In 2005 East Herts Geology Club More East Herts Puddingstones. 50p where sold presented Puddingstones & Plaques to:-

Brent Pelham Standon

Much Hadham

The story of ’s Castle Grounds distinctive stone began in the age

Furneux Pelham of the dinosaurs, but exactly when

'There are other and how it formed remains a puddingstones adorning the doors mystery.

of the learning Hertford Museum space in the Its enigmatic nature gave rise to museum, and in superstitions that it possesses

displays, including strange powers, such as growing some for touching'. in fields, repelling evil, and Bishops Stortford breeding.

People have found uses for Ware Museum also has a display of puddingstone. Hertfordshire Puddingstone This large www.hertfordmuseum.org since at least Neolithic times. piece is nearby in the Priory garden. www.waremuseum.org.uk

This leaflet produced by East Herts Geology Club. Kindly sponsored by Geo East. www.geo-east.org.uk More places to see Puddingstones Thanks to all those involved with this ongoing project. Geology Folklore and superstition Uses

About 80 million years ago the chalk was Pagan idols. Puddingstones can often be found Milling. Puddingstone is ideal for grinding deposited on the floor of a warm clear sea that built into or near churches because they were .grain because it is so hard and coherent. covered most of Britain. Later, flint formed objects of pagan worship and when Christianity chemically from silica as hard irregular lumps came to Britain Pope Gregory decreed 'pagan within the chalk. idols should be incorporated into the fabric of

This area then became dry land, and rivers the church’. eroded flints from the soft chalk. About 60 Breeding stone. Superstitious villagers called puddingstone ‘Breeding Stone’ or ‘Mother million years ago the sea once more covered south east and eroded flints were Stone’ believing it gave birth to pebbles and ← 10cm → ← 24cm → rounded by wave action on the beach. gathered fruit or children to itself. Some people thought that the stones were alive, could move, Rubbing stone used with a Top section of a saddle quern circa 3500 BC Roman rotary quern and had feelings and emotions. Growing stone. Puddingstones exposed in fields Building. by hard frosts, soil erosion and ploughing, seem Hertfordshire to appear from nowhere. This caused a Puddingstone blocks superstition among farmers that puddingstones have been used in grew in the ground. They broke up large lumps building since to prevent further growth which they feared Roman times. would damage crops or ploughs or block streams. ⇐St Andrews Street Hagstones. Pieces of puddingstone called car park Hertford. hagstones (or witch stones) were placed on doorsteps to ward off evil. A parish record of Decoration. 1662 shows how a suspected witch was to be Hertfordshire Puddingstone We don’t know exactly when or how prevented from escaping from the grave. is valued by lapidarists as it Hertfordshire puddingstones were formed. Most “A hagstone be placed on the coffin for her bodie can be cut and polished. geologists think that soon after the flint pebbles within be bewitched.” were rounded, they were stained by iron Pebbles in this slice have compounds producing the attractive colours, and rings of different colours. the distinctive dark rims. These pebbles then became embedded in fine pale sand. The final Jewellery. Hertfordshire Puddingstone is stage was the binding of these pebbles and sand so cohesive it can be worked in fine detail into puddingstone by hard natural silica cement.

Because its pebbles, sand, and cement are all made of silica, Hertfordshire puddingstone is a hard and coherent rock that breaks straight across. Concrete can resemble puddingstone but fractures unevenly. Cuff links and pendant by www.eborjetworks.co.uk Pud leavlet v3.46 - Saturday, 23 January 2010 @ 12:55 PM Cuff links and pendant by www eborjetworks co uk