Saturday 6th of January was not a good day to hold a field meeting as incessant rain attempted to dampen even the most ardent of geo-spirits. Nevertheless, a dozen people, some from the OU, met at Abbey Gate to be guided bravely around the town centre by Andrew Fleming.

After a short briefing, Andrew took us took us to Mustowe Street for a close look at the ripples and other sedimentary structures of the paving flags. We continued to the coarse bioclastic limestone of the War Memorial in Angel Hill, along Abbeygate Street to the Buttermarket, examining the different limestones, granites and many other varied rocks that make up the fabric of shop-fronts, kerbstones and paving slabs along the way. The old Moyses Hall was of particular interest, with its flint work and Barnack Rag blocks. Even MacDonalds, with its Italian St. John’s travertine and South African Rustenberg Black Accord Bushveld gabbro cladding came in for scrutiny. A brief detour was taken along St John’s Street to see the Triassic red desert sandstone of Glanvilles. Then the journey continued along Brentgrovel and Cornhill, including the fossiliferous oolitic limestone of the Corn Exchange, across the front of the Angel Hotel, down Churchgate Street, to St. James’ Gate and into the Cathedral, both noted for the use of Lincolnshire limestones.

The use of local building materials was of special interest. Flints were widespread, being obtained from the Chalk rock, which underlies that part of Suffolk, or local boulder clays deposited during the Ice Age. Brick is also commonly used, the raw clay coming from local pits and of various ages, each giving bricks their distinctive characteristics, the pleasing ‘Suffolk Whites’ being a case in point. Local limestones include Barnack (also used in Peterborough and Ely cathedrals), Ketton and Clipsham stone from the Jurassic Inferior Oolite of Lincolnshire.

‘Imported’ stone was also much in evidence: limestones from Portland and Purbeck in Britain to Caen Limestone from Normandy; slates from North Wales; granites from Aberdeen and elsewhere; distinctive blue/green larvikite from Norway; and a wealth of others.

By lunchtime, having reached the cathedral, the rain had got the better of us and the proceedings were called to a close, with the promise to make a return visit in the near future to examine the building materials of the Cathedral and Abbey. This was a fascinating tour, for we could see that building materials are not just about geology, but also reflect the historical and social changes of a place in matters as varied as transport technology to the fads and fashions of patrons and architects.



[A return visit to examine the building materials of the Cathedral and Abbey is scheduled for July 14th - see separate field trip details]