Historic England – Strategic Stone Study

2011 – 2023

Stone is the major building material in many of the half-a-million listed buildings and 9,500 conservation areas in England.  If the character of these buildings and areas is to be maintained, supplies of new matching stone are needed for repair and for new construction.

The Strategic Stone Study led by Historic England is working to produce 35 County based Building Stone Atlases that identify the most significant building stones used in the past, where they came from and potential alternative sources.

Geckoella are major contributors and geological/heritage consultants to this study led by Historic England to identify the most significant building stones in each county and, where possible, the original source of stone for a particular building or settlement.

For each county, using a combination of fieldwork and historic records and maps, a representative range of historic structures, from castles and cathedrals to houses and cottages, boundary walls, roofs, bridges, kerbs and paving, has been selected and the types of stones used, identified.

Geckoella has been working on this project with Historic England (and the British Geological Survey) since 2013 and has produced on-line atlases and datasets for 11 counties including Somerset, Avon, Cornwall, East Sussex and Hampshire. In 2017, Geckoella (with Phil Collins Associates) were commissioned to develop atlases for a further 9 counties by end March 2020.