30 C O N T E X T 1 1 0 : J U LY 2 0 0 9 potential quarries and embrace suitable policies within their development plans so the needs of building conservation can be considered equally alongside other development proposals.’ The big question confronting English Heritage was: how could this mammoth task be undertaken for the whole country? The wealth and variety of England’s geology signifies hundreds of different stones and sources that necessitate investigation in order to find the most representative and important building stones. Is a quarry that supplied the stone to build 25 Grade I listed buildings of more importance than the one supplying stone to build hundreds of unlisted vernacular structures, such as walls, paving and farm buildings countless years ago? Establishing an accurate study for the Strategic Stone Study involved a pilot exercise in three counties. The methodology is fairly straightforward. English Heritage is working with the British Geological Survey (BGS) to commission an experienced geologist and historic building(s) expert to provide data on building stones, historic buildings and quarries using existing sources of information, supplemented by limited fieldwork, and to enter it into a supplied database, supported by county maps. Financial limitation means that 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; and identify sources of building stone through information supplied by the BGS. We anticipate that either of these positions might interest an experienced geologist or historic buildings expert who is either retired or working part-time. Both would be expected to work together. Can you suggest anyone that might be interested in these posts? The ultimate intention is to have this information freely available on a geographical information system (GIS) via the web. English Heritage has commissioned the BGS to expand its database of quarries, mines and mineral workings in the UK (Britpits) (see www. mineralsuk.com for further information) to accommodate this innovative database under a new site called EBSPits (England’s Building Stone Pits). A 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 has contracted Ian Thomas of the National Stone Centre to carry out a detailed building stone safeguarding exercise, 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 form part of the formal plan-making consultation process, but will contribute to its evidence base. This study is currently taking place in the Derwent Valley area of Derbyshire. Tarnia McAlester is project manager for the Strategic Stone Study. SeeVox pop, p41. Left: Southwell Minster Right:Witley Court fountain, made of Portland stone Reddened, coarsely crystalline limestone of the Bulwell Stone type, from the Cadeby Formation (formerly Lower Magnesian limestone)
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