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Yorkstone or York stone is a variety of
Yorkstone or York stone is a variety of 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 ...
, specifically from quarries in Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
that have been worked since the middle ages
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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
. Yorkstone is a tight grained, Carboniferous sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...
. The stone consists of quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical ...
, mica, feldspar
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) felds ...
, clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
and iron oxides
Iron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. All are black magnetic solids. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of whi ...
.
The ratio of quartz to mica varies considerably. The stone can be split along mica-rich layers: it has a slaty cleavage
Cleavage, in structural geology and petrology, describes a type of planar rock feature that develops as a result of deformation and metamorphism. The degree of deformation and metamorphism along with rock type determines the kind of cleavage fea ...
and may therefore be called sandstone slate. Formerly riven (split with a chisel along the bedding planes between the sedimentary layers), it is now also often sawn. It is used for flagstone
Flagstone (flag) is a generic flat stone, sometimes cut in regular rectangular or square shape and usually used for paving slabs or walkways, patios, flooring, fences and roofing. It may be used for memorials, headstones, facades and other co ...
s and for building walls.Articles apparently produced by Dermot Kennedy at http://www.cbstonesales.co.uk/, and also published in 2011 on Ezinearticles.com: , ,
Known for its hard-wearing and durable qualities, Yorkstone has been used in a wide array of building, construction and landscaping applications around the world for many years. In Yorkshire, split stones called ''thackstone'' (Scots ''thack'', English ''thatch
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...
'') were employed as roofing. The traditional London paving stone has been cut and pressed from quarries in Holmfirth
Holmfirth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, on the A635 and A6024 in the Holme Valley, at the confluence of the River Holme and Ribble, south of Huddersfield and west of Barnsley. It mostly cons ...
, West Yorkshire. Yorkshire Stone is most commonly used for paving and garden walls, but it is also a popular choice for new builds as well as home extensions and conversions due to its durability to harsh weather conditions.
The colour of Yorkstone depends on the minerals within its makeup and differs throughout the quarries from which it is mined. It also depends on the age of the stone and turns darker with weathering. Reused Yorkstone paving, salvaged from demolished sites, is valued for its naturally weathered surfaces. Reclaimed Yorkshire stone is popular for its colouring and for environmentally friendly builds.
Yorkstone often shows features such as laminations with cross bedding
In geology, cross-bedding, also known as cross-stratification, is layering within a stratum and at an angle to the main bedding plane. The sedimentary structures which result are roughly horizontal units composed of inclined layers. The origina ...
, and rusty Liesegang bands.
See also
*Bargate stone
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Bargate stone is a highly durable form of sandstone. It owes its yellow, butter or honey colouring to a high iron content. In some contexts it may be considered to be a form of ironstone. However, in the context of stone buildings loca ...
* Brownstone
* List of stone
This is a geographical list of natural stone used for decorative purposes in construction and monumental sculpture produced in various countries.
The dimension-stone industry classifies stone based on appearance and hardness as either "granite ...
* Old Red Sandstone
The Old Red Sandstone is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the northeastern seaboard of North America. It also exte ...
References
{{reflist Building stone Sandstone in the United Kingdom Mining in Yorkshire