The English
Heritage pilot study into the historic use of building stones and the need
for particular stones for repair and conservation has raised the issue
of how to determine the relative value of individual stones. This value
derives from a number of intrinsic factors which will each provide a level
of importance against which the stone could be assessed. Aggregating these
levels for a particular stone will make it possible to rank its value in
relation to other stones using a subjective grade similar to the listing
grades of buildings. |
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Extrinsic
value
Extrinsic value is the property
we would normally apply to a particular stone almost without thinking.
It is the size of the market: the extent to which a stone has been used
in the past and will be needed in the future for building repair. This
is also the value which the commercial stone industry would use. The greater
the demand for repair and new build the more valuable the stone is and
the more economically viable any quarry would be. |
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The scale
of past use is a multiple of the time for which it was worked, the area
over which it was used and the density of its use within that area. Thus
past use can be semi-quantified by field studies supported by documentary
research covering the number and size of buildings, quarry size and/or
number etc. The future market for repair and conservation (ie excluding
new build) will be inversely proportional to the durability of the stone.
Thus a stone which had a very large use in the past but a very long durability
may be less in demand for repairs than a stone with moderate historical
use but a shorter life. |
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Additionally
there will be a new build market within conservation areas etc. |
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Intrinsic
value
The intrinsic value of a stone is
determined by its technical suitability and cultural / heritage importance.
The former is not necessarily directly related to its past extent of use
although this will certainly be the case for some stones. |
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Building
importance. One way in which to articulate the importance of a stone
would be in relation to a concept which we are all familiar with - the
listing (or national/historic monument) grade of buildings in which it
has been used. The presumption being that, provided all technical criteria
were satisfied, the higher the grade of the building the more important
it would be to use an authentic stone for repairs. A simple count for each
building and a multiplier for its grade could produce a score for a stone. |
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Technical
importance. The technical importance of a stone is the extent to which
its properties are special in terms of its suitability to be used. Petrological
and physical properties - strength; porosity, fabric, cements, colour etc
- and its compatibility with the surrounding fabric are both important.
Recent experience indicates that compatibility has a much greater importance
than has been realised in the past. For some stones and some applications
it may well prove to be the primary factor in selecting a stone for repair.
It is probable that in many cases the most suitable stone on this basis
will be the original material from a closely defined location - a particular
bench in a particular quarry for example. Guidance on the technical specification
for stone for repairs has been published in the English Heritage Technical
Advice Note Sourcing Stone for Historic Building Repair. This provides
a second importance parameter. Stones could be ranked on a very simple
scale ranging from ‘essential to use’ to ‘could be substituted’. |
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Cultural
importance. Cultural importance is largely unquantifiable because it
reflects abstract concepts such as a sense of history, historical references
to persons or former industrial, agricultural or cultural activities; one’s
place in society; local or regional building diversity and the importance
of the ‘particular’ - of beauty and eccentricity. |
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A stone might
have a high cultural value even if it has only been used in one or a small
number of buildings. If these are of great architectural or historic value,
there would be a strong case for repairing them with the original stone.
Similarly, a stone which has been used for all the buildings within a village
is essential to its sense of place and should be used to repair the buildings.
It is all too easy to use broad classifications such as Jurassic limestone
or Millstone Grit and in so doing to miss the variety of detail that changes
from village to village because the individual, local stones are different.
Colour, bed depth, joint spacing, hardness, grain size; all affect the
appearance of the stone, the way it can be worked and ultimately the look
of the village. |
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The way a
stone can be used in buildings will have been an important aspect of vernacular
construction and detailing. In vernacular slate and stone roofing, for
example, it is axiomatic that the slating methods and hence the style of
the roof – planform, pitch, detailing of intersections etc – are primarily
determined by properties of the slates or stones – flatness, surface texture,
size and shape. The same will be true of masonry. Strength and bed depth
for example, will determine the maximum size of lintels and therefore the
size of openings or the use of arches. |
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The cultural
value would constitute the third parameter. It could be related to: |
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Distinctive appearance. Conservation
planning guidance focuses on the appearance of buildings. The distinctiveness
of particular stones will therefore be a fundamental aspect of their relative
importance. Stones should be assessed against surface texture, colour,
bed thickness and other dimensions for masonry or size range and thickness
for roofing etc. The weathered appearance, which will be determined by
the mineralogy as well as external factors, and the plants which grow on
the stones are also critical to determining whether a particular stone
should be used for repair.
Local distinctiveness. This is about
the diversity of stone types used in an area. Typically it will vary from
village to village. This characteristic will be predominantly based on
‘primitive’ transport systems mainly horse drawn but also involving water
transport and latterly railways.
Regional character and continuity. Different
stones will often be similar in character creating a coherent style in
a (geological) region. Within the region there might be an element of substitution
over time as quarries opened and closed and transport systems developed.
Thematic use. Landowners or industrialists
often used stone from their own land holdings in preference to those with
a lower transport cost. This is expressed in suites of buildings – model
farms, estate villages etc – all constructed from the same stone.
Landscape character. Buildings in the
open landscape - field walls, animal shelters, hay barns, sheep pens, shepherd’s
shelters and buildings associated with summer steadings and transhumance,
were inevitably built of stone obtained from the immediate vicinity. Because
all these buildings are a product of the local farming system which in
itself is largely a product of the natural zone in which they sit - the
soil, climate, elevation etc, they are intimately linked to the natural
environment.
Detail. Many non-building uses of stone
are important features of land-, village- and town-scapes. Milestones,
stiles, bollards, gravestones, river and canal banks, kerbs, copings, pavements
and other flagging, steps and gate posts; their texture, shape and style
are distinctive and local. They are the details which add character to
their locality
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An understanding
of the importance of particular stones in respect of these criteria could
be obtained by carrying out characterisation studies similar to conservation
area and village design statements. From such studies it will be possible
to state how prevalent is the use of a particular stone in respect of each
aspect giving an overall score. |
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Integrated
value
Aggregating the importance scores
for buildings, technical suitability and cultural significance would give
the stone’s relative intrinsic value. |