Blue Purbeck Marble
Information
This famous stone displays a beautiful natural pattern of tiny fossil shells throughout its surface. These create an interesting and varied textured appearance that adds character and depth to the stone. The stone’s many whole and fragmented little freshwater snail shells vary in colour from dark blue and grey through to mid-blue with white tones.
Purbeck Marble is one of the most famous stones in England, used since the medieval period for decorative and structural masonry and statuary within England’s medieval cathedrals, churches and historic buildings. Haysom Purbeck Stone is the only quarry with a stock of this stone. We have provided Blue Purbeck Marble for conservation and restoration projects throughout the 20th Century, including the post-WW2 restoration of the Temple Church, London, which contains beautiful examples of Blue Purbeck Marble columns cut vertical to the bedding plane showing the stone’s characteristic ‘current bedding’.
Recent Projects
- Dover Castle, Kent
- Exeter Cathedral, Devon
- Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire
- Westminster Abbey, London
- Jubilee Pavement, Exeter Cathedral
- Litchfield Cathedral
- Windsor Castle
Specification
| Sample Size | 100x100mm |
|---|---|
| Sample Surface Finish | honed (approx 220 grit) |
| Quarry Location | Purbeck, Dorset, England |
| Geology | Cretaceous Limestone |
| Colour | dark blue and grey |
| Polish Achievable | very high |
| Applications | interior only |
| BRE Data | available on request |