Background
In Northern Ireland stone has been used for generations because of its strength, longevity and aesthetics. It can be worked, dressed and carved to express the intent and inspiration of architect, sculptor and mason. Crucial to the understanding of a stone building is knowledge of how it is constructed, how the components are crafted together and how this intricate combination of the parts contributes to the final aesthetic and artistic qualities.
Exemplary stone repair requires specialist knowledge of materials and methods. This project provides some practical information for Northern Ireland to the custodians of our heritage and those that work to restore and conserve them. However, it has been widely recognised that there is a lack of information for stone conservation and any information that does exist is not available in one place.
The Natural Stone Database Project is a first step in addressing some of the lack of information for stone conservation in Northern Ireland. The project is a unique partnership between industry and research in Northern Ireland that combines the research knowledge of the Stone Weathering Research Group at Queen's (Professor Bernard Smith) with the extensive practical experience of Consarc Design Group (Dawson Stelfox MBE).
The project comprised an extensive two and a half year programme of surveying, stone sampling and analysis which was used to produce an interactive, database of listed buildings, monuments and stone quarries 'The Natural Stone Database' and 'Guidance Notes' for the Environment and Heritage Service of Northern Ireland.
Downloads
Project Team
An Industry-Research Partnership of a leading architectural practice - Consarc Design Group and Queen's University Belfast. The project has produced a database (GIS and web-based) which is the culmination of a 2 and a half year programme of surveying of buildings and monuments, stone analysis and testing and practical experience.
Consarc Design Group
- Dawson Stelfox Project Director
- Joanne Curran Project Manager
- John Savage Technical Support
- Mark Francis Surveyor
Queen's University Belfast
- Prof Bernard Smith Project Director
- Dr Patricia Warke Academic Support
- Catherine Adamson Technician
The Geological Survey
also provided support to the project:- Dr Ian Mitchell Academic Support
- Alex Donald Technical Support
Functionality of the website
The main navigation from the Home Page provides access to the three main Functional Modules of the website:
Stone Types
Information is provided for the main building stones used throughout Northern Ireland
These are categorised under the following main categories:
Each 'Stone Type' provides information on that building stone and examples of local and imported varieties.
Click Here for more information on Stone Identification
Buildings
The stone database project surveyed 1800 listed stone buildings and 260 monuments throughout Northern Ireland. The Buildings sub-categories of navigation are:
Each 'Buildings' page provides:
The 'Building Stone Information Panel' of each page provides
| Primary Stone Type: | identifies the building stone used for the majority of the stonework | ||||||||
| Secondary Stone Type: | identifies the building stone used for dressings, window surrounds carved detail etc. | ||||||||
| Other Stone Type: | lists any other stone types used | ||||||||
| Replacement Stone: | indicates if replacement stone has been used and when possible this is identified | ||||||||
| Stonework Construction: | a brief description of how the stonework was built | ||||||||
| Stonework Construction: | a brief description of how the stonework was built | ||||||||
| Stonework Condition: | a brief description of the condition of the stonework overall | ||||||||
| Condition Assessment (QUB): | The extent of stone weathering is listed between Stages 1 to 4 | ||||||||
| Condition Assessment (QUB) | |||||||||
| The condition survey of each building and monument follows the protocols set out in the 'Staging System' method for stone assessment developed by Dr. Patricia Warke at Queen's University. This common assessment method of stone facades provides a base-line record of the stonework condition against which to monitor further progress and provide an early warning of the need for any future remedial action. For more information please see ('RECORDING STONE DECAY' PDF) | |||||||||
| A survey provides an indication of the overall Condition Assessment of the stonework of each building is listed from: Stage 1 (best condition) to Stage 4 (poorest condition). Stages 1 to 4 are described in the table below. Each elevation of the façade is surveyed according to the 'Staging System' which records and assesses the type, nature and extent of weathering of the stonework (full survey sheets are located in EHS). The extent of stone weathering is classified according to a 'Stage' - 1, 2, 3 or 4 (Stage 1 best condition to Stage 4 poorest condition) as described in the Table below. The stage for each elevation is then averaged for the building or monument to give an overall score. | |||||||||
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Search 'Buildings' Facility
Users have the facility to search for buildings using the following mechanisms
Search results will return a list of buildings which match the criteria (Building Name, Thumbnail Image and Brief Description). When the building is selected full details will be displayed.
Quarries will be accessible via the main navigation and segmented by County (predetermined within the database) and alphabetically within each county.
Quarries
The sub-categories of navigation are:
Each 'Quarry' Page provides
