Horsham Stone
Encyclopedia
Horsham Stone is a type of calcerous, flaggy sandstone containing millions of minute sand grains. It is also high in mica
and quartz
. The rock extends in an arc-like formation for several kilometres around the West Sussex
town of Horsham
from which it bears its name and lies just below the Wealden Clay surface. Horsham Stone is famous for its ripple-marked appearance, formed by the action of the sea similar to the ripples on the sandbanks and beaches of Sussex.
were formed around 130 million years ago in the Lower Cretaceous period when Britain was quite different from the shape it is today. It is estimated that the latitude for Britain was approximately 30 degrees north of the equator. The fossil evidence in Horsham Stone and Sussex Marble indicate a diversity of life living on a broad, flat subtropical landscape.Towards the end of the Cretaceous period around 90 million years ago, most of Britain including Sussex would have been submerged beneath a tropical sea that was depositing chalk
.
The sediments of the Wealden Basin were buried under hundreds of metres of further sediment over the next 100 million years and were then uplifted gradually by platetonic movement and then eroded to expose Wealden rocks. Horsham Stone would have been visible to early settlers after the Ice Age around 12,000 years ago.
. Archeologists at Amberley
found quern
fragments made of Horsham Stone at Amberley Mount.
It was used extensively by the Romans
including in the construction of Stane Street. Villas such as Bignor
and Fishbourne
have examples of flooring and roof slates of the material. Its use for these purposes has been widespread throughout the centuries and there are numerous existing examples in Sussex and the surrounding counties. These include the footpaths leading to Shipley
Church and the north wall of Itchingfield
Church. It has been used for gravestones, fonts and tombs and there are several examples at St Mary's Church in Horsham. Once exposed it hardens quickly and will last for hundreds of years. The characteristic ripple marks are retained.
There are numerous old quarry workings throughout Sussex but just one working quarry in 2009.
Mica
The mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic, with a tendency towards pseudohexagonal crystals, and are similar in chemical composition...
and quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
. The rock extends in an arc-like formation for several kilometres around the West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
town of Horsham
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
from which it bears its name and lies just below the Wealden Clay surface. Horsham Stone is famous for its ripple-marked appearance, formed by the action of the sea similar to the ripples on the sandbanks and beaches of Sussex.
Formation
Sussex Stone and its limestone equivalent Sussex MarbleSussex Marble
West Sussex has a good concentration of relatively thin layers of Sussex Marble within the Weald Clay, a freshwater limestone referred to as "marble" as it takes a polish. It is not a geologically described one as it has not been subject to metamorphosis...
were formed around 130 million years ago in the Lower Cretaceous period when Britain was quite different from the shape it is today. It is estimated that the latitude for Britain was approximately 30 degrees north of the equator. The fossil evidence in Horsham Stone and Sussex Marble indicate a diversity of life living on a broad, flat subtropical landscape.Towards the end of the Cretaceous period around 90 million years ago, most of Britain including Sussex would have been submerged beneath a tropical sea that was depositing chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
.
The sediments of the Wealden Basin were buried under hundreds of metres of further sediment over the next 100 million years and were then uplifted gradually by platetonic movement and then eroded to expose Wealden rocks. Horsham Stone would have been visible to early settlers after the Ice Age around 12,000 years ago.
The Uses of Horsham Stone
Horsham Stone has a long history of use. The earliest record is from the Bronze AgeBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
. Archeologists at Amberley
Amberley
-Places:In Australia:* Amberley, Queensland, near Ipswich** RAAF Base AmberleyIn Canada:* Amberley, OntarioIn New Zealand:* Amberley, New Zealand, in north CanterburyIn the United Kingdom:* Amberley, Gloucestershire, England...
found quern
Quern
Quern is a municipality in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....
fragments made of Horsham Stone at Amberley Mount.
It was used extensively by the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
including in the construction of Stane Street. Villas such as Bignor
Bignor
Bignor is a village and civil parish in the Chichester district of the English county of West Sussex, about six miles north of Arundel....
and Fishbourne
Fishbourne
-United Kingdom:* Fishbourne, Isle of Wight, a village* Fishbourne, West Sussex, a village.* Fishbourne Roman Palace, an archaeological site in West Sussex....
have examples of flooring and roof slates of the material. Its use for these purposes has been widespread throughout the centuries and there are numerous existing examples in Sussex and the surrounding counties. These include the footpaths leading to Shipley
Shipley
Shipley may refer to:Places in England*Shipley, Derbyshire*Shipley, West Sussex*Shipley, West Yorkshire**Shipley People*Ann Shipley, Canadian politician*Burton Shipley, first Maryland Tarrapins men's basketball coach...
Church and the north wall of Itchingfield
Itchingfield
Itchingfield is a small village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It lies on the Barns Green to Broadbridge Heath road southwest of Horsham.The main settlement in the parish is Barns Green.-References:...
Church. It has been used for gravestones, fonts and tombs and there are several examples at St Mary's Church in Horsham. Once exposed it hardens quickly and will last for hundreds of years. The characteristic ripple marks are retained.
There are numerous old quarry workings throughout Sussex but just one working quarry in 2009.