Table Of ContentBRITISH AND FOREIGN
BUILDING STONES
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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C. F. CLAY, MANAGER
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All rights reserved
BRITISH AND FOREIGN
BUILDING STONES
A DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF THE
SPECIMENS IN THE
SEDGWICK MUSEUM, CAMBRIDGE
BY
JOHN WATSON
Cambridge :
at the University Press
1911
Published by ICE Publishing, 40 Marsh Wall, London E14 9TP.
Distributors for ICE Publishing books are
USA: Publishers Storage and Shipping Corp., 46 Development Road,
Fitchburg, MA 01420
www.icevirtuallibrary.com
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-0-7277-5068-6
© Thomas Telford Limited 2011
ICE Publishing is a division of Thomas Telford Ltd, a wholly-
owned subsidiary of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).
All rights, including translation, reserved. Except as
permitted by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988,
no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without
the prior written permission of the Publisher, ICE
Publishing, 40 Marsh Wall, London E14 9TP.
This book is published on the understanding that the author is
solely responsible for the statements made and opinions
expressed in it and that its publication does not necessarily
imply that such statements and/or opinions are or reflect the
views or opinions of the publishers. Whilst every effort has
been made to ensure that the statements made and the
opinions expressed in this publication provide a safe and
accurate guide, no liability or responsibility can be accepted in
this respect by the author or publishers.
Cambridge
PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A.
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
PREFATORY NOTE
IN putting this first edition into the hands of the
student, I desire to emphasise two facts. First,
that the collection is very far from being exhaustive,
although it is hoped that in due time it may he fairly
representative of the building stones of the world.
Secondly, that the descriptive notes, which precede the
catalogue, do not in any degree aspire to the character
of a geological exposition: they are only an attempt to
weave together a few facts, which may he useful to
the student.
I am greatly indebted to Professor Hughes and his
colleagues, indeed to all who are officially connected
with the Sedgwick Museum, for their unfailing kind
ness, and the friendly assistance they have at all times
afforded me. Special thanks are due to Mr A. Harker
in undertaking to be responsible for the penological
designation which appears on the labels of the Igneous
rocks.
I wish to express my acknowledgments to Professor
Grenville A. J. Cole of Dublin for the kind help he has
given me whilst collecting specimens to illustrate the
building stones of Ireland; and to Dr G. P. Merrill of
thej United! States National Museum at Washington,
for his advice and ready assistance in my endeavour to
form a representative collection of specimens from the
United States.
vi PREFATORY NOTE
Lastly, I desire to record my deep sense of gratitude
to Professor T. G. Bonney, who has kindly revised my
manuscripts. I need hardly add that his revision has
attached a scientific value to the contents of this publi
cation which otherwise it would not have possessed.
Through the courtesy of the Woodwardian Pro
fessor, sufficient space has been allocated in the museum
for this collection*, and ample room still remains for
additions to it. It is therefore hoped that whenever
students and others find that they can contribute
fresh examples, they will avail themselves of the
opportunity. By following this suggestion, the donors
will have the satisfaction of knowing that not only are
they enhancing the value of the collection for educa
tional purposes, but also that their names will be
enrolled among the many benefactors of the ancient
and renowned University of Cambridge.
J. W.
BRACONDALE,
CAMBRIDGE, 1911
* The Sedgwick Museum is open to the public, and the
collection is exhibited in the Economic Section on the ground
floor.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Introduction 1
DESCRIPTIVE NOTES
BRITISH, COLONIAL AND FOREIGN
BUILDING STONES
Igneous Rocks (Plutonic) 16
„ „ (Volcanic) 77
Metamorphic Rocks 94
Sedimentary Rocks
Cambrian and Silurian . . .. 98
Devonian and Old Red Sandstone . . 110
Carboniferous 117
Permian 142
Trias 152
Jurassic 165
Cretaceous 193
Tertiary and Recent 216
Eocene 217
Miocene 227
Pliocene . . .. . 2 34
Pleistocene and Recent . . . 236
viii CONTENTS
CATALOGUE
BRITISH BUILDING STONES
PAGE
Igneous Rocks (Plutonic) . . 247
„ „ (Volcanic) 259
Metamorphic Rocks . . . . . .. 260
Sedimentary Rocks
Cambrian and Silurian . . . . 261
Devonian and Old Red Sandstone . 264
Carboniferous . . . . . 269
Permian 290
Trias 295
Jurassic 304
Cretaceous 315
Pleistocene and Recent, . . ' . . 319
COLONIAL AND FOREIGN
BUILDING STONES
Igneous Rocks (Plutonic) . . . . . 323
„ „ (Volcanic) 356
Metamorphic Rocks 367
Sedimentary Rocks
Cambrian and Silurian . . .. 369
Devonian and Old Red Sandstone . . 373
Carboniferous . . . . . . 375
Permian . 3 80
Trias 383
Jurassic . . • 391
Cretaceous . 399
Tertiary and Recent
Eocene . . . . . . . 411
Miocene . . • . . . . 418
Pliocene 424
Pleistocene and Recent . 426
INDEX 431
INTRODUCTION
Specimens of Building Stones brought together to
form a collection are usually arranged according to
their lithological character irrespective of their age.
Possibly this method may have been found to be
the most convenient for architects and builders, other
wise it would not have been so generally adopted.
Bearing in mind however that the present collection
is primarily for the use of students of geology at
Cambridge University, it has been thought that the
specimens will be more helpful to them, if they are
arranged in stratigraphical order, hence this method
has been adopted, except in the case of the igneous
rocks.
For convenience of reference, the examples repre
senting the building stones of the British Isles have
been arranged separate from those obtained from the
Colonies and from foreign countries.
The specimens are chiefly in the form of 4^-inch
cubes, the sides of which are dressed in the usual style
adopted for the purposes for which the stone is
generally used in the region from which the specimen
comes. One face of the cube is polished, when it admits
of this treatment, and another side is usually left
rough, in order that the grain and texture of the rock
may be clearly seen.
A label is affixed to the front of each specimen,
bearing the following particulars:—
1. The name by which the stone is best known in
commerce.
w. 1
