The Small Animal Hospital (picture right) at Neston, Cheshire, uses hand set Red St Bees sandstone from Stancliffe Stone, who lay claim to being the UK’s largest supplier of indigenous dimensional stone.
The distinctive close bedding and fine grain size of Red St Bees means it is resistant to weathering, both physically and aesthetically. The main contractors for the animal hospital were Keir Northwest Group and the stone contractors Bullen Conservation.
Red St Bees is used a lot in Merseyside as it is an excellent match for Cheshire red sandstone that is no longer available.
In Blackpool, meanwhile, the new £45million cardiac services wing at Victoria Hospital uses Stanton Moor carboniferous sandstone ashlar from Dale View Quarry in Derbyshire with its hues of buff through to pinks.
The new wing was designed by Gilling Dod Architects. Stone contractors were Laing Stonemasonry.
These are just two of the stones that Stancliffe Stone now have on offer from their 15 quarries .
The latest additions came about as the result of an agreement with Nicholas Johnston’s Johnston Quarry Group that added the white limestone from Creeton Quarry in Lincolnshire, rich cream and gold limestone from Oathill Quarry in the Cotswolds and the earthy tones of ironstone from Great Tew Quarry in Oxfordshire.
Other moves lately have included significant investment at Darney and High Nick sandstone quarries in Hexham, Northumberland, acquired in 2007.
Michael Connor, Operations Director at Marshalls-owned Stancliffe Stone, says: “The investment in the Darney production site is part of our strategy of locating comprehensive processing facilities at all our UK quarry sites. This will allow greater efficiencies throughout the production process and also contributes to our sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility programmes.
“Processing at the quarry site minimises waste in terms of materials and transportation, resulting in movement of fewer loads overall from the quarry. Speed of processing is also improved, resulting in greater flexibility and shorter lead times for our customers.”