THE HISTORIC USE OF BUILDING STONES IN TAUNTON DEANE G. J. DAWSON AND P. WRIGHT ABSTRACT BACKGROUND This paper describes a survey of building stones In 2015 the Somerset Historic Environment Service carried out in Taunton Deane to support the of the South West Heritage Trust, formerly the buildings conservation work of the South West Heritage Service of Somerset County Council, Heritage Trust. Building stones are identified and identified the need for a survey of the use of the factors that have influenced the selection of traditional building stones in Somerset (Somerset these stones for building are discussed. A very close Historic Environment Service, 2015). The primary correlation between the building stones used and purpose of the survey was to assist the Historic the local geology is demonstrated. Environment Service with preserving the character, appearance and local distinctiveness of towns and villages in the county. This paper describes an initial survey of Taunton Deane. It describes the Fig. 1 Data collection sheet 147 15517 - Somerset Arch Vol 161 - 2018.indb 147 20/09/2018 11:50:36 SOMERSET ARCHAEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY, 2017 methodology and results of the survey and how the War that could be seen from a public road or data may be used by the Trust and others. footpath were included in the survey. Data were collected in the field using the form shown in Figure 1. Except for all churches and significant SURVEY METHOD civic, administrative, educational and historic buildings in Taunton, records were not kept of the The principal data collected during the survey were building stones used in individual buildings. To of the different types of stone used in the external reduce the time required for the survey, only stone walls and dressings of buildings and in boundary buildings were recorded in Taunton, Wellington walls. For the purposes of this survey, dressings and Wiveliscombe. Building stones were identified were taken to be any stonework not forming part of based on their colour, composition, grain size and the main walls of buildings. Stonework surrounding sedimentary features. Photographs were taken openings for windows and doors was recorded as of good examples of building stones and stone dressings. Cut stone used at the corners of buildings buildings. Samples of building stones were also (quoins) was recorded as part of the walls. At the collected. A total of 63 towns and villages and request of Somerset Historic Environment Service, 2,050 stone buildings and boundary walls were data were also collected on the use of other materials surveyed. for the walls of buildings and roof coverings, such The method of surveying described in the as brick, render and cob, and slates, stone and clay paragraph above was used for two main reasons. tiles and thatch. The Somerset Historic Environment Service Surveys were carried out on a parish by parish requirement to identify character, appearance and basis within the limits of each town, village and local distinctiveness was best met by data collected hamlet. All buildings built before the First World on a settlement by settlement basis, rather than Fig. 2. Data supplied to South West Heritage Trust 148 15517 - Somerset Arch Vol 161 - 2018.indb 148 20/09/2018 11:50:36 THE HISTORIC USE OF BUILDING STONES IN TAUNTON DEANE Fig. 3 Use of building stones for buildings, boundary walls and dressings in North Curry and Norton Fitzwarren Fig. 4 Use of building stones for buildings, boundary walls and dressings in all the settlements surveyed in Taunton Deane 15517 - Somerset Arch Vol 161 - 2018.indb 149 20/09/2018 11:50:37 SOMERSET ARCHAEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY, 2017 building by building. Recording stone types used These data were stored in a Microsoft Access building by building would have been much more database and exported as Excel spreadsheets for time consuming and would have greatly increased the South West Heritage Trust (Figure 2). The data the time required to complete the survey. were plotted as a series of large and small scale pie In the small number of cases where it was not charts, as shown in the examples in Figures 3 and possible to positively identify building stones 4.1 The data were also displayed in a Geographical in the field, their characteristics were noted and Information System (Quantum GIS) overlaid the observations cross-checked with data on on a background of Ordnance Survey or British building stones collected by previous workers: Geological Survey mapping. By doing this it was (Prudden, 2001, 2003, 2004 and Unpublished, Barr, possible to monitor the distribution of the data and Unpublished, and English Heritage, 2011), British to draw conclusions about the relationship between Geological Survey, the Taunton Deane Borough the use of building stones and the underlying Council and Historic England online databases of geology. listed buildings (Taunton Deane Borough Council, 2016; Historic England, 2016) and Pevsner’s guide to the buildings of South and West Somerset THE TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY OF (Orbach and Pevsner, 2014). Large scale Ordnance TAUNTON DEANE Survey maps from the 1880s onwards (free to view on the National Library of Scotland website) were Taunton Deane is diverse both topographically also consulted to identify local quarries. and geologically. The local authority area extends Using the data collected during each survey, from West Bagborough on the lower slopes of the totals were calculated for the number of buildings, Quantock Hills in the north, to Churchstanton boundary walls and dressings made from each stone on the high plateau of the Blackdown Hills in the type. These were then converted to percentages. south, and from Chipstable in the Brendon Hills in Fig. 5 Diversity of rock types used as building stones in Taunton Deane 150 15517 - Somerset Arch Vol 161 - 2018.indb 150 20/09/2018 11:50:37 THE HISTORIC USE OF BUILDING STONES IN TAUNTON DEANE the west, to Burrowbridge on the Somerset Levels In total twenty-one different building stones were in the east. recorded during the survey. These are described The higher ground of the Brendon and Quantock below. More detailed descriptions of these building Hills to the west and north of the Deane is comprised stones are contained in the following references: of Devonian and Carboniferous rocks which are English Heritage (2011) and Edmonds and Williams faulted against later Triassic strata. The latter, (1985). often softer and less resistant to erosion than the former, comprise the less elevated ground between Building stones of Devonian age the Quantock and Brendon Hills. Triassic Mercia Hangman Sandstone – a formation that consists Mudstone forms the lowest ground around Taunton. of reddish-purple to greenish-brown sandstones, South of Taunton, the Blackdown Hills escarpment siltstones and conglomerates, which form the is comprised of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous northern part of the Quantock Hills. Although rocks capped by clay with flints (chert). widely used for building in West Somerset and North Devon, they were only recorded in the present survey at West Bagborough. TYPES OF BUILDING STONE USED IN TAUNTON DEANE Cockercombe Tuff – a distinctive, fine-grained, grey-greenish rock, which outcrops within the From the data collected during the survey, Figure Ilfracombe Slates in Cockercombe and Keeper’s 5 shows the proportions of each of the main rock Combe on the eastern side of the Quantock Hills. It types used as building stones in Taunton Deane. is formed of a volcanic dust. Within Taunton Deane Figure 6 shows the principal sources of these it is only used for decorative purposes on buildings building stones where they occur in Taunton Deane. built of other stone, such as in Park Street, Taunton. Fig. 6 Principal sources of building stones in Taunton Deane 151 15517 - Somerset Arch Vol 161 - 2018.indb 151 20/09/2018 11:50:38 SOMERSET ARCHAEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY, 2017 Devonian Limestones – occur as four thin, and are widely used in buildings in the Exeter area but in places discontinuous, horizons of limestone occur only rarely in buildings in Taunton Deane. in the central and eastern Quantocks. They are Hestercombe Diorite – an igneous rock which inter-bedded with, and often pass laterally into, occurs in a few dykes at Hestercombe just north calcareous Ilfracombe Slates.2 They were widely of Taunton. This is the only intrusive igneous rock quarried for lime manufacture. Within the study in the area. There are two disused quarries within area they were only recorded in buildings at Hestercombe Gardens. The rock is hard, fine- Cothelstone. grained and reddish in colour (Prudden and White, Morte Slate – a formation which consists of 2007). Its use as a building stone is limited largely grey-green to purple-red slates, siltstones and to the Hestercombe Estate and the tower of St Mary sandstones. The siltstones and sandstones have been Magdalene Church in Taunton. widely used in Taunton and the southern Quantock Hills. The stone is not easily dressed and shaped Building stones of Permo-Triassic age and is often seen in walls as rubble stone. There Permo-Trias Sandstone, Conglomerate and Breccia are numerous old quarries, most of which are now – although the lower beds of the Permo-Trias have inaccessible. The stone can still be seen at King’s been subdivided into Halberton Breccia, Budleigh Cliff Wood quarry at North Petherton. Salterton Pebble Beds and Otter Sandstone, it is not usually possible to know which part of the Pickwell Down Sandstone – a hard, red-purple succession red sandstones, conglomerates and sandstone which has been used widely for building breccias seen in buildings are from. Despite their around Wiveliscombe. composition (pebbles and angular fragments of Pilton Mudstone – the sandstone beds, which form rock in a matrix of red sandstone), the latter are part of this mudstone horizon, can be difficult to surprisingly good building stones and are used distinguish from Pickwell Down Sandstone.