth Castle
      • Stoke Abbott
      • Symondsbury
      • Wootton Fitzpaine
      • Whitchurch Canonicorum
  • Quarries , Pits and Limekilns
    • Active Quarries
    • Abbotsbury area
    • Beacon Limestone Quarries
    • Inferior Oolite
    • North Dorset Corallian
    • Kimmeridge Bay
    • Portesham
    • Portland near Swanage
    • Purbeck near Swanage
    • Shaftesbury Sandstone
    • Uplyme Quarries
    • Upwey
    • Whiteway Hill Quarry
    • Winspit Quarry
    • Non-Dorset Quarries and Pits
  • Secular buildings
    • Athelhampton House
    • Blandford Town Hall
    • Cerne Abbas (village and Abbey)
    • Durweston Bridge
    • Ibberton Village
    • Kimmeridge Bay
    • Moignes Court
    • Non-Dorset Buildings
  • Search
  • Contact Us