In Northern Ireland the full range of rock types (igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic) have been used as building stone since Neolithic times. As transport systems developed in the 19th and 20th centuries, stone was moved further around the country as well as being shipped in from further a field for construction of the more prestigious buildings such as town halls, churches and banks. Belfast's built heritage has a full range of Scottish Carboniferous sandstones and English Jurassic limestones used from the mid-19th Century.
The Geology Map and Key (supplied by Geological Survey of Northern Ireland) provide a simplified geology of Northern Ireland and the Table summarised the main rock types used as building stone in Northern Ireland that is referred to in the website.
