Shap Granite

Shap Granite is Devonian in age (417 to 354 million years old) and is still periodically quarried near Shap, Cumbria. It is a very distinctive granite used for decorative work throughout the UK, often with a polished finish. Shap is rich in feldspar, mica and quartz but has very distinctive large porphyritic crystals of pink orthoclase feldspar which can be up to 5 or 6 cm in length, occasionally xenoliths are also present. Two varieties exist, dark Shap which is brownish red with black and grey colouration, and light Shap which is mainly pink and grey.