Purbeck Marble is a
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
iferous
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
found in the
Isle of Purbeck
The Isle of Purbeck is a peninsula in Dorset, England. It is bordered by water on three sides: the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the no ...
, a
peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
in south-east
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
, England. It is a variety of
Purbeck stone
Purbeck stone refers to building stone taken from a series of limestone beds found in the Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Purbeck Group, found on the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset in southern England. The best known variety of this stone is Purbeck ...
that has been
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 ...
since at least
Roman times
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
as a decorative building stone.
Geology
Stratigraphically these limestone beds lie towards the top of the
Durlston Formation
The Durlston Formation is a geologic formation in England. Particularly in the Isle of Purbeck. It preserves fossils dating back to the Berriasian stage of the Lower Cretaceous.
Vertebrate paleobiota
Crocodyliformes
See also
* List of f ...
of the
Purbeck Group
The Purbeck Group is an Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous lithostratigraphic group (a sequence of rock strata) in south-east England. The name is derived from the district known as the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset where the strata are exposed in ...
. They were deposited during the
Berriasian
In the geological timescale, the Berriasian is an age/stage of the Early/Lower Cretaceous. It is the oldest subdivision in the entire Cretaceous. It has been taken to span the time between 145.0 ± 4.0 Ma and 139.8 ± 3.0 Ma (million years ago ...
age of the
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous ( geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pro ...
epoch. Purbeck Marble is not a
metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...
, like a true
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
, but is so-called because it can take a fine polish. Its characteristic appearance comes from densely packed shells of the freshwater snail ''
Viviparus
''Viviparus'', common name the river snails, is a genus of large, freshwater snails with an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks.Bouchet, P. (2014). Viviparus Montfort, 1810. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www ...
''.
Sussex Marble
Sussex Marble is a fossiliferous freshwater limestone material which is prevalent in the Weald Clay of parts of Kent, East Sussex and West Sussex in southeast England. It is also called Petworth Marble, Bethersden Marble or Laughton Stone in rela ...
is similar in type. The 'marble' is properly
classified as a biomicrudite, as it consists of
large clasts (the snail shells) in a fine-grained limestone mud matrix.
The individual marble beds (also known as 'seams'), lie between layers of softer marine clays and mudstone, laid down during repeated
marine ingressions. Some of the beds contain iron oxide/hydroxide minerals, such as
hematite
Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...
or
limonite
Limonite () is an iron ore consisting of a mixture of hydrated iron(III) oxide-hydroxides in varying composition. The generic formula is frequently written as FeO(OH)·H2O, although this is not entirely accurate as the ratio of oxide to hydroxid ...
, giving red or brown varieties, while other beds contain
glauconite
Glauconite is an iron potassium phyllosilicate ( mica group) mineral of characteristic green color which is very friable and has very low weathering resistance.
It crystallizes with a monoclinic geometry. Its name is derived from the Greek () m ...
giving a green (or occasionally blue) colour.
Occurrence
Purbeck Marble is found at
outcrop
An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth.
Features
Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial ...
, or beneath superficial cover, all the way across the Isle of Purbeck from
Worbarrow Tout
Worbarrow Tout is a promontory at the eastern end of Worbarrow Bay on Isle of Purbeck in Dorset on the south coast of England, about south of Wareham and about west of Swanage. Immediately to its east is Pondfield Cove.
Worbarrow Tout ("tou ...
in the west to
Peveril Point
Peveril Point is a promontory on the east-facing coast of the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England, and is part of the town of Swanage. It forms the southern end of Swanage Bay. It is located at OS Grid Ref: SZ 041 787.
The rocks that make up ...
in the east. The marble beds are never more than 1.2 m thick and are often much thinner. The outcrops lie within the Purbeck Monocline, with the beds dipping moderately steeply to the north.
Use
There is a single example of Purbeck Marble being used during the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
, in a
cist
A cist ( or ; also kist ;
from grc-gre, κίστη, Middle Welsh ''Kist'' or Germanic ''Kiste'') is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East ...
at
Langton Matravers. During the
Romano-British
The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...
period, Purbeck Marble was used for
inscriptions, architectural
mouldings and
veneers,
mortars and pestles, and other articles.
Purbeck Marble was also quarried in
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
times and can be seen in virtually all the cathedrals of the south of England, in columns and slab panels and flooring. For example, it is used in
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
,
Ely,
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
,
Chichester
Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...
,
Salisbury
Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath.
Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...
,
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
,
Llandaff
Llandaff (; cy, Llandaf ; from 'church' and '' Taf'') is a district, community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, whose ...
,
Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
and
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...
s, and in
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
. Additionally, it was utilised in the 13th-century
King's Table
The King’s Table was a carved stone table that was a symbol of royal power in England. The table was used by monarchs from the 13th century onward for coronation feasts and state banquets.
Edward I, the king who took the Stone of Scone fro ...
, a furnishing used in coronation events.
It has been less used in modern times, but a remarkable example is the church at
Kingston, Purbeck, Dorset
Kingston is a small village on the Isle of Purbeck in the county of Dorset in southern England.
Location
Kingston is situated about two miles south of Corfe Castle and five miles west of Swanage. The village of Kingston is situated on a hill nea ...
built in 1874–1880.
Other
strata
In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as ei ...
of Purbeck Limestone are being quarried at the present time (2021). Purbeck Marble was previously 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, such as
Robbie Schneider,
and
Emily Young
Emily Young FRBS (born 1951) is a sculptor, who has been called "Britain's greatest living stone sculptor". She was born in London into a family of artists, writers and politicians. She currently divides her time between studios in London and It ...
.
Temple Church
The Temple Church is a Royal peculiar church in the City of London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. It was consecrated on 10 February 1185 by Patriarch Heraclius of J ...
, London
File:Beverley minster 014.JPG, The 13th-century south transept of Beverley Minster, richly decorated with Purbeck Marble shafts.
References
External links
{{Commons category, Purbeck Marble
Geology of the Wessex CoastLangton Matravers Local History and Preservation Society, including Museum of the Purbeck stone industry Salisbury CathedralPurbeck stone company website
Building stone
Geology of Dorset
Isle of Purbeck
Limestone