Purbeck stone refers to building stone taken from a series of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

beds found in the

Upper Jurassic The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 161.5 ± 1.0 to 143.1 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987. In European lithostratigraphy, the name ...

Lower Cretaceous Lower may refer to: * ''Lower'' (album), 2025 album by Benjamin Booker * Lower (surname) * Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) * Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England See also * Nizhny {{Disambiguation ...

Purbeck Group The Purbeck Group is an Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous lithostratigraphy, lithostratigraphic group (stratigraphy), group (a sequence of rock strata) in south-east England. The name is derived from the district known as the Isle of Purbeck in ...

, found on 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, Dorset, River Frome and Poo ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

in southern England. The best known variety of this stone is Purbeck Marble. The stone has been quarried since at least

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman civilisation from the founding of the Italian 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 Kingd ...

up to the present day.

Geology

The Purbeck Group is a sequence of

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...

s that were deposited in a shallow freshwater to brackish lagoonal setting. It ranges in age from

Tithonian In the geological timescale, the Tithonian is the latest age (geology), age of the Late Jurassic Epoch and the uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Upper Jurassic Series. It spans the time between 149.2 ±0.7 annum, Ma and 143.1 ±0.6 (mi ...

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 143.1 ±0.6 Ma and 137.05 ± 0.2 (million years ago) ...

. Limestone beds are developed at various levels throughout the sequence, each with a different character, which led to them being quarried for specific uses. Towards the top of the Lulworth Formation is the 'New Vein'. In the lower part of the Durlston Formation are the 'Downs vein, 'Freestone Vein' and the 'Laning Vein'. Towards the top of the Durlston are the 'Burr' (or Broken Shell Limestone) with up to three beds of the 'Purbeck Marble' above that.

Occurrence

The Purbeck Group rocks are found beneath superficial deposits from Worbarrow Tout in the west, to Peveril Point in the east. The sequence is affected by the

Purbeck Monocline The Purbeck Monocline is a geological fold in southern England. The term 'fold' is used in geology when one or more originally flat sedimentary strata surfaces are bent or curved as a result of plastic (i.e. permanent) deformation. A monocline i ...

and dips moderately steeply to the north along its whole outcrop.

Extraction

Initially the stone was taken from shallow opencast workings but, as these became worked out, the quarrymen began to access the stone using shafts, up to 125 ft below the surface. These underground workings, the oldest of which dates from about 1650, were known as ''Quarrs''.

Use

Purbeck stone has been widely used as a building stone particularly in the Purbeck area. The 'Burr' and the 'Freestone Vein' were used as

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

. The dark colour of the Purbeck Marble meant that it was used for its decorative quality in churches and cathedrals across England, particularly for items such as fonts, tombs, flooring and shafts. A 1.5-tonne block of Purbeck stone was set at the entrance to Shitterton,

since 2010 in an effort to deter

theft Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shor ...

References

{{Reflist Building stone Geology of Dorset Isle of Purbeck Limestone