The Jewel in the Fossil - Mandale Limestone...from Derbyshire Fossil bed-rock, I thought that the...

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  • PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

    Two of Derbyshire’s most beautiful and rare stones have now come togetherand are being offered by Natural Stone Sales Ltd, in the form of uniquebespoke fire surrounds

    The Jewel in the Fossil...

    The Derbyshire Fossil limestone is fromthe “once-a-week quarry” near Sheldon.The quarry is owned by the ChatsworthEstate and leased to Mandale Stone CoLtd. The medium grey coloured limestonetakes a high polish and was known locallyas Sheldon Marble. The ivory colouredfossils were laid down in the sedimentarybed rock during the carboniferous periodsome 365 million years ago. The fossils aremainly crinoids, brachiopods, corals andeven occasionally shark’s teeth!

    The stone is won by hand, usingtraditional methods with “plugs” and“feathers” taking great care not todamage the stone.

    The stone is mainly supplied as aroughly squared building stone for house building within the Peak NationalPark to maintain the character and keepbuildings in their local context; however it was also supplied for the perimeter wall of the Tower of London. Dry stonewalling is also supplied for some of theseemingly endless miles of field walls, an endearing feature of Derbyshire’sbeautiful countryside.

    Occasionally, when the natural beds are pure enough, a dimensional block iswon, which is then sawn into thin slabs.The slabs are then cut, polished andshaped into kitchen work tops, bathroom

    Old Station Yard, Rowsley, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 2EJTelephone – 01629 735507Fax – 01629 735508 www.naturalstonesalesltd.co.uk

    vanity tops and fire surrounds.The quarry has been in existence for

    many years and reputedly got its name of “once-a-week” in the early nineteenthcentury, as the workers were paid once-a-week when other quarries locally paid thewages fortnightly.

    Natural Stone Sales Ltd are obviouslyproud of their association with theChatsworth Estate and have been pleasedto receive the Dowager Duchess and thecurrent Duchess to select stone for someof their projects.

    “We were particularly pleased to beable to supply a very nicely fossiled, large piece of stone for the late Dukesmemorial stone” said Mr Richard Bean of Natural Stone Sales Ltd.

    The Blue John stone comes only fromthe famous series of caverns in Castleton.This beautiful gem stone is mainly usedfor jewellery these days, but in theeighteenth century it was highly prized in prestigious fire surrounds that adornmany stately homes. Some of the bestexamples of Blue John are in ChatsworthHouse, which include the “Blue JohnWindow” and the largest one-piece BlueJohn tazza ever made.

    “I have always been interested in thePietra Dura work, which was very popularlocally in the eighteenth and nineteenthcenturies with the Ashford Black marble,which is sadly no longer available. Theinlaid Blue John fire surrounds at thattime were very grand and highlydecorated. As the Blue John is minedfrom Derbyshire Fossil bed-rock, I thought

    that the stones would compliment eachother really well in a fire surround”.

    Blue John Master Craftsmen, Mr EddieFisher was approached and asked if hewould like to be involved in the Blue Johninlaid fire surrounds. Eddie said “The BlueJohn fire surrounds are amazing and I amreally pleased to be involved. I tried to getlocal stone companies to do this over 20years ago and no one was interested. As in nature the two stones really do seem to belong together”.

    The surrounds pictured are in a classicalstyle and almost timeless period. In otherwords, these surrounds could fit mostapplications from period homes to amodern semi.

    These fire surrounds are unique, “one-offs” for customers that want somethingreally special that cannot be duplicated.

    With pietra dura inlaid work, the emphasisis in extremely high quality workmanship –perfection being the goal. The eye isimmediately drawn to faults or mistakeswhen working to these tolerances.

    Mrs Jenny Newton has been with thecompany 13 years and has seen a lot ofchanges in that time. “Business wasextremely good, up until the recessionstarted. At that time 90% of our businesswas new build related. We then targetedmore private work and now private work isup to at least 30% and also the new buildhas taken off again. We are lookingforward to an exceptionally good 2013”.

    Mrs Lisa Booth – Sales Manager isequally optimistic. “Kitchen worktops arevery busy again and enquiry levels are veryhigh. We have already had strong interestin the Blue John fire surrounds and this is

    the first attempt to promote them. Our policy is to offer the best quality andservice that we can achieve, which seemsto work well as most of our orders arereferrals from other happy customers”.

    If you are looking for new kitchenworktops, bathroom vanity tops, a veryspecial fire surround, or any masonry work,give Natural Stones Sales Ltd a call... YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. ■

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