Building stone and the built heritage

Northumberland produces particularly high quality building stones. The majority of the county’s active and historically known quarries are within the district under consideration. Stone forms an integral part of the landscape, present in field boundary walls, historic structures such as Hadrian’s Wall and in the numerous stone houses, farmsteads and villages which provide as strong a sense of place as anywhere in the United Kingdom. The use of geological materials in the built environment eloquently demonstrates the inseparable links between natural and human landscapes.

Understanding the properties and limitations of these materials provides important insights into the importance of the Earth’s resources. Buildings may offer readily accessible opportunities to see a variety of rock types, and to appreciate ways in which the use of these materials has changed over past centuries.

Download our Geodiversity Audit and Action Plan