FOCUS ON….. Cotswold Building Stone & Masonry
A stone wall is a thing of beauty, whether it’s a traditional dry stone structure marking the boundary of a field or the coursed and plumb square walls of a house, the range of profiles are a tribute to the art of stone masonry. In the Cotswolds, our abundant limestone is the obvious building material of choice. Varying in colour from the classic honeyed hues found in the North, to the white Bath stone of the South, this local stone adds recognisable character.
Unlike bricks, which are manufactured to fixed specifications and sizes, quarried stone is cropped in a large guillotine to create a flat face which forms the visable part of the stone. Each stone is hand selected by the stone mason who shapes it into the right size and, if it’s forming part of a cavity wall, it is ‘backed off’ to make it the correct depth or ‘bed’.
The stone is laid in courses of similar heights with the occasional ‘jumper’ stone which has a larger rise in which to ‘jump’; across the courses and improve the stability of the wall.
In houses and older agricultural buildings, quoins are built into the corner of the wall. These rectangular blocks not only add aesthetic appeal and definition to the wall edge but provide strength and weather protection.
Creating good stone walls takes skill, patience, an eye for detail and years of practice to perfect and we are proud to supply some of the best building contractors and their stonemasons with suitable materials for various different projects through the region. Our available stock includes reclaimed walling stone, building stone, quoins, lintels and cils. e are also able to provide new stone and masonry through our associated quarries.