Sandstone in Pontefract |
In
all of the places that I have visited in Yorkshire, where they are underlain by
hard rock geology, the stone has been widely used for construction – from dry
stone walls to intricately carved details; however, in Pontefract, even though
both Carboniferous sandstone and Magnesian Limestone form the bedrock, I only
saw a handful of stone buildings whilst walking around the old town centre.
Nonetheless,
the buildings that you can see
provide a good opportunity to look at the very distinctive weathering
characteristics of the best sandstones available at the various times when they
were built – The Town Hall, the Market Hall, the Buttercross and St. Giles' church all provide very fine examples of stone built architecture...
Sculpture |