Cotswold Stone
The golden brown to cream stone that typifies Cotswold villages is a Jurassic oolitic limestone and occurs in an outcrop extending from Bath all the way to Lincoln. It is composed of ooids, small spherical or ovoid concretions of calcium carbonate formed in tropical seas far from sources of sediment. Shell fragments and other fossils are common although the most prized varieties are those lacking fossils. The iron-staining responsible for the depth of the orange colouring generally increases northwards. It can be difficult to confidently distinguish from Bath Stone of a similar age. An educated guess can be made on the quality of the stone and status of the building.
A small outlier of Cotswold Stone occurs on Bredon Hill and Broadway Quarry lies within the Southeastern extreme of Worcestershire. Nonetheless, Cotswold and Bath Stones are very ubiquitous across Herefordshire and Worcestershire; used for quoins, window sills and lintels and other dressings in rubble stone and brick constructions.
Browse the database for sites using Cotswold Stone->
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