The Strategic Stone Study is a major project – English Heritage say £500,000 has been allocated for the next two years and it could be four years before it is finished. It aims to identify the sources of stone, current and historical, that have contributed, and continue to contribute both in conservation and new build, to the built heritage of the country.

The project was explained at the conference run in conjunction with the Natural Stone Show at ExCeL London in 2006. It was optimistically hoped that there would be something to show from the work on a new website at the end of that year.

In September 2007 protracted contractual negotiations between English Heritage and the British Geological Survey (BGS), who would collate the information and put it on to Geographical Information System (GIS) maps, were finally concluded and the project got under way. BGS then anticipated having some of the results on a website by the end of that year.

By summer 2008 there was still no website but Amanda White, an English Heritage Senior Building Surveyor, had been appointed to head the project and told NSS that there would be a “degree of flexibility” over the time it would take to carry out the work. She has now been succeeded as Project Manager by Tarnia McAlester, who invites anyone with information about quarry sites to contact her by email at tarnia73@yahoo.co.uk or by telephoning 07717 711382.

There is still no website but Tarnia tells NSS that it is such an important study that they want to be absolutely sure it is running properly before launching it.

There follow some comments from Tarnia about the project so far:

England has half-a-million listed buildings and 9,500 conservation areas, reflecting the local geology that makes many towns, villages and rural landscapes so distinctive.

Supplies of new stone and sourcing the right stone to conserve historic buildings can be extremely challenging, but it is essential if we are to avoid long-term damage to this precious finite resource.

This is not solely an aesthetic concern but a technical compatibility issue because obtaining the correct stone is vital when carrying out repair work, matching the original in its mineral composition, density and porosity. If this rule is not adhered to, the new stone can hasten the decay of its neighbour and is unlikely to ‘weather in’ consistently. Usually this calls for a replacement to be sourced from the original quarry or at least one in close proximity to the original.

There is no single source of information which comprehensively lists the stones used in the construction of historic buildings. Most of the original quarries are now closed and there is a dearth of published information on the stones used and precisely where they were won. The government and English Heritage (EH) are aiming to address these problems in the Strategic Stone Study (SSS).

Establishing an accurate study for the SSS involved a pilot exercise in three counties. The methodology is fairly straightforward. EH is working with the British Geological Survey (BGS) to commission an experienced geologist and historic buildings expert to provide data on building stones, historic buildings and quarries using existing sources of information supplemented by limited fieldwork and entering it into a supplied database.

Financial limitation denotes each county will have an average of three months to carry out the study. Good liaison and local knowledge between the representatives will be the key to each county’s success.

Each county’s representatives will be asked to:

• Produce a report on the geology of the counties stone resources, their distribution, the stone built character of the area and highlight current stone issues such as source and supply problems
• Compile information about building stones used within the county into a uniform database
• Identify examples of representative historical buildings, villages and structures
• Identify sources of building stone through information supplied by BGS.

The intention is to have this information freely available on a Graphical Information System (GIS) via the web. EH has commissioned BGS to expand its database of quarries, mines and mineral workings in the UK (Britpits – see www.mineralsUK.com) to accommodate this database under a new site called EBSPits (England’s Building Stone Pits).

This national database should offer long-term assistance to mineral planning authorities aiming to safeguard important sources, although the sheer scale of the task indicates it will require a minimum of four years to complete this study.

In addition, Derbyshire County Council have contracted Ian Thomas from the National Stone Centre to carry out a detailed building stone safeguarding exercise in order to investigate the issues and difficulties surrounding the preparation of their Mineral Safeguarding Areas (MSAs) for building and roofing stone.

At this early stage, it is predicted that the study will provide a useful contribution to the development of Mineral Safeguarding Polices in the preparation of the Derby and Derbyshire Mineral Core Strategy.

The study does not, however, form part of the formal plan-making consultation process, although it will contribute to its evidence base. This study is currently taking place in Derwent Valley.

Tarnia McAlester.Project Manager: Strategic Stone Study Tel: 07717 711382