Bargate stone is a highly durable form of
sandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow,...
, which was quarried for centuries in south west
SurreySurrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire, and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
- particularly around
GuildfordGuildford is the county town of Surrey, England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
and
GodalmingGodalming is a town and civil parish in the Waverley district of the county of Surrey, England, south of Guildford. It is built on the banks of the River Wey and is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt. Godalming shares a three-way twinning arrangement with the towns of Joigny in France...
. It owes its yellow, ‘butter’ colouring to the high
iron oxideIron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen. Altogether, there are sixteen known iron oxides and oxyhydroxides.-Oxides:* FeO, iron oxide, * Fe3O4, iron oxide,...
content.
Bargate is to be found in many buildings in this part of Surrey, where it has been used for the best part of 1,000 years. One of the earliest surviving examples is the
KeepA keep is a strong central tower which is used as a dungeon or a fortress. Often, the keep is the most defended area of a castle, and as such may form the main habitation area, or contain important stores such as the armoury, food, and the main water well, which would ensure survival during a...
at Guildford Castle.
Bargate stone is a highly durable form of
sandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow,...
, which was quarried for centuries in south west
SurreySurrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire, and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
- particularly around
GuildfordGuildford is the county town of Surrey, England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
and
GodalmingGodalming is a town and civil parish in the Waverley district of the county of Surrey, England, south of Guildford. It is built on the banks of the River Wey and is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt. Godalming shares a three-way twinning arrangement with the towns of Joigny in France...
. It owes its yellow, ‘butter’ colouring to the high
iron oxideIron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen. Altogether, there are sixteen known iron oxides and oxyhydroxides.-Oxides:* FeO, iron oxide, * Fe3O4, iron oxide,...
content.
Bargate is to be found in many buildings in this part of Surrey, where it has been used for the best part of 1,000 years. One of the earliest surviving examples is the
KeepA keep is a strong central tower which is used as a dungeon or a fortress. Often, the keep is the most defended area of a castle, and as such may form the main habitation area, or contain important stores such as the armoury, food, and the main water well, which would ensure survival during a...
at Guildford Castle. It was a credit to the strength of Bargate that it was chosen for the main structure, standing on top of the natural
chalkChalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. It forms under relatively deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores. It is common to find flint and chert...
bedrock, which would have been more readily available. The same stone was used in
Godalming Parish ChurchA church has stood on the site of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Godalming, since at least the mid ninth century. The church contains carved stones which have been dated to c.820-840 and a few Anglo Saxon remnants survive in the present structure, which was largely rebuilt in the late tenth or early...
, which dates back to Saxon times.
In more recent years, it was used to construct
Charterhouse SchoolCharterhouse, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse, is a collegiate independent boarding school between Hurtmore and Godalming in Surrey, England....
(completed 1872), and was also favoured by locally based architect
Edwin LutyensSir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM, KCIE, PRA, FRIBA, LLD was a leading 20th century British architect who is known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era...
for much of his domestic work.
Bargate is rarely used today, although the medieval quarries can still be seen in Godalming, at the foot of Holloway Hill.