#PortlandStone

@pavementgeology.bsky.social

1 day ago

Cibber’s panel on the monument. At the bottom left London personified sits slumped on rubble whilst the fire rages above her. On the left King Charles II orders her resurrection and above him, men are working on scaffold rebuilding the city

A view of The Monument to the Great Fire of London on a stunningly beautiful spring day

A fabulous day for an #urbangeology walk yesterday. We started at my favourite piece of public sculpture, the panel on the plinth of The Monument, carved in the 1670s by Caius Gabriel Cibber in #PortlandStone. Thanks to everyone who came along! Book onto future walks at www.walks.com/guides/ruth-1/

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Marit

@apricotcards.bsky.social

3 weeks ago

This is my current stone carving project. It’s Portland stone. I should have taken more photos along the way but I just get carried away and forget😄. It’s going to take a few more weeks to finish. #stone #stonecarving #carvingstone #naturalstone #portlandstone #creative #flowers

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Studio 8830

@studio8830.bsky.social

4 months ago

Soundtrack by us...Outstanding poem by @drsimonewebber:

"An ode to Portland, Dorset. The most unique place, marked by the quarrying of Portland stone, used to build a lot of London."

#portlanddorset #visitportlanddorset
#weymouthandportland
#portlandstone #dorset
#poetryfilm #poetryvideo #poetry

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Naomi in the lanes

@naomiinthelanes.bsky.social

6 months ago

Portland screws and horses' heads A Shutterbug of Stone

More #PortlandStone: This time it's roachstone. Pretty distinctive stuff!

shutterbugofstone.blogspot.com/2025/08/port...

#Geology #UrbanGeology #UrbanFossils #Jurassic

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Naomi in the lanes

@naomiinthelanes.bsky.social

6 months ago

Rock bang full of oysters A Shutterbug of Stone

Blogged: Grove Whitbed, #PortlandStone, full of oysters.

#Geology #UrbanGeology #UrbanFossils #Jurassic

shutterbugofstone.blogspot.com/2025/08/rock...

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Naomi in the lanes

@naomiinthelanes.bsky.social

6 months ago

Smith Square, London A Shutterbug of Stone

I've just posted the first of 3 posts about Portland Stone; the others will be tomorrow morning and Wednesday. shutterbugofstone.blogspot.com/2025/08/smit...

#Geology #UrbanGeology #PortlandStone

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@stone-work.bsky.social

7 months ago

The Isle of Portland, Dorset — STONE-WORK 26th-29th May 2025, written by Melanie Hayes

Read the full field trip report here:
www.stone-work.eu/field-trips-....
#PortlandStone #ArchitecturalHeritage #GeologyFieldwork #StoneMasonry #BuildingMaterials #IsleOfPortland #DorsetGeology #StoneWorkProject

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@stone-work.bsky.social

8 months ago

This was the first of two conferences for the @ERC.europa.eu -funded STONE-WORK project - more to come in February 2026.
——
#ArchitecturalHistory #MaterialCulture #STONEWORK #PortlandStone #Carrara #18thCentury #HistoricStonework #BuildingMaterials #Craftsmanship #Geology #Stone

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Ruth Siddall

@pavementgeology.bsky.social

8 months ago

View of the three carvings, arranged in a flower bed depicting three different types of coral. The sculptures are carved from Portland Stone.

Another view of the sculptures. View of the three carvings, arranged in a flower bed depicting three different types of coral. The sculptures are carved from Portland Stone.

Larger than life corals carved from Portland Stone by Ben Russell on the promenade at Weymouth #portlandstone #urbangeology

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London Geodiversity Partnership

@londongeology.bsky.social

9 months ago

Portland Stone is used for buildings all over London. You can spot these fossils on London’s buildings #urbangeology #portlandstone

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Ruth Siddall

@pavementgeology.bsky.social

9 months ago

A cut block of Portland Stone with a fossil protruding out from the surface. The original shell material has leached away leaving only the external cast and the internal mould. The mould resembles a horse head with ears and a snout. Portland Stone is a white, fine grained, oolitic limestone.

The quarry men on the Isle of Portland call the casts and moulds of the fossil bivalve Trigonia ‘osses ‘eads (horses’ heads). This is why
#portlandstone #whitbed

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Ruth Siddall

@pavementgeology.bsky.social

9 months ago

View of the font in a rather cluttered baptistery. It has a baluster stem and quite small fluted bowl with a wooden cover.

The inscription on the base of the font reads ‘1766 William Gilbert Fecit’

Detail of the bowl of the font and its carved decoration.

Another view of the bowl of the font with the apse and sanctuary of the church beyond it.

The font in St George’s Church at Reforne on the Isle of Portland. Made of Portland Basebed by William Gilbert in 1766, it has subsequently been cleaned using a pumice stone #fontsonfriday #portlandstone #urbangeology

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Ruth Siddall

@pavementgeology.bsky.social

9 months ago

A Fantini rock saw can cut under and around the blocks of stone - in this case Portland Whitbed

Another image of the Fantini saw cutting block

This machine can install rock bolts to secure the ceiling - it takes around three minutes to put in a bolt. The machine drills the whole, injects a quick setting cement and then inserts and tightens the bolt. They install a bolt every three metres.

Another view of the rock bolting machine manoeuvring into place.

A few more Portland Stone mine pictures - cutting out the block with a Fantini saw and putting rock bolts in the mine ceiling, which is Purbeck Caps
#portlandstone #AlbionStone #IsleofPortland

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Ruth Siddall

@pavementgeology.bsky.social

9 months ago

A view of us, wearing high vis jackets, walking through the stone mine. The tunnels are more or less square in section and recede into the distance

Block is also stored in the mine until it is needed. One of our team is standing between two fresh cut blocks which are taller than her.

A close up of a rare facies of Portland stone - oyster and Solenopora patch reefs occur in the Portland stones and are only revealed by quarrying.

A close up of Bowers Roach - a facies of Portland Stone with distinctive and characteristic casts and moulds of fossils, including the spire-shaped gastropod Aptyxiella portlandica shown here.

A visit to the Jordans/Bowers #PortlandStone Mine for the @stone-work.bsky.social team. We had a fantastic tour from #AlbionStone. An incredible opportunity to see these exposed faces of pristine Portland Formation - Britain’s global heritage stone #buildingstone #ghs #isleofportland

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Ruth Siddall

@pavementgeology.bsky.social

9 months ago

The ammonites are rarely seen partly because when encountered invite quarry they were kept back and used as garden ornaments or to sell on to collectors. You can often see them built into walls on the Isle of Portland and elsewhere where the stone is quarried #urbangeology #portlandstone

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Ruth Siddall

@pavementgeology.bsky.social

9 months ago

The photo shows a paving slab of Portland Stone. A swirl of fossil debris has accumulated inside the shell of a large ammonite, around 205 cm diameter. A foot is on the left hand side of the photo for scale. The scalloped outer edge of the slab can just be discerned.

A wider angle view of the fossil in the previous image surrounded by other paving slabs, all in Portland Stone. Another fragment of ammonite can just be discerned in the top left hand d side of this image. It is around 20 cm diameter and looks a bit like the mark of a large cookie cutter. The two slabs were probably from the same block.

The large ammonites Titanites sp. are well known from the Portland Stone Formation. Despite that they are rarely found in building stones. Here is an example, probably only the 5th or 6th I’ve ever seen, in paving slabs at the Royal Naval College at Greenwich #urbangeology #portlandstone

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@contractors-i.bsky.social

11 months ago

Project revisit - a combination of Portland Basebed & Portland Jordan’s was used for this facade project in central London. With a design that included inward weathering cills leaving the face very clean & unobstructed. #stonemasonry #stoneinstallation #stonefacade #portlandstone #masonrycontractor

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