Guide to Stone in NHM - UCL
Transcript of Guide to Stone in NHM - UCL
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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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.