Sussex Marble
Encyclopedia
West Sussex
has a good concentration of relatively thin layers of Sussex Marble (also called Petworth Marble, or Winklestone) 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. The matrix is made up from freshwater gastropods, Viviparus
winkles, similar to but larger than those making Purbeck Marble
- with the pale calcified remains of the shells in a matrix
of darker material.
, its quarrying was concentrated on the Egremont estate at Kirdford
and there are accounts of industry at nearby Plaistow
.
It was used in several chimney pieces at Petworth House
and further afield at Westminster Abbey
in Edward the Confessor's Chapel, the tomb of Edward III and of Richard II and his Queen are both in "grey Petworth Marble"; and Canterbury Cathedral, where the archbishops chair is an entire piece of the stone.
Embellishment of the Nave of Chichester Cathedral is in both Purbeck
and Petworth marbles, the latter making up pillars of the upper triforium which even then showed 'some decomposition of the shelly particles'.
, which is considered a more stable stone.
The industry and workings are long gone although small new rural development around the Surrey/Sussex border occasionally brings up new seams of the stone. The qualities of the material are being rediscovered through British sculptors like Jon Edgar
who, after a gap of nearly 200 years, are having to re-discover the ways of working it, its strengths and weaknesses.
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...
has a good concentration of relatively thin layers of Sussex Marble (also called Petworth Marble, or Winklestone) within the Weald Clay
Weald Clay
Weald Clay is a Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rock underlying areas of South East England. It is part of the Wealden Group of rocks. The clay is named after the Weald, an area of Sussex. It varies from orange and grey in colour and is used in brickmaking....
, 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. The matrix is made up from freshwater gastropods, Viviparus
Viviparus
Viviparus, common name river snails, is a genus of large, freshwater snails with an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks. They are primitive members of the superorder Caenogastropoda.-Distribution:This genus is palaearctic in distribution....
winkles, similar to but larger than those making Purbeck Marble
Purbeck Marble
Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone quarried in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England.It is one of many kinds of Purbeck Limestone, deposited in the late Jurassic or early Cretaceous periods....
- with the pale calcified remains of the shells in a matrix
Matrix (geology)
The matrix or groundmass of rock is the finer grained mass of material in which larger grains, crystals or clasts are embedded.The matrix of an igneous rock consists of finer grained, often microscopic, crystals in which larger crystals are embedded. This porphyritic texture is indicative of...
of darker material.
Historical use
In the early 19th century, Petworth Marble rivalled many of the stones which were routinely imported from the continent, in both beauty and quality. A kind of shell marble occurring in the Wealden clay at PetworthPetworth
Petworth is a small town and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the junction of the A272 east-west road from Heathfield to Winchester and the A283 Milford to Shoreham-by-Sea road. Some twelve miles to the south west of Petworth along the A285 road...
, its quarrying was concentrated on the Egremont estate at Kirdford
Kirdford
Kirdford is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located north east of Petworth. The parish has a land area of . In the 2001 census 912 people lived in 373 households, of whom 448 were economically active....
and there are accounts of industry at nearby Plaistow
Plaistow, West Sussex
Plaistow is a village in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It lies within the civil parish of Plaistow and Ifold. There is a village green with a pond, a shop overlooking it, a pub, The Sun Inn and an Anglican Church, all in the centre of the village. There are over thirty graded ...
.
It was used in several chimney pieces at Petworth House
Petworth House
Petworth House in Petworth, West Sussex, England, is a late 17th-century mansion, rebuilt in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s by Anthony Salvin...
and further afield at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
in Edward the Confessor's Chapel, the tomb of Edward III and of Richard II and his Queen are both in "grey Petworth Marble"; and Canterbury Cathedral, where the archbishops chair is an entire piece of the stone.
Embellishment of the Nave of Chichester Cathedral is in both Purbeck
Purbeck
Purbeck is a local government district in Dorset, England. The district is named after the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula that forms a large proportion of the district's area. However the district extends significantly further north and west than the traditional boundary of the Isle of Purbeck along...
and Petworth marbles, the latter making up pillars of the upper triforium which even then showed 'some decomposition of the shelly particles'.
Present day
As the material is not in regular supply, much restoration of earlier Sussex Marble work takes place using Purbeck MarblePurbeck Marble
Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone quarried in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England.It is one of many kinds of Purbeck Limestone, deposited in the late Jurassic or early Cretaceous periods....
, which is considered a more stable stone.
The industry and workings are long gone although small new rural development around the Surrey/Sussex border occasionally brings up new seams of the stone. The qualities of the material are being rediscovered through British sculptors like Jon Edgar
Jon Edgar
Jon Edgar is a British artist born in Rustington, West Sussex in 1968, the grandson of British cartoonist Brian White. He direct-carves in wood and stone using methods of improvisation, and works in clay.-Biography:...
who, after a gap of nearly 200 years, are having to re-discover the ways of working it, its strengths and weaknesses.