Sussex Marble

Historic England - East Sussex Strategic Stone Study 13

Intermittent bands of Viviparus fresh-water gastropod limestones across the Weald have historic importance as the source of two compressed limestones that like Purbeck Marble can take a polish. Commonly known by their Victorian terminology, the older Lower Weald Clay deposits produced a more thinly bedded 5-15cm stone known as the Small Paludina or now Viviparus infracretacicus Limestone.  The harder and deeper bedded 10-30cm Large Paludina or Viviparus fluviorum Limestone was deposited somewhat later, just into the Upper Weald Clay, and it was more widely used. Deposits were widely scattered and stone was recovered from any local exposure or from clay pits.

Deposited in brackish to fresh water commonly in very turbulent conditions, these well-rounded gastropods were not always fully broken but deposited in massive seabed depressions or as shell banks that were later compressed and calcite cemented in a matrix of mud and silt. Geopetal texture is commonly seen within fully articulate shells and ostracods are commonly abundant.

Sussex Marble colouring ranges from white to blue and with oxidised browns.  The large Paludina size averages 20mm x 10mm and the small Paludina 12mm x 6mm in height x width – so Sussex Marble contains larger shells than Purbeck Marble, usually     < 8mm x 4mm.  Both stones were used locally as rough building stone in Sussex villages, their churches or lychgates and can be seen used polished in conjunction with Purbeck Marble in Canterbury Cathedral. But any Sussex Marble weathers away when long wet.

In Medieval times, Sussex Marble was used in just the same ways as Purbeck Marble i.e. for pillars, colonettes, fonts, table tombs, burial ledgers, altars and prestige stone furnishing. (See Sussex Stones 2006 p.3-6, 26-30 & 43-52)

References
1) Price, Sussex Stones, 2006
2) Birch R. & Cordiner R. Building Stones of West Sussex 2014
3) Cordiner R. & Brook A. Building Stone Atlas of Sussex 2017