Purbeck Marble

Purbeck Marble

Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone quarried in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England.It is one of many kinds of Purbeck Limestone, deposited in the late Jurassic or early Cretaceous periods.Purbeck Marble is not a metamorphic rock like a true marble, but like true marble it can take a fine polish.Its characteristic appearance comes from densely-packed shells of the freshwater snail "Viviparus", [Arkell, W. J. (1947), "Geology of the country round Weymouth, Swanage, Corfe Castle and Lulworth". London: HMSO for British Geological Survey.] [Clements, R. G. (1993), "Type-section of the Purbeck Limestone Group, Durlston Bay, Swanage, Dorset", "Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society", 114, 181–206.] which are also seen in Sussex Marble (also known as Petworth Marble or Winklestone) with generally larger Winkles of the same species.

In seams of the stone, which lie between layers of softer marine clays and mudstone, laid down in repeated marine ingressions, mineral impurities give some Purbeck Marble fine red and green varieties.

During the Romano-British period, Purbeck Marble was used for inscriptions, architectural mouldings and veneers, mortars and pestles, and other articles. [Beavis, John (1971), "The use of Purbeck Marble in Roman Britain", "Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society", 92, 181–204.]

Purbeck Marble was also quarried in medieval times and can be seen in virtually all the cathedrals of the south of England, in columns and slab panels and flooring. [Leach, Rosemary (1978), "An investigation into the use of Purbeck marble in medieval England", 2nd edition. Crediton: the author.]

It has been less used in modern times, but a remarkable example isthe church at Kingston, Purbeck, Dorset built in 1874–1880. [ [http://people.bath.ac.uk/lismd/dorset/churches/kingston.html Kingston (St James) Church] ]

Though other strata of Purbeck Limestone are being quarried at the present time (2008), there are no active quarries in the Purbeck Marble.However Purbeck Marble is required from time to time for restoration work, and some was extracted in 1993. [Haysom, Treleven (1998), "Extracting Purbeck Marble", "Hatcher Review", 5(45), 48–54.]

Purbeck Marble is used by a number of contemporary sculptors and examples of sculpture can be seen at the biennial Asthall Manor exhibition of stone sculpture.

References

External links

* [http://www.soton.ac.uk/~imw/ Geology of the Wessex Coast]
* [http://langtonia.org.uk/ Langton Matravers Local History and Preservation Society, including Museum of the Purbeck stone industry]
* [http://www.pmmmg.org Purbeck Mineral & Mining Museum]
* [http://www.palmyra.uklinux.net/pur-preface.html Roman Purbeck Stone]
* [http://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/education.faqs.php Salisbury Cathedral]
* [http://www.purbeckstone.co.uk/samples.htm W J Haysom and Son and Lander's Quarries]



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  • Purbeck marble — n. (also Purbeck stone) Archit. a hard usu. polished limestone from Purbeck in Dorset, used in pillars, effigies, etc. * * * Purbeck marble or Purbeck stone noun A freshwater shelly limestone quarried in the Isle of Purbeck • • • Main Entry:… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Purbeck marble — [ pə:bɛk] (also Purbeck stone) noun a hard limestone from Purbeck in Dorset, which is polished and used for decorative architectural features …   English new terms dictionary

  • Purbeck marble — /pɜbɛk ˈmabəl/ (say perbek mahbuhl) noun a dark limestone capable of receiving a high polish. {named after Purbeck Hills, England, where quarried} …  

  • Purbeck Stone — and Corfe Castle Village Centre Purbeck Stone (deutsch Purbeck Stein) ist ein Sedimentgestein. Gewonnen wird es wie auch der Purbeck Marble hauptsächlich auf der Halbinsel Isle of Purbeck in der Grafschaft Dorset an der Südküste von England …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Purbeck — may refer to:* Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in the English county of Dorset * Purbeck (district), a local government district in the English county of Dorset * Purbeck Hills, a range of hills in the English county of Dorset * Purbeck Marble, a… …   Wikipedia

  • Purbeck (district) — Purbeck is a local government district in Dorset, England. The district is named after the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula that forms a large proportion of the district s area. However the district extends significantly further north and west than… …   Wikipedia

  • Purbeck — /pûrˈbek/ adjective Of the Isle (really a peninsula) of Purbeck, in Dorset Purbeckˈian adjective (geology) Upper Jurassic (also noun) Purbeck marble or Purbeck stone noun A freshwater shelly limestone quarried in the Isle of Purbeck …   Useful english dictionary

  • Purbeck stone — Purbeck marble or Purbeck stone noun A freshwater shelly limestone quarried in the Isle of Purbeck • • • Main Entry: ↑Purbeck …   Useful english dictionary

  • Purbeck-Marmor — Netzgewölbe aus Purbeck Marmor in der Kathedrale von Exeter …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Marble — For other uses, see Marble (disambiguation). Marble …   Wikipedia

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