WGCG Solihull trail A3_A3 trail guide 02/01/2018 17:07 Page 1
Introduction The Warwickshire Geological Conservation Group was established in 1990 by a few enthusiasts who Conserving WGCG Solihull was established during the 12th century as wanted to raise awareness of and conserve Warwickshire’s Hidden wonders a market settlement in the sparsely populated Arden in the landscape the many rock exposures dotted around the county. Geological of Warwickshire region of Warwickshire, and remained a rural and The membership has since grown and includes many relatively secluded village until the late 19th century. enthusiastic amateurs, students and teachers as well Heritage We can explore some of the changes seen by Solihull as professional geologists. The group retains its two as witnessed by the style and materials of its buildings. main aims: to raise awareness of geology and landscape through education, and to conserve and Around The Square and the nearby High Street are some protect geological sites in the Warwickshire area. of the oldest surviving buildings – 15th and 16th century timber-frame houses and the 16th century George Hotel For further information, including an outline of (re-named the Ramada Jarvis Hotel). From early times, programmes and events, visit the WGCG websites timber, bricks and tiles were the materials of choice for http://www.wgcg.co.uk or contact Solihull all but the most prestigious buildings. This arose from the Warwickshire Geological Conservation Group scarcity, locally, of good building stone. The underlying c/o Warwickshire Museum, Market Place, rock is Mercia Mudstone, laid down during the Triassic Warwick CV34 4SA period, over 200 million years ago. The Mudstone is Its geology weak and unsuitable for building but provides the base for E-mail: [email protected] a nutrient rich clay soil, ideal for growing great oaks and for manufacturing bricks and tiles. The fine exception to www.facebook.com/ and building the rule of brick and timber is the Church of St. Alphege. WarwickshireGeologicalConservationGroup Begun in the 13th century, with later extensions, it presents an assemblage of sandstones brought to https://twitter.com/wgcg_uk Solihull from around the county and beyond. materials Published by Warwickshire Geological Conservation The building of the railway station in 1852, on the Oxford Group, 74B Warwick Road, Kenilworth. CV8 1HL & Birmingham line, brought Solihull within commuting (c/o Coventry Roofing) distance of Birmingham and led to a rapid growth of Warwickshire Geological Conservation Group is a Registered the town. The rail network allowed for the first time the Charity Number 1144717 transport of high quality building materials from further ISSN 1759 – 085X afield at acceptable costs. York paving, Portland Stone, A previous trail was produced by students as an assignment on the Earth granite and gritstone all made their appearances in Sciences Certificate course, Open Studies Department, University of Solihull from the mid-19th century, along with harder Warwick and the use of their work in this new version is acknowledged. wearing Midland sandstones. Nonetheless, brick con- This guide was written by Peter Band and edited for WGCG by Brian Ellis. Photographs were provided by David Gosling (WGCG) struction dominated the expansion of Solihull as new Additional information for this guide was provided by Martyn Bradley, technology made possible the mass production of Brian Ellis, Colin Frodsham and Hugh Jones all of Warwickshire Geology uniform, high quality bricks. Conservation Group (WGCG), Eric R. Kuhne Associates, Touchwood Architects, and Andrew Cole, General Manager, Touchwood. A version of the trail is available on the WGCG website The latest phases of change occurred in the redevelopment of the town centre. The developments at Mell Square in WGCG Hidden wonders 1960s and Touchwood in 2001 introduced steel-framed in the landscape of Warwickshire retail buildings, infilled with brick and concrete. Variety and decoration is added by the use of natural stone for cladding and paving, hardly any of which reflects the
local geology. www.drawingroom.uk.com Room, The Drawing Design from
brick kilns. brick
of Leicestershire. Leicestershire. of
lower nave roof. roof. nave lower of temperature in the in temperature of
ancient volcanic activity in the Charnwood Forest area Forest Charnwood the in activity volcanic ancient
outline of an former an of outline due to primitive control primitive to due
crystalline Markfieldite, quarried from the remains of remains the from quarried Markfieldite, crystalline
arches, we can see the see can we arches, The variable colour is is colour variable The
The kerbstones are hard are kerbstones The
the rubble stone tower stone rubble the from Solihull’s fields. fields. Solihull’s from
bedding planes as flags. as planes bedding
Inside the church, above church, the Inside glacial deposits dug dug deposits glacial
can be split along its its along split be can
Mercia Mudstone and containing debris from from debris containing and Mudstone Mercia
from the Pennines that Pennines the from
dressing, and called ashlar. ashlar. called and dressing, later by locally produced bricks, hand-made from the from hand-made bricks, produced locally by later
Carboniferous sandstone Carboniferous
suitable for squaring and squaring for suitable thin wattle sticks with mud and straw daub, replaced replaced daub, straw and mud with sticks wattle thin
a hard-wearing hard-wearing a
better quality ‘freestone’, quality better The original infill between the timbers was probably was timbers the between infill original The
The paving is York stone, York is paving The deeper levels provide provide levels deeper
and fragments of shell. of fragments and of a quarry whereas quarry a of and expensive status symbol. symbol. status expensive and
around sand particles particles sand around from the top metre or so or metre top the from close studding of the vertical timbers as a decorative a as timbers vertical the of studding close
the seawater, built up built seawater, the stone is easily obtained easily is stone counteract sagging of the upper level floor joists; and joists; floor level upper the of sagging counteract
calcite, precipitated from precipitated calcite, of the later nave. Rubble nave. later the of an upper story jettied out from the lower wall to to wall lower the from out jettied story upper an
warm shallow seas, where seas, shallow warm with the dressed stonework dressed the with The Manor House shows two interesting features – – features interesting two shows House Manor The
200 million years ago in ago years million 200 the early chancel contrast chancel early the remains of Solihull’s domestic Medieval buildings. buildings. Medieval domestic Solihull’s of remains
formed between 150 and 150 between formed The rubble stone walls of walls stone rubble The that lines the south side of the High Street is all that that all is Street High the of side south the lines that
readily carved stone carved readily A row of timber framed 15th and 16th century buildings century 16th and 15th framed timber of row A
This is a durable and durable a is This buttresses is probably from Grinshill in Shropshire. in Grinshill from probably is buttresses
Limestone from Dorset. from Limestone the day. The grey sandstone of the 1940s external external 1940s the of sandstone grey The day. the
Square, where The War Memorial is Jurassic Portland Jurassic is Memorial War The where Square, bars and external buttressing on the south wall saved wall south the on buttressing external and bars
Bringing stone from further afield is evident at The at evident is afield further from stone Bringing roof upon inadequate Mudstone foundations. Iron tie Iron foundations. Mudstone inadequate upon roof
5 5 The War Memorial War The leans outwards, the result of pressure from a heavy a from pressure of result the outwards, leans
church notice how the south-side row of nave pillars nave of row south-side the how notice church
bricks. found in parts of the Arden landscape. Inside the Inside landscape. Arden the of parts in found
of the Manor House Manor the of
century using pale Arden sandstone, a Triassic rock Triassic a sandstone, Arden pale using century 3 Manor House Manor
irregularity and inclusions and irregularity Triassic Period. The steeple was re-built in the 18th the in re-built was steeple The Period. Triassic
Council House with the the with House Council Warwick Sandstone – rock from the deserts of the the of deserts the from rock – Sandstone Warwick sediments showing they were laid down in rivers in down laid were they showing sediments
produced bricks of the of bricks produced century upper tower was built from buff coloured coloured buff from built was tower upper century a foundation of sandstone , that exhibits the layering of layering the exhibits that , sandstone of foundation a
the more uniform factory uniform more the contrast to the red sandstones of the nave, the 15th the nave, the of sandstones red the to contrast George Hotel. It is built on built is It Hotel. George
Poplar Road. Compare Road. Poplar occurring cement impart colour to the stone. In In stone. the to colour impart cement occurring 16th century, half-timbered century, 16th
(now a wine bar) in bar) wine a (now accumulating mass. Oxides of iron in the naturally naturally the in iron of Oxides mass. accumulating Opposite the church is the is church the Opposite
in the old Council House Council old the in and cemented together under the pressure of the the of pressure the under together cemented and
brickwork can be seen seen be can brickwork accumulation of sand grains carried by wind or water or wind by carried grains sand of accumulation
disappeared a good example of Victorian civic civic Victorian of example good a disappeared sedimentary rocks laid down over a long period by an an by period long a over down laid rocks sedimentary
Though much of Solihull’s history in brick has has brick in history Solihull’s of much Though year old red Carboniferous sandstone. Sandstones are Sandstones sandstone. Carboniferous red old year
4 The Old Council House Council Old The church (photo on front cover) are built from 300 million 300 from built are cover) front on (photo church
The nave, chancel, transepts and lower tower of the of tower lower and transepts chancel, nave, The
from much further afield. further much from
1 St. Alphege Church Alphege St.
19th century enabled building materials to be sourced be to materials building enabled century 19th
The effect of the arrival of railway transport in the in transport railway of arrival the of effect The both timber-framed and stone buildings to see. see. to buildings stone and timber-framed both
tures rather than timber frames for domestic buildings. domestic for frames timber than rather tures but fortunately there are some striking examples of examples striking some are there fortunately but
changing building costs began to favour brick struc- brick favour to began costs building changing history has now been replaced by later developments later by replaced been now has history
By the 17th century both industrial technology and technology industrial both century 17th the By Much of the evidence from this period in Solihull’s Solihull’s in period this from evidence the of Much
The Growing Town Growing The
Medieval Market Town Market Medieval 2 George Hotel George WGCG Solihull trail A3_A3 trail guide 02/01/2018 17:07 Page 1
Introduction The Warwickshire Geological Conservation Group was established in 1990 by a few enthusiasts who Conserving WGCG Solihull was established during the 12th century as wanted to raise awareness of and conserve Warwickshire’s Hidden wonders a market settlement in the sparsely populated Arden in the landscape the many rock exposures dotted around the county. Geological of Warwickshire region of Warwickshire, and remained a rural and The membership has since grown and includes many relatively secluded village until the late 19th century. enthusiastic amateurs, students and teachers as well Heritage We can explore some of the changes seen by Solihull as professional geologists. The group retains its two as witnessed by the style and materials of its buildings. main aims: to raise awareness of geology and landscape through education, and to conserve and Around The Square and the nearby High Street are some protect geological sites in the Warwickshire area. of the oldest surviving buildings – 15th and 16th century timber-frame houses and the 16th century George Hotel For further information, including an outline of (re-named the Ramada Jarvis Hotel). From early times, programmes and events, visit the WGCG websites timber, bricks and tiles were the materials of choice for http://www.wgcg.co.uk or contact Solihull all but the most prestigious buildings. This arose from the Warwickshire Geological Conservation Group scarcity, locally, of good building stone. The underlying c/o Warwickshire Museum, Market Place, rock is Mercia Mudstone, laid down during the Triassic Warwick CV34 4SA period, over 200 million years ago. The Mudstone is Its geology weak and unsuitable for building but provides the base for E-mail: [email protected] a nutrient rich clay soil, ideal for growing great oaks and for manufacturing bricks and tiles. The fine exception to www.facebook.com/ and building the rule of brick and timber is the Church of St. Alphege. WarwickshireGeologicalConservationGroup Begun in the 13th century, with later extensions, it presents an assemblage of sandstones brought to https://twitter.com/wgcg_uk Solihull from around the county and beyond. materials Published by Warwickshire Geological Conservation The building of the railway station in 1852, on the Oxford Group, 74B Warwick Road, Kenilworth. CV8 1HL & Birmingham line, brought Solihull within commuting (c/o Coventry Roofing) distance of Birmingham and led to a rapid growth of Warwickshire Geological Conservation Group is a Registered the town. The rail network allowed for the first time the Charity Number 1144717 transport of high quality building materials from further ISSN 1759 – 085X afield at acceptable costs. York paving, Portland Stone, A previous trail was produced by students as an assignment on the Earth granite and gritstone all made their appearances in Sciences Certificate course, Open Studies Department, University of Solihull from the mid-19th century, along with harder Warwick and the use of their work in this new version is acknowledged. wearing Midland sandstones. Nonetheless, brick con- This guide was written by Peter Band and edited for WGCG by Brian Ellis. Photographs were provided by David Gosling (WGCG) struction dominated the expansion of Solihull as new Additional information for this guide was provided by Martyn Bradley, technology made possible the mass production of Brian Ellis, Colin Frodsham and Hugh Jones all of Warwickshire Geology uniform, high quality bricks. Conservation Group (WGCG), Eric R. Kuhne Associates, Touchwood Architects, and Andrew Cole, General Manager, Touchwood. A version of the trail is available on the WGCG website The latest phases of change occurred in the redevelopment of the town centre. The developments at Mell Square in WGCG Hidden wonders 1960s and Touchwood in 2001 introduced steel-framed in the landscape of Warwickshire retail buildings, infilled with brick and concrete. Variety and decoration is added by the use of natural stone for cladding and paving, hardly any of which reflects the
local geology. www.drawingroom.uk.com Room, The Drawing Design from
brick kilns. brick
of Leicestershire. Leicestershire. of
lower nave roof. roof. nave lower of temperature in the in temperature of
ancient volcanic activity in the Charnwood Forest area Forest Charnwood the in activity volcanic ancient
outline of an former an of outline due to primitive control primitive to due
crystalline Markfieldite, quarried from the remains of remains the from quarried Markfieldite, crystalline
arches, we can see the see can we arches, The variable colour is is colour variable The
The kerbstones are hard are kerbstones The
the rubble stone tower stone rubble the from Solihull’s fields. fields. Solihull’s from
bedding planes as flags. as planes bedding
Inside the church, above church, the Inside glacial deposits dug dug deposits glacial
can be split along its its along split be can
Mercia Mudstone and containing debris from from debris containing and Mudstone Mercia
from the Pennines that Pennines the from
dressing, and called ashlar. ashlar. called and dressing, later by locally produced bricks, hand-made from the from hand-made bricks, produced locally by later
Carboniferous sandstone Carboniferous
suitable for squaring and squaring for suitable thin wattle sticks with mud and straw daub, replaced replaced daub, straw and mud with sticks wattle thin
a hard-wearing hard-wearing a
better quality ‘freestone’, quality better The original infill between the timbers was probably was timbers the between infill original The
The paving is York stone, York is paving The deeper levels provide provide levels deeper
and fragments of shell. of fragments and of a quarry whereas quarry a of and expensive status symbol. symbol. status expensive and
around sand particles particles sand around from the top metre or so or metre top the from close studding of the vertical timbers as a decorative a as timbers vertical the of studding close
the seawater, built up built seawater, the stone is easily obtained easily is stone counteract sagging of the upper level floor joists; and joists; floor level upper the of sagging counteract
calcite, precipitated from precipitated calcite, of the later nave. Rubble nave. later the of an upper story jettied out from the lower wall to to wall lower the from out jettied story upper an
warm shallow seas, where seas, shallow warm with the dressed stonework dressed the with The Manor House shows two interesting features – – features interesting two shows House Manor The
200 million years ago in ago years million 200 the early chancel contrast chancel early the remains of Solihull’s domestic Medieval buildings. buildings. Medieval domestic Solihull’s of remains
formed between 150 and 150 between formed The rubble stone walls of walls stone rubble The that lines the south side of the High Street is all that that all is Street High the of side south the lines that
readily carved stone carved readily A row of timber framed 15th and 16th century buildings century 16th and 15th framed timber of row A
This is a durable and durable a is This buttresses is probably from Grinshill in Shropshire. in Grinshill from probably is buttresses
Limestone from Dorset. from Limestone the day. The grey sandstone of the 1940s external external 1940s the of sandstone grey The day. the
Square, where The War Memorial is Jurassic Portland Jurassic is Memorial War The where Square, bars and external buttressing on the south wall saved wall south the on buttressing external and bars
Bringing stone from further afield is evident at The at evident is afield further from stone Bringing roof upon inadequate Mudstone foundations. Iron tie Iron foundations. Mudstone inadequate upon roof
5 5 The War Memorial War The leans outwards, the result of pressure from a heavy a from pressure of result the outwards, leans
church notice how the south-side row of nave pillars nave of row south-side the how notice church
bricks. found in parts of the Arden landscape. Inside the Inside landscape. Arden the of parts in found
of the Manor House Manor the of
century using pale Arden sandstone, a Triassic rock Triassic a sandstone, Arden pale using century 3 Manor House Manor
irregularity and inclusions and irregularity Triassic Period. The steeple was re-built in the 18th the in re-built was steeple The Period. Triassic
Council House with the the with House Council Warwick Sandstone – rock from the deserts of the the of deserts the from rock – Sandstone Warwick sediments showing they were laid down in rivers in down laid were they showing sediments
produced bricks of the of bricks produced century upper tower was built from buff coloured coloured buff from built was tower upper century a foundation of sandstone , that exhibits the layering of layering the exhibits that , sandstone of foundation a
the more uniform factory uniform more the contrast to the red sandstones of the nave, the 15th the nave, the of sandstones red the to contrast George Hotel. It is built on built is It Hotel. George
Poplar Road. Compare Road. Poplar occurring cement impart colour to the stone. In In stone. the to colour impart cement occurring 16th century, half-timbered century, 16th
(now a wine bar) in bar) wine a (now accumulating mass. Oxides of iron in the naturally naturally the in iron of Oxides mass. accumulating Opposite the church is the is church the Opposite
in the old Council House Council old the in and cemented together under the pressure of the the of pressure the under together cemented and
brickwork can be seen seen be can brickwork accumulation of sand grains carried by wind or water or wind by carried grains sand of accumulation
disappeared a good example of Victorian civic civic Victorian of example good a disappeared sedimentary rocks laid down over a long period by an an by period long a over down laid rocks sedimentary
Though much of Solihull’s history in brick has has brick in history Solihull’s of much Though year old red Carboniferous sandstone. Sandstones are Sandstones sandstone. Carboniferous red old year
4 The Old Council House Council Old The church (photo on front cover) are built from 300 million 300 from built are cover) front on (photo church
The nave, chancel, transepts and lower tower of the of tower lower and transepts chancel, nave, The
from much further afield. further much from
1 St. Alphege Church Alphege St.
19th century enabled building materials to be sourced be to materials building enabled century 19th
The effect of the arrival of railway transport in the in transport railway of arrival the of effect The both timber-framed and stone buildings to see. see. to buildings stone and timber-framed both
tures rather than timber frames for domestic buildings. domestic for frames timber than rather tures but fortunately there are some striking examples of examples striking some are there fortunately but
changing building costs began to favour brick struc- brick favour to began costs building changing history has now been replaced by later developments later by replaced been now has history
By the 17th century both industrial technology and technology industrial both century 17th the By Much of the evidence from this period in Solihull’s Solihull’s in period this from evidence the of Much
The Growing Town Growing The
Medieval Market Town Market Medieval 2 George Hotel George WGCG Solihull trail A3_A3 trail guide 02/01/2018 17:08 Page 2
Redevelopment since 1960 Redevelopment of the town centre at Mell Square and Drury Lane in the 1960s meant the destruction of Key properties from Medieval to Edwardian age and their replacement with steel-framed retail buildings, infilled Touchwood Shopping with brick and concrete and decoratively clad with Centre polished natural stone, often imported. The construction Wa in 2001 of the shopping arcades in the Touchwood 4 rwick Road Centre doubled the size of the town’s retail potential. Arcades Their eye-catching interiors combine decorative brickwork with timber and stainless steel features. Contrasting and decorative imported natural polished stones have been used for the paving. 8 Mell Square Station Poplar Road Road 9 6 The Post Office The Post Office is one of several examples in Mell Poplar Mell Square of stone from the around Britain. The cladding Arcade Square is a Jurassic iron-rich limestone, sometimes referred High Street 6 to as Hornton Stone, ne 7 quarried near Edge Hill. 10 a It has a rusty brown L colour and contains veins rich in iron. Mill Look for pockets of pale coloured brachiopod fossils, commonly called 11 lamp shells for their Crescent Drury Lane similarity to the shape of Roman oil lamps. Opposite Arcade 12 the Post Office, the statue of ‘The Family’ stands on 3 a plinth of dolerite, a hard dark igneous rock, possibly from Rowley Regis in the Black Country and is The Square surrounded by a paving of granite setts. Mill Lane Arcade 2 7 Boots 5 The cladding above 13 N the Boots store is ew Road Westmorland Slate, a Jubilee 1 stone created when fine Walk grained marine shales were placed under great subterranean pressure
during the creation of the hurch Hill Lake District mountains over 400 million years ago. C
8 Marks & Spencer and Greece, and in the Lizard peninsular of Cornwall. 12 Mill Lane Arcade The Marks & Spencer store is faced with a polished It is named for its snake-like patterns and colouring. This is paved with hard wearing Jurassic Limestone granite similar to stone quarried from Dartmoor. from the Cote d’Or in France. These warm cream Touchwood Centre to beige coloured stones contain fossils, including ammonites and belemnites, which lived in tropical 10 Poplar Arcade The arcades in the Touchwood Centre contain some fine examples of imported decorative paving stones. In Poplar Arcade the predominant paving is a German dolomite, ranging in hue from grey to brown.
Granite is formed by the slow cooling and solidification of magma below the Earth’s surface. Because it cools slowly it grows large crystals and, in this example, we shallow seas. Today, these limestones provide the can identify the glassy crystals of quartz, pink feldspar terroir for the great chardonnay wines of Burgundy. and black hornblende, plus a sparkle from particles of mica. The entrance to the Fractures in this rock are filled with veins of white 13 Library passageway adjacent to calcite crystallised out from mineral-rich hot water Step out into the Library courtyard from the Jubilee Marks & Spencer is clad rising up from deeper in the earth’s crust. Walk arcade and note the cream and tan tufa cladding with dolomite a crystalline of the Library building. Tufa is a stone similar to limestone transformed 11 Crescent Arcade under pressure with some The paving is dominated by a pale cream Italian of the rock’s calcium being replaced by magnesium. The coloured veins result from traces of iron.
9 Co-operative Travel Shop Much of the decorative polished stone facing in British high streets is imported stone. In Drury Lane, the Travel shop is clad in veined greenish crystalline stone, known as serpentinite, travertine but more porous. Its natural unweathered that resulted from a colour, full of streaks of iron compounds, can be seen transformation of ancient travertine. Travertine is a form of limestone to best advantage on the stairwell inside the Library. ocean crust thrust precipitated from hot mineral springs. Darker colours Finally, as you leave the courtyard note the dense upwards under intense in the stone result from impurities such as iron and black commemorative plinth marking the official pressure by tectonic plate copper. The stone takes its name from Tivoli near opening of Touchwood by the Queen in 2002. movements. It is found in Rome and was used extensively by the Romans for This is basalt – a crystalline volcanic rock, the mountains of Italy temples and other public buildings. probably from Africa. WGCG Solihull trail A3_A3 trail guide 02/01/2018 17:08 Page 2
Redevelopment since 1960 Redevelopment of the town centre at Mell Square and Drury Lane in the 1960s meant the destruction of Key properties from Medieval to Edwardian age and their replacement with steel-framed retail buildings, infilled Touchwood Shopping with brick and concrete and decoratively clad with Centre polished natural stone, often imported. The construction Wa in 2001 of the shopping arcades in the Touchwood 4 rwick Road Centre doubled the size of the town’s retail potential. Arcades Their eye-catching interiors combine decorative brickwork with timber and stainless steel features. Contrasting and decorative imported natural polished stones have been used for the paving. 8 Mell Square Station Poplar Road Road 9 6 The Post Office The Post Office is one of several examples in Mell Poplar Mell Square of stone from the around Britain. The cladding Arcade Square is a Jurassic iron-rich limestone, sometimes referred High Street 6 to as Hornton Stone, ne 7 quarried near Edge Hill. 10 a It has a rusty brown L colour and contains veins rich in iron. Mill Look for pockets of pale coloured brachiopod fossils, commonly called 11 lamp shells for their Crescent Drury Lane similarity to the shape of Roman oil lamps. Opposite Arcade 12 the Post Office, the statue of ‘The Family’ stands on 3 a plinth of dolerite, a hard dark igneous rock, possibly from Rowley Regis in the Black Country and is The Square surrounded by a paving of granite setts. Mill Lane Arcade 2 7 Boots 5 The cladding above 13 N the Boots store is ew Road Westmorland Slate, a Jubilee 1 stone created when fine Walk grained marine shales were placed under great subterranean pressure
during the creation of the hurch Hill Lake District mountains over 400 million years ago. C
8 Marks & Spencer and Greece, and in the Lizard peninsular of Cornwall. 12 Mill Lane Arcade The Marks & Spencer store is faced with a polished It is named for its snake-like patterns and colouring. This is paved with hard wearing Jurassic Limestone granite similar to stone quarried from Dartmoor. from the Cote d’Or in France. These warm cream Touchwood Centre to beige coloured stones contain fossils, including ammonites and belemnites, which lived in tropical 10 Poplar Arcade The arcades in the Touchwood Centre contain some fine examples of imported decorative paving stones. In Poplar Arcade the predominant paving is a German dolomite, ranging in hue from grey to brown.
Granite is formed by the slow cooling and solidification of magma below the Earth’s surface. Because it cools slowly it grows large crystals and, in this example, we shallow seas. Today, these limestones provide the can identify the glassy crystals of quartz, pink feldspar terroir for the great chardonnay wines of Burgundy. and black hornblende, plus a sparkle from particles of mica. The entrance to the Fractures in this rock are filled with veins of white 13 Library passageway adjacent to calcite crystallised out from mineral-rich hot water Step out into the Library courtyard from the Jubilee Marks & Spencer is clad rising up from deeper in the earth’s crust. Walk arcade and note the cream and tan tufa cladding with dolomite a crystalline of the Library building. Tufa is a stone similar to limestone transformed 11 Crescent Arcade under pressure with some The paving is dominated by a pale cream Italian of the rock’s calcium being replaced by magnesium. The coloured veins result from traces of iron.
9 Co-operative Travel Shop Much of the decorative polished stone facing in British high streets is imported stone. In Drury Lane, the Travel shop is clad in veined greenish crystalline stone, known as serpentinite, travertine but more porous. Its natural unweathered that resulted from a colour, full of streaks of iron compounds, can be seen transformation of ancient travertine. Travertine is a form of limestone to best advantage on the stairwell inside the Library. ocean crust thrust precipitated from hot mineral springs. Darker colours Finally, as you leave the courtyard note the dense upwards under intense in the stone result from impurities such as iron and black commemorative plinth marking the official pressure by tectonic plate copper. The stone takes its name from Tivoli near opening of Touchwood by the Queen in 2002. movements. It is found in Rome and was used extensively by the Romans for This is basalt – a crystalline volcanic rock, the mountains of Italy temples and other public buildings. probably from Africa.