A new company has been set up to take over production of Chilmark limestone and Hurdcott sandstone in Wiltshire with the aim of getting the stones back up there in the premier division.

"I want to be shoulder to shoulder with Portland and Bath stones," says Ian Butterworth, the managing director of the new company, called Wessex Dimensional Stone. "It\'s a dream, but the stones were up there once, so why not."

The company has been set up by Ian to take over production from the landowner, who retains ownership of the land into which the mine.

The previous owner would not supply block, only cut stone, because the production levels would only meet his own cutting yard requirements. But Ian says he intends to lift production to supply whatever anyone wants.

He intends to improve production and the flow of work through the yard. He has potential to process 3,000-8,000 tonnes a year from both quarries and wants to break back into the London market. He also believes there could be export potential because Chilmark was used in the 19th century for building in the British colonies.

He knows he needs to promote the stone. He says: "People genuinely believe the Chilmark mine has shut. I have to let people know the stone\'s available."

The mine went back into production in 1988 when the Diocese of Salisbury wanted the stone for Salisbury Cathedral restoration.

Ian Butterworth\'s background is in aggregates and engineering. He was the South Division engineering manager for Tarmac until they were taken over by Anglo American in 2000.

He went to work for an engineering company that also operate the Elm Park Bath stone mine, where Ian was introduced to the dimensional stone business.

When the opportunity arose to take over the production and marketing of Chilmark and Hurdcott he jumped at it.

For a start he liked the history, going back to Salisbury Cathedral in the 13th century, which gives the stone a lot of potential for restoration and a powerful proevance. Also, the Wiltshire minerals plan commits to the production of three building stones - and Chilmark and Hurdcott are two of them (the other is Bath).

The stone is cut from the mine using a Dreadnaught from a closed Nottinghamshire coal mine and a Kaufman saw mounted on a fork lift truck for the horizontal cuts. A diesel train has been brought back into service to pull the stone from the mine to the yard, where two Wells Engineering Wellcut saws and an Alpe cut the stone.

"I want to put Chilmark and Hurdcott back on the map," says Ian Butterworth.