Building Stones in Nottingham

Ancaster limestone at Wollaton Hall

When studying geology at the University of Nottingham, in the holidays I continued to work for the small general contractor that had employed me after I left school - and I developed a great interest in the geology of construction materials, which resulted in the Triton Stone Library

The Triton Stone Library

Arriving for my day out in Nottingham by train and walking through the Broadmarsh Centre to the city centre, I started by walking up Low Pavement and soon encountered Enfield Chambers (1910), which immediately reminded me of the Bath stone that I had encountered when working in the building restoration industry in London. 

Enfield Chambers on Low Pavement

Having lived in Lincoln twice and surveyed very many historic buildings built from the Middle Jurassic Lincolnshire Limestone Formation in the county – including varieties from Lincoln, Ancaster and Clipsham – my experience has been that this stone generally weathers to a grey colour, whereas the equivalent formations from Northampton to the Dorset coast obtain a much darker honey coloured patina.

A general view of the Justice Museum

On High Pavement, the old County Court (1769), now the Justice Museum – caught my eye for both the giant columns of Red Mansfield and the highly weathered yellow sandstone, which I had not seen before.

A Red Mansfield stone column at the Justice Museum

The Red Mansfield stone, long since unobtainable, is dolomitic sandstone from the Upper Permian Cadeby Formation that, along with the White Mansfield stone, is the only building stone from Nottinghamshire that developed a national reputation and I often encountered this stone in Victorian buildings in London.

Sandstone at the churches of St. Mary the Virgin and St. Peter

From subsequent research, I have subsequently discovered that the yellow sandstone was brought from Castle Donington along the River Trent but don’t know if the stone was quarried from the Helsby Sandstone Formation or overlying Tarporley Siltstone Formation. Both were widely exploited for building mediaeval churches etc. in south-west and central Nottinghamshire; however, they are both poorly cemented and have not proved to be very durable. 

The patina on the Ancaster stone at Wollaton Hall

Similar sandstones were subsequently encountered at the churches of St. Mary the Virgin and St. Peter, which I will describe later, and then taking the bus to Wollaton Park encountered extensive use of Ancaster limestone at Wollaton Hall, which to my surprise had developed a similar deep honey coloured patina in sheltered locations and made me think again about the stone used at Enfield Chambers. 

Triassic sandstone in a boundary wall

Walking back through Wollaton Park to its east entrance, I encountered stone walling adjacent to the underpass, which I think is another example of the Triassic sandstone that I had seen in the Lace Market and the mediaeval churches earlier in the day, and then had a quick look at Lenton Lodge, the former gatehouse to Wollaton Park, which is built out of White Mansfield stone. 

Lenton Lodge

I spent 3 months sawing this dolomitic sandstone in the Gregory's Quarry and its colour and very frequent fine bands of green clay make it quite distinctive – especially when the clay is differentially weathered to leave a texture that reminds me of old crinkled leather. 

A detail of White Mansfield stone at Lenton Lodge

Arriving back in Nottingham on the bus, I got off at Canning Circus to quickly look at the general cemetery, where I saw memorials composed of various granites and then headed down towards The Park and Nottingham Castle. On the way, I encountered an example of boundary walling built of Bulwell stone, which is used ubiquitously in Nottingham for general walling. 

Granites at Nottingham General Cemetery

Like the Red and White Mansfield stone, this dolomitic limestone is a very sandy variety of the Cadeby Formation and it is very distinctive by being essentially composed of rhombs of the mineral dolomite, which can be easily distinguished with a hand lens, and here it contains vughs and various concretions.

A boundary wall made of Bulwell stone