Gornal stone is a

late Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

which originates from the Gornal area of

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is part of the Downton Castle Sandstone Formation, which also occurs locally at Netherton, and in parts of

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

. The stone was mostly

quarried A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

in the Lower Gornal area. Quarrying was underway by the 1810s, and the last quarry closed in 1971. At the peak of the quarrying, almost all buildings in the Sedgley manor (which also included the villages of Coseley,

Woodsetton Woodsetton is an area of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough in the West Midlands of England, roughly northwest of Dudley Town Centre. Formerly in the Sedgley Urban District, a part of Woodsetton (which included Dudley Castle) was transferred into ...

and Ettingshall) were built from Gornal stone, and numerous examples of the recognisable yellow rock remain, including several churches,

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

s and numerous old

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...

s. The stone was used in the industrial development of the

Black Country The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during its ro ...

. It was almost 100%

Silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...

(silicon dioxide) and had a high melting point. When ground into sand and mixed with fire clay it formed a refractory coating widely used in the steel industry to the west of Birmingham. This sandstone contained some of the earliest known Hemicyclaspis, Hemicyclaspis murchisoni fossils.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gornal Stone Sediments