Guide to the Decorative Stone in the Natural History Museum

Earth Galleries 1. Central star and surrounds

in Lobby area 2. Arch 3. Marble Table

Life Galleries Decorative Windowsills in Cadogan Gallery

Gordon Walkden Diana Clements David Smith Ruth Siddall

Decora(veStoneintheEarthGalleriesTheGeologyMuseuminSouthKensingtonwasbuiltin1938tohousethena:onalcollec:onofgeologicalspecimensheldbytheIns:tuteofGeologicalSciences(nowtheBri:shGeologicalSurvey)thathadoutgrownitsformerhomeinJermynStreet.TheexteriorisbuiltofPortlandStonebutthegrandentrancetoExhibi:onRoadisdecoratedbyanimpressivearrayofornamentalstonesfromtheBri:shIsles.

1.CentralstarandsurroundsintheLobbyarea

RefertodiagramforkeytoleLers(sketchbyAlanTimms).houtermoststarofpink/redbrecciated‘marble’withcrinoidsandstylolites.CorkRedMarble,?Li1leIsland,EarlyCarboniferous,(stainedfromDevonianbeneath)ablacklimestonestrips(asbaseofwalls)withoccasionfossilfragmentsofcoralsandbrachiopods.EarlyCarboniferous,probablyfromKilkenny,Irelandbgreylimestonewithcrinoidstemscutindifferentorienta:onsandstylolitesalsoonstairs),EarlyCarboniferous,Wirksworth,DerbyshirecbuffLimestone(asonthewalls)butwithoutthe‘BirdsEyes’,EarlyCarboniferous,HoptonwoodLimestone,DerbyshiredcircleofKirklstoneGreenSlatefromPe1’sQuarry,KirklandPass,LakeDistrictOrdovician.Notebandsofcoarserlapilliandotherstructuresinthiswater-lainvolcanictuffebufflimestone.Thoughttobethesameas(c)EarlyCarboniferous,HoptonwoodLimestone,DerbyshirefcentralstarofgreenConnemaraMarble,fromthewestofIreland,Precambriangouterstarofpalebufflimestone.ProbablyHadeneLimestone,Derbyshire,EarlyCarboniferous,houtermoststarofpink/redbrecciated‘marble’withcrinoidsandstylolites,CorkRedMarble,?Li1leIsland,EarlyCarboniferous(stainedfromDevonianbeneath)

Decora(veArchwayarea

aFlooringofbufflimestonewithSyringoporaandProductus.Hoptonwood,EarlyCarboniferous,Derbyshire

b GreenConnemaraMarblefromthewestofIreland.AlatePrecambriantruemarble.c KitleyGreen,DevonianmarblefromDevonshireshowingtensiongashesd GreyPeOtorDevonianmarblefromTorquayareae DarkgreyPurbeckMarble(Jurassic/CretaceousTransiOon)beneathironrailingson

stairs,withfossilsoffreshwatersnails(Viviparous)andbivalves(Unio)f Wallingatedgeofstaircase,greyAshburtonDevonianmarblewithcoralsincluding

Thamnoporaandstromatoporoids.Theslabsareshotthroughwithcalciteandhema:te-stainedveins.

g Treadsofstairsbuff,shellyandburrowedHoptonwoodLimestone,EarlyCarboniferous,Derbyshire

ThankstoAlanTimms(1)whooriginatedthisresearchanddrewthediagrams.AlsotoJohnWilliams(1)andMonicaPrice(4)References(5)OHMSpublica:on,1964andotheredi:ons:TheGeologyMuseum:AshortguidetotheExhibits.

TheKensingtonTableontheMezzanineGordonWalkden,AberdeenUniversityTheKensingtonTableisinscribed‘DEVONSHIREMARBLES’anditisprobablethatthisistheprize-winningtableexhibitedbyJohnWoodleyattheGreatExhibi:onof1851inHydePark.

Thetableisornamenteden:relywithDevonshireMarblessetintoablacksurroundofCarboniferouslimestoneprobablyfromeitherDerbyshireorBelgium.Therearenodiagnos:cfossilstodeterminewhich.ThepedestalisDevonshireMarbleprobablyfromtheAshburtonquarries,asinthewallpanelsofthemezzanine.CentrepiecewhiteAlveolitescoral,Babbacombe,DevonInset6x3Dboxesofred,yellowandgreyPe:tor,Babbacombe,Devon.ThegreyvarietyhasstrikingThamnoporasp.corals(BradleyWoods‘featherstone’).InnerRinggarlandof12rareothocone(fossilcephalopods)inaredmatrixfromPe:torwith‘darts’ofwhiteThamnopora rudstone betweeneach(egganddartarrangement)MiddleRing24radialstones,scallopedontheoutersurface,ofPe:torreefandnear-reefrocks,highligh:ngthevariabilityofthestonesfromthePe:torBreccia,mainlyfrombeachesandquarriesaroundPe:tTorDown,Babbacombe.Remnantfossilscanbeseenin:115RugosecoralHaplotheciasp117Coraldebrisbeachdepositwithblack‘slime’thatgrewbeneath(‘ShadowRock’)123Reef-frontflatstonysponges(fawn)withseawater-precipitatesinbetween(grey/white).Pe:totYellowBandYellowcloudedPe:torOuterRing72outer:erplaqueLes.Remnantcoralscanbeseenin:03TabulatecoralCrassialveolitessp.21RugosecoralEndophyllumsp.31TabulatecoralHeliolitessp.41Coraldebrisbeachdeposit67TabulatecoralThamnoporasp.(BradleyWoods‘featherstone’)

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3121

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WindowsillsonpublicdisplayinTreasuresexhibi(on,CadoganGallery

1BlackCrinoidallimestone,var.‘BirdsEye’,E.Carboniferous,probablyfromAshford,Derbyshire

2AmmoniOcoRossogroup,typicallyVerona,Italy3Devonshiremarblewiththick-shelledbrachiopods4SerpenteniteVerdediGenova,Genoa,Liguria,Italy5UncertainEuropeanbrecciamarblesimilarto

DiasporotenerodiSicilia6  KilkennyMarblewithsmallbrachiopodsE.

CarboniferousLimestoneCountyKilkenny,Ireland7  CorkRedLimestoneE.CarboniferousLiLleIsland,

CountyCork,Ireland8ConnemaraMarblePrecambrian,CountyGalway,

Ireland9ADevonshiremarble,likelytobeaPeOtorvariety

fromPe:tTorQuarry,StMarychurch,Devon10FrosterlyMarbleE.Carboniferous,CountyDurham

withDibunophyllumbiparOtumcorals11CorkRedLimestoneE.CarboniferousLiLleIsland,

CountyCork,Ireland12BlackLimestone,?AshfordBlackDerbyshire,E.

Carboniferous(orGalwayorBelgium)13StAnne’sMarbleDevonian,Gougines,Namur,

Belgium14RougeRoyalLateDevonian,MeuseRegion,

Belgium 15PortoroMarbleTriassic,LaSpezia,Liguria,Italy16Brechviole1eMarbleSerravezza,Tuscany,Italy17RossoLavantoserpentenite,Liguria,Italy18MetamorphosedbrecciapossiblyMischiodi

Serravezza,Stazzema,Italy19.BardiglioMarbleTuscany,Italy20CarraraMarbleArabescaLovariety,Italy

Thereare46windowsillsofpolishedornamentalstonesurroundingtheatriumthatisnowtheWaterhousecafébehindtheHintzeHall.TheyarethoughttohavebeenpartoftheoriginalWaterhousedesignof1881.Mostofthestonesusedare‘marbles’,eithertruemarblesorshellylimestonesthattakeagoodpolish.ThesearemainlyearlyCarboniferousinagefromtheBri:shIsleswithDevonianexamplesfromDevonandBelgium.OtherstonescomefromItalyandtheAlps.OnlythoseintheTreasuresExhibiOonintheCadoganGalleryarecurrentlyonshowtothepublic.