Spreadsheet: 0af622bb-8cb5-4110-bde0-bd2f5e1ae49f
Sheet: Stones

BUILDING_STONE_ID | STONE_NAME | PARENT BUILDING STONE  ID | ALTERNATIVE_NAMES | [NAME] | COLOUR | COLOUR_VARIATION | WEATHERED COLOUR | LITHOSTRATIGRAPHY | CHRONOSTRAT | STONE_LITHOLOGY | GRAIN_SIZE | [NAME] | KEY_IDENTIFICATION_FEATURES | FAILURE_WEATHERING | CONTEXT_OF_USE | LOCALITY_OF_USE | DATE_COMPILED | COMPILED_BY | MINERAL PLANNING AREA | English Heritage Atlas Area | SOURCE_OF_INFO | retrieval_date
3301 | Cobbles | 1 |  | Cobbles in Boulder Clay. Pebbles and cobbles could easily be dug out of the plentiful exposures of boulder clay which blanket much of Greater Manchester. They could also be easily extracted from nearby stream and river beds. |  | Variable | Varies | TILL, DEVENSIAN | PLEISTOCENE [OBSOLETE CODE: USE QP] | COBBLES | Pebble to Cobble grade | The pebbles and cobbles are removed from the sedimentary environment in which they were deposited. The cobbles themselves can show a range of structures depending on their rock type and origin. Igneous ones for example may show characteristic crystals such as the large pink orthoclase feldspar crystals of the Shap Granite. | Pleistocene cobbles can be distinguished by the fact that it’s possible to find a range of different rock types that do not match the bedrock of the area. They are called erratics and have often travelled considerable distances in glaciers from their original source, before being dumped when the ice melted. Erratics of Shap Granite from the Lake District for example can often be found in the Greater Manchester area. | Weathering depends on the type of pebbles and cobbles used. Many of the igneous, crystalline cobbles are often quite hard and resistant. | Widely used to construct cobbled yards adjacent to old buildings and also paths and early roadways. The surviving cobbled section of Stockport Market associated with Staircase House could possibly also contain Pleistocene pebbles and cobbles. | Extensively used throughout Greater Manchester to construct yards alongside old buildings and in some cases paths and roadways. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Fieldwork | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3302 | Sherwood Sandstone | 1 | Bunter Pebble Beds | Red pebbly sandstones | RED |  | Red | SHERWOOD SANDSTONE GROUP | TRIASSIC | PEBBLY SANDSTONE |  | Current bedding |  |  | Walling |  | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | D Cameron | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3303 | Lower Keuper Sandstone | 3302 | [NAME] | Sandstone-dominated, with sporadic conglomerates, particularly towards the base, and siltstones. Typically coarse grained at base then fine to medium grained. Grains often angular to subangular. Abundant rounded ‘millet seed’ grains. Can contain lots of mica. | RED | Mottled | Red | HELSBY SANDSTONE FORMATION | TRIASSIC | PEBBLY SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Current bedding. This can be trough, lenticular and planar. Ripple lamination also seen and sun cracks. Erosive base to thick sandstone layers and associated conglomerates. A variety of exotic and probably locally derived clasts within the conglomerates. Clasts include quartzites, basic igneous rock, grits, quartz, rolled pellets of marl. Some pebbles are 4 inches long. Red and green zoned mudballs. Worm casts and burrows seen on some layers. At Alderley Edge this rock also shows many needle-like barytes crystals. Malachite also appears between grains in some areas and the rock is cut  by mineralised veins with malachite and other copper based ores which have been mined apparently since Roman times. | Strong red, cross bedded sandstone, although there can be softer horizons. Conglomerates at base of sandstones show a variety of different clasts such as quartzite, basic igneous rocks, grits and quartz. Some pebbles are 4 inches long. Thick sandstone units separated by chocolate coloured mica rich shales. The higher beds become more flaggy with interbedded shales and siltstones becoming more dominant. | Can be variation in the cementation of grains so that some horizons are softer and friable and not good for building stone yet at other horizons the grains are strongly cemented, in places by silica, and make good building stone. | Can produce good quality building stone. Manchester Museum’s catalogued building stone collection included an example of red [NAME], as it was named. Catalogue notes also listed grey and flecked varieties. Cheadle church is thought to have been sourced from this rock at Alderley Edge. Other sources also refer to a Finlow’s building stone worked at the Finlow’s Hill and [NAME] quarries near Alderley Edge supplying building stone for [NAME], Didsbury Church, Wilmslow Church and [NAME]. Can be cut into ashlar, lintels, sills, steps, gateposts. [NAME] at Tiperley probably supplied material for local buildings, including tghose on [NAME] estate. | Exposures along South Manchester/ North Cheshire border. Prominent exposure at Alderley Edge that was quarried to supply building stone both locally and further afield within Greater Manchester. Also well-known quarry at Timperley. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Fieldwork , Taylor B J et al 1963. Geology of the Country around Stockport and Knutsford. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 98 (England and Wales). Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). Broadhurst, F M et al. The area around Manchester. Geologists Association Guide No. 7, 1970 , Eagar, R M C and Broadhurst, F M, Geology of the Manchester Area, Geologists Association Guide, No. 7, 1991 | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3304 | Upper Mottled Sandstone | 3302 |  | Soft red cross bedded sandstone | RED | Mottled | Red | WILMSLOW SANDSTONE FORMATION | TRIASSIC | SANDSTONE | Fine-grained | Current bedding. Ripple lamination. Abundant rounded ‘millet seed’ sand grains. Dewatering structures. | Red, cross bedded sandstone. In the Greater Manchester area it can be difficult to distinguish from the Bunter Pebble Beds(now called Chester Pebble Beds) due to the lack of pebbles in the Bunter Pebble Beds in this area. | Can weather with a pale grey colour, possibly biofilms across the surface. Can be mottled yellow and red Often quite soft but around faults the sandstone is often better cemented and harder and more suitable for building stone. | Reputed to be the source rock for the Hanging Bridge Scheduled Monument, but would need analysis to prove or disprove this. The Hanging Bridge has thin banded layers of alternate red and grey sandstone. Could also be source of stones used at Roman Fort at Castlefield, [NAME] although this could also be from the Bunter Pebble Beds which due to the lack of pebbles can be hard to distinguish. | Simpson & Broadhurst (2008) suggest it was exposed in Manchester City Centre and used to build ancient structures such as the Hanging Bridge near [NAME]; and the Roman fort at Castlefield. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Fieldwork , Taylor B J et al 1963. Geology of the Country around Stockport and Knutsford. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 98 (England and Wales).  Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). Broadhurst, F M et al. The area around Manchester, Geologists Association Guide No. 7, 1970. , [NAME], R M C and Broadhurst F M, Geology of the Manchester Area, Geologists Association Guide No. 7, 1991. | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3305 | Bunter Pebble Beds | 3302 |  | Soft red cross-bedded sandstone | RED | Uniform | Red | CHESTER PEBBLE BEDS FORMATION | TRIASSIC | SANDSTONE | Coarse-grained | Well developed current bedding. Ripple lamination. Contains sparse pebbles, a few are around 7 inches long but usually smaller with inch long pebbles being a more common size.   Horizons of rounded ‘[NAME] seed’ grains. Along the banks of the river Irwell north of Salford scattered pebbles of quartzite are seen. Red marl pellets also seen at some horizons in Stockport exposures. In general pebbles are sparse and occur sporadically or along bedding planes. Varieties of pebbles most commonly include grey and liver coloured quartzites and white, yellow and pink vein quartz. Occasional pebbles of granite, felsite, mica schist, chert and sandstone. | Although called the Pebble Beds the rock in Greater Manchester does not contain as many pebbles as exposures in the Midlands. This makes it more difficult to distinguish it in this area from other red sandstones of the Permian and Triassic.  The norm is sandstone with rare and scattered pebbles. Dull red sandstone as compared to the bright foxy red Collyhurst Sandstone. | The rock can sometimes appear pale green where biofilms have grown across the surface. At some locations within the excavated tunnels in Stockport there are patches of lime rich deposits which have come out of solution, forming crusts on the tunnel wall. Occasional orange patches can be seen. | This rock has been extensively tunnelled at Stockport. Many dwellings and commercial buildings have excavated into the stone to provide cellars, storage space etc. More recently extensive air raid shelters have been cut into the rock. Numerous channels have also been cut to carry water for industrial purposes. Stone for the earliest part of [NAME] church, Stockport, could have been quarried from this stone; as could that of the long-demolished [NAME], and the plinth and footings of nearby medieval Staircase House. In city centre [NAME] there are also numerous tunnels, some of which are water collection galleries. It also could be the foundation stones for the railway viaduct close to the Rochdale Canal on Deansgate, [NAME]. As it occurs within a lowland area, historically it would have been used a plinth material for timber-framed buildings. It has also been used as a moulding sand for industry. | Forms rockhead beneath lower part of Manchester embayment, including city centre, much of Salford, Trafford and Stockport. Surface exposures only occur in Irwell, [NAME], and Mersey valleys, where it seems to have been quarried on a small scale. Exposures within the centre of Manchester such as along Rochdale Canal at Deansgate Tunnel, Castlefield; and in Stockport in the valleys of the Mersey and Tin Brook, where cellars and tunnels have been cut into it. Fresh exposures can be seen where it is cut by the M60 motorway north of Stockport, and also within the gorge of the river Mersey nearby. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Fieldwork , Taylor B J et al 1963. Geology of the Country around Stockport and Knutsford. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 98 (England and Wales). Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3306 | Collyhurst Sandstone | 1 | Lower Permian Sandstone | A soft red sandstone with abundant beds of "millet seed" sand grains alternating with beds of fine-grained sharp sand; some interbedded grey sandstones locally. | RED | Mottled | Red | COLLYHURST SANDSTONE FORMATION | PERMIAN | SANDSTONE | Fine-grained | Current bedding. Layers of frosted ‘[NAME] seed’ sand grains alternating with fine-grained sharp sand. Can contain some quartz pebbles in a conglomerate layer towards its base, together with fragments of the underlying Coal Measure rocks. Bedding planes, rather than current bedding planes, marked out by long white or coloured bands or lines. The layer of breccia or conglomerate that can occur between the top of the Collyhurst Sandstone and the base of the Manchester Marls has been seen at Stockport and also in the river Irk exposures near Collyhurst. This layer is thin, less than a metre thick, with subangular and rounded fragments of rock embedded in a course sandy matrix. | This rock is characteristically soft, poorly cemented and bright foxy red. In the Stockport area in particular it can be hard to distinguish from the Bunter Pebble Beds which also outcrop within Stockport Town Centre as the Bunter Pebble Beds are the same colour, and in this area do not contain many pebbles. The Collyhurst Sandstone tends to occupy the low ground around its outcrop along the [NAME] and [NAME] whereas the Bunter Pebble Beds form a prominent hill at Stockport, overlooking the river Mersey on which Stockport Castle once stood, suggesting it is more strongly cemented and resistant than the Collyhurst Sandstone. The Collyhurst Sandstone can sometimes be distinguished from the younger Permian and Triassic rocks above it, which are all generally red, by the fact that its base can be very irregular as it lies directly above the unconformity between the very different older [NAME] rocks below, the sediments which now form the Collyhurst Sandstone essentially filling in the ancient erosion surface. The Collyhurst Sandstone is also overlain by the Manchester Marl. Where the Marl is present this can help to distinguish it from the younger red sandstones. This [NAME] can contain layers of gypsum, as along river [NAME] near Woodbank Park, Stockport. Sometimes there is also a layer of conglomerate or breccia at the top of the Collyhurst Sandstone and the base of the Manchester Marls. | The rock is poorly cemented. it is an excellent aquifer but this allows the water to infiltrate the rock, making it vulnerable to freeze-thaw on exposed saturated surfaces. The rock can sometimes appear pale green where biofilms have grown across the surface. | Exposures at Collyhurst and elsewhere were popular as a moulding sand, particularly for iron foundaries. As yet no examples have been found of it being used as an actual building stone, probably because it tends to be too soft and poorly cemented. | Once exposed and quarried along the river Irk at the Collyhurst area of Manchester City Centre. Also exposures along the river Goyt from [NAME] downstream towards centre of Stockport, where the river [NAME] meets the riverTame, becoming the Mersey. Exposures upstream along the river Tame close to Reddish and [NAME]. Also Droylsden. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Fieldwork , Taylor B J et al 1963. Geology of the Country around Stockport and Knutsford. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 98 (England and Wales). Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3307 | Coal Measures sandstones | 1 | Carboniferous Sandstone | Sandstone |  |  |  | PENNINE COAL MEASURES GROUP | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | ? | [NAME] | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | D Cameron | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3308 | Upper Coal Measures sandstones | 3307 |  | Sandstone |  |  |  | PENNINE [NAME] [NAME] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | ? | [NAME] | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | D Cameron | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3309 | Openshaw Sandstone | 3308 | [NAME] | Dark reddish brown sandstone and subordinate mudstone. On a geological map published in 1929 an exposure of Openshaw Sandstone close to Collyhurst is marked as a hard reddish sandstone. ? No longer exposures and not mentioned in records. | DARK-BROWN | Uniform | Dark Red Brown | OPENSHAW SANDSTONE | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  | Known from borehole data to be interbedded with chocolate coloured shales | Occurs above the Openshaw coal seam. The Openshaw Sandstone is associated with layers of red and grey shales above. Also interbedded with layers of chocolate coloured shales. |  | Described by [NAME] as outcropping along the river Medlock where the canal aqueduct crosses. This is possibly why the rock is also referred to by early geologists such as [NAME], who had earlier surveyed the river exposures, as Aqueduct Rock. At this location the Openshaw Sandstone was seen immediately overlying the Openshaw coal seam. As yet no direct reference to it being used as building stone has been found. | Historical records suggest it was exposed along the banks of the river Medlock, close to the canal aqueduct in what is now the Bradford district of East Manchester, close to the city centre. River and stream exposures such as this probably helped to direct the location of  early quarrying as the area is largely covered in Drift and the bedrock mostly obscured. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield, Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). [NAME], E W Observations on the Lancashire and [NAME] with a section, Transactions of the Manchester Geological Society, Vol 1, pages 67-79, 1841., Geological map, Lancashire sheet 104 NE Solid Geology, Scale 1: 10,560, 1923 edition, published 1929, held in collection at Urban Vision, Eccles. | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3310 | [NAME] | 3308 | Collyhurst Stone | Sandstone, cross-bedded, brown or yellow, rarely purplish, with subordinate beds of mudstone and sandy mudstone | PURPLE | Uniform | Purple | [NAME] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Cross bedding occurs in the Worsley Delf Rock and the Collyhurst stone is thought to belong to the Worsley Delf Rock so may also have shown cross bedding. | Can be distinguished from the Permian Collyhurst Sandstone by the fact that the older Carboniferous Collyhurst Stone is much harder. For this reason it also makes a better building stone. The Permian Collyhurst Sandstone in contrast  is poorly cemented and soft and was popular as a moulding sand for industrial uses, particularly by iron foundaries. The Collyhurst Sandstone also has a bright foxy red colour whereas the Collyhurst Stone is more of a dark red/purple colour. | The rock has been replaced on some of the old buildings it was used to construct, suggesting that it is not resistant to weathering. | The type quarry is at the origin of the Bridgewater Canal in [NAME]; it appears to occur on structures along the Bridgewater Canal, including the aquaducts at Barton, Cuthole, Barford and Bollin. | Within [NAME] village, Salford, also exposed and quarried along the river Irk at Collyhurst in what is now part of Manchester city centre. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | M Fletcher | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield, Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales) | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3311 | Collyhurst Stone | 3310 | [NAME] | In the exposures from the river Irk the rock is known from past descriptions and fieldwork in Victorian times to be a dark purple colour. | PURPLE | Uniform | Purple | [NAME] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Cross bedding occurs in the Worsley Delf Rock and the Collyhurst stone is thought to belong to the Worsley Delf Rock so may also have shown cross bedding. | Can be distinguished from the Permian Collyhurst Sandstone by the fact that the older Carboniferous Collyhurst Stone is much harder. For this reason it also makes a better building stone. The Permian Collyhurst Sandstone in contrast  is poorly cemented and soft and was popular as a moulding sand for industrial uses, particularly by iron foundaries. The Collyhurst Sandstone also has a bright foxy red colour whereas the Collyhurst Stone is more of a dark red/purple colour. | The rock has been replaced on some of the old buildings it was used to construct, suggesting that it is not resistant to weathering. | Exposures along the river Irk are no longer exposed but the rock can be seen in parts of the old buildings within city centre [NAME] that it was used to construct. Parts of [NAME], St Annes’s Church and Chetham’s College are thought to be built from this stone with mining at least from Medieval times. This rock however does not weather well and has had to be replaced in some cases, for example [NAME] church with other types of sandstone from outside the area. | Exposures along the river Irk at Collyhurst in what is now part of Manchester city centre are reputed to have been the source of building stone for some of the city of [NAME] early buildings such as [NAME], Cheetham’s College and [NAME]. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON  Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield, Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). [NAME], E W Observations on the Lancashire and [NAME] with a section, Transactions of the Manchester Geological Society, Vol 1, pages 67-79, 1841., [NAME] paper. Hicklings borehole book, GM RIGS records | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3312 | Mr [NAME]'s Collyhurst Rock | 3310 | Collyhurst Stone | Sandstone, cross-bedded, brown or yellow, rarely purplish, with subordinate beds of mudstone and sandy mudstone | PURPLE | Uniform | Purple | [NAME] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Cross bedding occurs in the Worsley Delf Rock and the Collyhurst stone is thought to belong to the Worsley Delf Rock so may also have shown cross bedding. | Can be distinguished from the Permian Collyhurst Sandstone by the fact that the older Carboniferous Collyhurst Stone is much harder. For this reason it also makes a better building stone. The Permian Collyhurst Sandstone in contrast  is poorly cemented and soft and was popular as a moulding sand for industrial uses, particularly by iron foundaries. The Collyhurst Sandstone also has a bright foxy red colour whereas the Collyhurst Stone is more of a dark red/purple colour. | The rock has been replaced on some of the old buildings it was used to construct, suggesting that it is not resistant to weathering. | Exposures along the river Irk are no longer exposed but the rock can be seen in parts of the old buildings within city centre [NAME] that it was used to construct. Parts of [NAME], St Annes’s Church and Chetham’s College are thought to be built from this stone with mining at least from Medieval times. This rock however does not weather well and has had to be replaced in some cases, for example [NAME] church with other types of sandstone from outside the area. | Exposures along the river Irk at Collyhurst in what is now part of Manchester city centre are reputed to have been the source of building stone for some of the city of [NAME] early buildings such as [NAME], Cheetham’s College and [NAME]. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON  Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield, Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). [NAME], E W Observations on the Lancashire and [NAME] with a section, Transactions of the Manchester Geological Society, Vol 1, pages 67-79, 1841., [NAME] paper. Hicklings borehole book, GM RIGS records | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3313 | Appleton's [NAME] | 3310 | [NAME] | Sandstone, cross-bedded, brown or yellow, rarely purplish, with subordinate beds of mudstone and sandy mudstone | PURPLE | Uniform | Purple | [NAME] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Cross bedding occurs in the Worsley Delf Rock and the Collyhurst stone is thought to belong to the Worsley Delf Rock so may also have shown cross bedding. | Can be distinguished from the Permian Collyhurst Sandstone by the fact that the older Carboniferous Collyhurst Stone is much harder. For this reason it also makes a better building stone. The Permian Collyhurst Sandstone in contrast  is poorly cemented and soft and was popular as a moulding sand for industrial uses, particularly by iron foundaries. The Collyhurst Sandstone also has a bright foxy red colour whereas the Collyhurst Stone is more of a dark red/purple colour. | The rock has been replaced on some of the old buildings it was used to construct, suggesting that it is not resistant to weathering. | Exposures along the river Irk are no longer exposed but the rock can be seen in parts of the old buildings within city centre [NAME] that it was used to construct. Parts of [NAME], St Annes’s Church and Chetham’s College are thought to be built from this stone with mining at least from Medieval times. This rock however does not weather well and has had to be replaced in some cases, for example [NAME] church with other types of sandstone from outside the area. | Exposures along the river Irk at Collyhurst in what is now part of Manchester city centre are reputed to have been the source of building stone for some of the city of [NAME] early buildings such as [NAME], Cheetham’s College and [NAME]. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON  Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield, Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). [NAME], E W Observations on the Lancashire and [NAME] with a section, Transactions of the Manchester Geological Society, Vol 1, pages 67-79, 1841., [NAME] paper. Hicklings borehole book, GM RIGS records | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3314 | [NAME] | 3310 | [NAME] | Sandstone, cross-bedded, brown or yellow, rarely purplish, with subordinate beds of mudstone and sandy mudstone | PURPLE | Uniform | Purple | [NAME] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Cross bedding occurs in the Worsley Delf Rock and the Collyhurst stone is thought to belong to the Worsley Delf Rock so may also have shown cross bedding. | Can be distinguished from the Permian Collyhurst Sandstone by the fact that the older Carboniferous Collyhurst Stone is much harder. For this reason it also makes a better building stone. The Permian Collyhurst Sandstone in contrast  is poorly cemented and soft and was popular as a moulding sand for industrial uses, particularly by iron foundaries. The Collyhurst Sandstone also has a bright foxy red colour whereas the Collyhurst Stone is more of a dark red/purple colour. | The rock has been replaced on some of the old buildings it was used to construct, suggesting that it is not resistant to weathering. | Exposures along the river Irk are no longer exposed but the rock can be seen in parts of the old buildings within city centre [NAME] that it was used to construct. Parts of [NAME], St Annes’s Church and Chetham’s College are thought to be built from this stone with mining at least from Medieval times. This rock however does not weather well and has had to be replaced in some cases, for example [NAME] church with other types of sandstone from outside the area. | Historical records suggest it was exposed along the banks of the river Medlock, close to the canal aqueduct in what is now the Bradford district of East Manchester, close to the city centre. River and stream exposures such as this probably helped to direct the location of  early quarrying as the area is largely covered in Drift and the bedrock mostly obscured. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON  Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield, Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). [NAME], E W Observations on the Lancashire and [NAME] with a section, Transactions of the Manchester Geological Society, Vol 1, pages 67-79, 1841., [NAME] paper. Hicklings borehole book, GM RIGS records | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3315 | [NAME] | 3310 | [NAME] | Sandstone, cross-bedded, brown or yellow, rarely purplish, with subordinate beds of mudstone and sandy mudstone | PURPLE | Uniform | Purple | [NAME] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Cross bedding occurs in the Worsley Delf Rock and the Collyhurst stone is thought to belong to the Worsley Delf Rock so may also have shown cross bedding. | Can be distinguished from the Permian Collyhurst Sandstone by the fact that the older Carboniferous Collyhurst Stone is much harder. For this reason it also makes a better building stone. The Permian Collyhurst Sandstone in contrast  is poorly cemented and soft and was popular as a moulding sand for industrial uses, particularly by iron foundaries. The Collyhurst Sandstone also has a bright foxy red colour whereas the Collyhurst Stone is more of a dark red/purple colour. | The rock has been replaced on some of the old buildings it was used to construct, suggesting that it is not resistant to weathering. | Exposures along the river Irk are no longer exposed but the rock can be seen in parts of the old buildings within city centre [NAME] that it was used to construct. Parts of [NAME], St Annes’s Church and Chetham’s College are thought to be built from this stone with mining at least from Medieval times. This rock however does not weather well and has had to be replaced in some cases, for example [NAME] church with other types of sandstone from outside the area. | Exposures along the River Irk at Collyhurst in what is now part of Manchester city centre are reputed to have been the source of building stone for some of the city of [NAME] early buildings such as [NAME], Cheetham’s College and [NAME]. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON  Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield, Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). [NAME], E W Observations on the Lancashire and [NAME] with a section, Transactions of the Manchester Geological Society, Vol 1, pages 67-79, 1841., [NAME] paper. Hicklings borehole book, GM RIGS records | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3316 | Middle Coal Measures Sandstones | 3307 |  | Sandstone |  |  |  | PENNINE MIDDLE COAL MEASURES [NAME] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | ? | [NAME] | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | D Cameron | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3317 | Newton Heath Sandstone | 3316 | Smedley Grit | Sandstone, cross-bedded, brown or yellow, rarely purplish, with subordinate beds of mudstone and sandy mudstone | PURPLE | Uniform | Purple | NEWTON HEATH SANDSTONE | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Described as Smedley Grit by Hull who also mentions that it has been quarried ‘opposite Mount House’ alongside the river Irk. | Geological memoir by Tonks et al. suggest that the Smedley Grit and the Newton Heath Sandstone are the same. If this is the case then the exposures of the Smedley Grit along the river Irk near Smedley, close to Collyhurst were recorded as being quarried. This is now part of Manchester city centre and largely built over. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, [NAME], [NAME] | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3318 | Smedley Grit | 3317 |  | Sandstone, cross-bedded, brown or yellow, rarely purplish, with subordinate beds of mudstone and sandy mudstone | PURPLE | Uniform | Purple | NEWTON HEATH SANDSTONE | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Described as Smedley Grit by Hull who also mentions that it has been quarried ‘opposite Mount House’ alongside the river Irk. | Geological memoir by Tonks et al. suggest that the Smedley Grit and the Newton Heath Sandstone are the same. If this is the case then the exposures of the Smedley Grit along the river Irk near Smedley, close to Collyhurst were recorded as being quarried. This is now part of Manchester city centre and largely built over. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, [NAME], [NAME] | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3319 | Nob End Rock | 3316 |  | Sandstone, cross-bedded | RED | Uniform | Purple, brown | NOB END ROCK | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Fine-grained | Cross-bedding visible | Contains red shaly partings | Weathering results in spalling of rock face | Walling stone only; probably used in Radcliffe Tower, Church & Tithe Barn; and in Blackford Old Bridge to east | [NAME] and Irwell gorge area to west, main quarry near Radcliffe Bridge, also to east of [NAME], [NAME] | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON; fieldwork; Tonks, L H et al 1931.  The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of England & Wales (Sheet 85), HMSO; | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3320 | [NAME] | 3316 |  | Sandstone, cross-bedded, also lenticular bedded, grey or white. | WHITE | Uniform | [NAME]-yellow | [NAME] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Fine-grained | Fairly uniform, occasional cross-bedding visible. | Local development of ironstone conglomerate and 'clay galls', bright red shale or marl pellets, long axes parallel to bedding. Also, the seeds [NAME] occur in great abundance. |  | Good quality ashlar stone, also large blocks won as engine beds. Some beds are quite soft and are quarried for ‘rubbing stones’ rather than building stone. | Walkden (Salford), [NAME] ([NAME]), and [NAME] ([NAME]) areas. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON; fieldwork; Tonks, L H et al 1931.  The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of England & Wales (Sheet 85), HMSO; | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3321 | Pemberton Rock | 3316 |  | A yellow, cross-bedded sandstone, with subordinate mudstone | GREY | Variable | Yellow, [NAME] | PEMBERTON ROCK | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  | Erosive base with associated conglomerate containing ironstone nodules and brecciated shales. Current bedded and also lenticular bedding. Interbedded layers of shales. Small ferruginous concretions common at certain levels. Fossil plant remains found near base. also some carbonaceous flaggy beds seen towards base. | Can show rapid various variation in thickness within a relatively short distance. The rock is frequently represented by several bands of sandstone separated by shales. | Contains occasional shaly weathering beds. |  | Quarried around the Pemberton area where the rock reaches a maximum thickness of 200 feet. Type locality is old quarry 500 yards NE of Pemberton station. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, [NAME], R C B et al 1936. [NAME] district, Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 84 (England and Wales). , Conversations in December 2010 with [NAME], former curator of the Lancashire Mining Museum 1985-2000 | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3322 | Bardsley Rock | 3316 |  | At outcrop it forms high ground and high river cliffs at Park Bridge and Bardsley Bridge along the Medlock Valley, suggesting that it is quite a hard resistant rock. | RED | Uniform | Red | BARDSLEY ROCK | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Generally massive towards base but also showing current bedding, passing upwards into partings of red sandy mudstone. The erosive base often contains heamatite nodules. Horizons containing abundant fossil [NAME] seeds are associated with this rock. | [NAME] seeds are often found associated with this rock which leads some geologists to think it may be linked with the Peel Hall Rock to the west of Greater Manchester which also shows abundant [NAME] seeds. | The haematite nodules tend to weather out more easily than the surrounding rock. | Where current bedding is well developed and shale partings become more common this limits its use as a freestone. The more massive beds within it have more potential as building stone. Possible source of rock for Bardsley House, Oldham, which is close to outcrop. | Exposed along the western flank of the Medlock valley between Park Bridge and Bardsley Bridge close to the Oldham/ Tameside border. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Fieldwork,  Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield, Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). Greater Manchester RIGS records. | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3323 | Huncliffe Rock | 3316 | [NAME] | Like the Chamber Rock and the Bardsley Rock it also weakens by the incoming of shale in a southerly direction. The shale partings are noticable at it’s southern exposures along the river [NAME] at Haughton Green, Tameside. | RED | Variable | Red | HUNCLIFFE ROCK | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | The sandstone can contain shaly partings and red [NAME]. | Characteristically red which has in the past led to it being confused with Bardsley Rock at some exposures of what are now thought to be Bardsley Rock near Park Bridge on Tameside/Oldham border. No records of it containing the abundant fossil [NAME] seeds that the Bardsley Rock contains. | The red marl nodules tend to be softer than the surrounding sandstone and weather out more easily. | [NAME] appears to be a stone that would be quarried and used locally close to outcrop rather than being widely exported like some of the other sandstones within Greater Manchester. Also the shale partings limit it’s use as a building stone. | Exposures along the Medlock Valley around the Park Bridge Area close to the Oldham/Tameside border. Also exposures along the Tame Valley near Haughton Green. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON , Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield, Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3324 | [NAME] | 3323 | Huncliffe Rock | Like the Chamber Rock and the Bardsley Rock it also weakens by the incoming of shale in a southerly direction. The shale partings are noticable at it’s southern exposures along the river [NAME] at Haughton Green, Tameside. | RED | Variable | Red | HUNCLIFFE ROCK | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | The sandstone can contain shaly partings and red [NAME]. | Characteristically red which has in the past led to it being confused with Bardsley Rock at some exposures of what are now thought to be Bardsley Rock near Park Bridge on Tameside/Oldham border. No records of it containing the abundant fossil [NAME] seeds that the Bardsley Rock contains. | The red marl nodules tend to be softer than the surrounding sandstone and weather out more easily. | [NAME] appears to be a stone that would be quarried and used locally close to outcrop rather than being widely exported like some of the other sandstones within Greater Manchester. Also the shale partings limit it’s use as a building stone. | Exposures along the Medlock Valley around the Park Bridge Area close to the Oldham/Tameside border. Also exposures along the Tame Valley near Haughton Green. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON , Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield, Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3325 | Lower Coal Measures Sandstones | 3307 |  | Sandstone |  |  |  | PENNINE LOWER COAL MEASURES [NAME] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | ? | [NAME] | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | D Cameron | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3326 | Ravenhead Rock | 3325 |  | Lithologically this rock is very similar to the Cannel and Trencherbone Rocks. However north of [NAME] is more shaly and may weather to a purple colour. Colour on fresh surfaces can vary from white to grey. | GREY | Uniform | Brown, Yellow | RAVENHEAD ROCK | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Erosive base with conglomerate. Conglomerate contains ironstone nodules and angular blocks of shale up to 2 feet in length. Current bedded, flaggy sandstone. Contains shale partings which become more common towards the top. | Lithologically very similar to Cannel and Trencherbone Rocks, but north of [NAME] it is more shaly and may show purplish weathering. | Can weather to a range of colours, usually yellow and brown but sometimes purple. | Quarried along its outcrop in Wigan. | Quarried along its outcrop in Wigan. Exposures along the river [NAME]. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | M Fletcher | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Fieldwork , [NAME], R C B et al 1931. [NAME] district, Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 84 (England and Wales). Conversations with [NAME], former curator of the Lancashire Mining Museum 1985-2000 | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3327 | Chamber Rock | 3325 |  | Well exposed in the flanks of the gorge-like [NAME] and nearby disused quarry. The quarry is cut into the massive part of the rock. Adjacent to the quarry the sandstone is restricted to thin lenses within the siltstone and shales, so is less value as building stone. | GREY | Uniform | Yellow | CHAMBER ROCK | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Current bedding. Drifted fossil plant remains of Lepidodendron and Sigillaria common. | Erosive base with clay ironstone pebbles. Some massive layers of sandstone but upper sandstone layers become lenticular and interbedded with siltstones and shales. | The red clay pellets and ironstone pebbles in the conglomerates at the base of the erosive sandstone layers are softer than the surrounding sandstone and weather out leaving voids in the rock. | The lenticular nature and the rock limits its use as a freestone. Used as building stone for some of the farmsteads around Park Bridge industrial hamlet, Ashton under Lyne. Also used for local walling. | Once exposed and quarried close to Oldham town centre and still exposed along the Medlock Valley at Rocher Vale between Oldham and Tameside where it was also quarried and used. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON; Fieldwork; Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). [NAME], W B et al 1927. The Geology of the Rossendale Anticline. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Crofts R G et al 2010. Geology of the Rochdale district. Sheet Explanation of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 ( England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3328 | [NAME] | 3327 | Chamber Rock | Well exposed in the flanks of the gorge-like [NAME] and nearby disused quarry. The quarry is cut into the massive part of the rock. Adjacent to the quarry the sandstone is restricted to thin lenses within the siltstone and shales, so is less value as building stone. | GREY | Uniform | Yellow | CHAMBER ROCK | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Current bedding. Drifted fossil plant remains of Lepidodendron and Sigillaria common. | Erosive base with clay ironstone pebbles. Some massive layers of sandstone but upper sandstone layers become lenticular and interbedded with siltstones and shales. | The red clay pellets and ironstone pebbles in the conglomerates at the base of the erosive sandstone layers are softer than the surrounding sandstone and weather out leaving voids in the rock. | The lenticular nature and the rock limits its use as a freestone. Used as building stone for some of the farmsteads around Park Bridge industrial hamlet, Ashton under Lyne. Also used for local walling. | Once exposed and quarried close to Oldham town centre and still exposed along the Medlock Valley at Rocher Vale between Oldham and Tameside where it was also quarried and used. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON; Fieldwork; Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). [NAME], W B et al 1927. The Geology of the Rossendale Anticline. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Crofts R G et al 2010. Geology of the Rochdale district. Sheet Explanation of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 ( England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3329 | Trencherbone Rock | 3325 |  | The erosive base can cause washouts in the underlying coal. The conglomerate one would expect to see at the base after such erosion is frequently seen at some distance higher than expected. | GREY | Variable | Red, purple, yellow, brown | TRENCHERBONE ROCK | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Current bedding. Can be flaggy. Frequently shows ripple lamination. Can contain many shaly beds particularly North East of Wigan. Erosive base with coal fragments, shale pellets, ironstone nodules up to 2 inches by 1 inch. | Lithologically it is very similar to the Cannel Rock. It can only be distinguished by the fact that it contains soft ferruginous beds. These are exposed around Haigh village. The Trencherbone Rock, like the Cannel Rock also shows a strong red colour in parts of [NAME], Bury and [NAME] particularly where the beds are thick. | Weathers noticably along bedding and joint planes. | Quarried to north of Haigh Village, [NAME]. | Quarried and used around Haigh village in Wigan; and south of Bury Bridge. Also quarried along parts of the Tame Valley near Haughton Green. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Fieldwork,  Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield, Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3330 | Blenfire Rock | 3325 |  | The massive character of the rock is replaced by sandy shale bands. | DARK-RED | Uniform | [NAME] | BLENFIRE ROCK | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained |  | Can be massive and gritty as at the prominent escarpment along Oldham Edge. The dark red/purple colour is also distinctive. Much current bedding. | Weathers to a reddish brown colour. | Forms the prominent escarpment at Oldham Edge, Oldham and has been quarried in this area for local building stone and also for road stone. Quarried along parts of the Tame Valley such as Haughton Green, Denton. At Oldham Edge it is coarse and massive but at other localities the incoming sandy shale bands reduce its use as a building stone. | Forms the prominent escarpment along Oldham Edge where it has also been quarried. Also forms the high ground at Glodwick Lows in Oldham. Exposures along the flanks of the Medlock valley at Rocher Vale on the Oldham/Tameside boundary. Exposures along the [NAME] valley at Haughton Green near Denton in Tameside have also been quarried. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Fieldwork, Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3331 | Cannel Rock | 3325 |  | Sandstone, current bedded, with subordinate beds of sandy shale and mudstone, containing ironstones and plant remains. | GREY | Uniform | Red, purple, yellow, brown | CANNEL ROCK (SOUTH LANCASHIRE) | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Can be massive but can also show current bedding and lenticular bedding and can also be flaggy. Irregular lenticular bedding shown in BGS photo of disused quarry at Highfield, beside the [NAME] and [NAME] railway line, 2 miles south of [NAME]. Massive nature shown in BGS photo of Edge Fold Quarry, west of Farnworth. Fireclays are sometimes present within the Cannel Rock, associated with localised erosion. | In the area around [NAME], Bury and [NAME] the rock tends to have a strong red colour, particularly where the beds are thick. | Brown current bedded nature following weathering. Weathering picks out the current bedding planes. On freshly quarried faces the rock appears massive  and grey or white. Can also weather yellow as well as brown. Reported to be more resistant than lower beds, tending to form higher ground around Haigh Park and Blackrod. | A good 'freestone' sawn into door lintels, window sills, and blocks of large size. | West of Farnworth; and in Ainsworth and Bury Bridge areas. Reported as attaining considerable thickness east of West Houghton. Notable use at Edge Fold Quarry, two miles west of Farnworth. Also quarried WNW of Haigh Church in Wigan. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | M Fletcher | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON; fieldwork; Tonks, L H et al 1931.  The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of England & Wales (Sheet 85), HMSO, BGS [NAME] P204479, BGS [NAME] P204478 | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3332 | Old [NAME] | 3325 |  | Sandstone, current bedded, grey, shaly, ripple laminated, with subordinate sandy shales | GREY | Uniform | Grey | OLD [NAME] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Fine-grained | Current bedding and ripple lamination. | Massive and flaggy; conchoidal fracture ? Evenly bedded, rippled mica rich sandstone. Interbedded with sandy shales. | Becomes soft with differential weathering on fissile bedding, splits easily | Quality of this rock for building appears to vary. In some areas such as [NAME] in Bury it is not best quality, worked as blocks and slabs for walling only; also flagstones. In this area it weathered poorly. In contrast it has been used as a quality building stone, sourced from many quarries around Greater Manchester, notably Appley Bridge, [NAME]. An example of this rock from Appley Bridge is in the Manchester Museum building stone collection. Commonly used as building stone and flagstone. At Knott Hill Reservoir in Tameside it was used as building stone and flagstone for the reservoir. The reddened outcrops of this rock in and near the river Goyt at Chadkirk may have been the source of the red sandstone used at Marple Hall as this building is reputed to have been built from rock from the nearby river [NAME]. | Irwell valley north of Bury, north-west and west of Bury; Harwood & Bradshaw north of [NAME]; [NAME] and [NAME] areas. Quarried fairly extensively between [NAME] and Hazelhurst and south of Stalybridge, Tameside. Further south in Stockport, the Old [NAME] which caps Bunkers Hill also has old quarries. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | M Fletcher | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON; fieldwork; Tonks, L H et al 1931.  The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of England & Wales (Sheet 85), HMSO; [NAME]. Geology of the Country around Stockport and Knutsford. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 98 (England and Wales). , Conversations in December 2010 with [NAME], former curator of the Lancashire Mining Museum 1985-2000. | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3333 | [NAME] | 3325 |  | Towards the East with borders of [NAME] they are generally much coarser and massive and less flaggy whereas towards  Upholland near Wigan they are much finer flagstones. | GREY | Uniform | Grey | [NAME] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Fine-grained | Ripple laminated.Some cross bedding. | These flagstones can also have a greenish grey tinge as do the Haslingden Flags. This could confuse the two but the Dyneley [NAME] also show many interbedded mudstone layers. | Differential weathering on fissile bedding | Quarries in the Tameside area supplied roofing flags for Stalybridge. Also quarried for flags around the Upholland area near Wigan where they are called Upholland Flags. | Outcrops between Oldham and Tameside but mainly quarried between [NAME] and Hazelhurst and south of Stalybridge, Tameside along the eastern margins of Greater Manchester, for use as roofing flags. Also exposed between Tottington and Side of the Moor, [NAME] but not as much exploited as along the eastern flanks of Greater Manchester. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area |  | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3334 | Upholland Flags | 3333 | [NAME] | Towards the East with borders of [NAME] they are generally much coarser and massive and less flaggy whereas towards  Upholland near Wigan they are much finer flagstones. | GREY | Uniform | Grey | [NAME] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Fine-grained | Ripple laminated.Some cross bedding. | These flagstones can also have a greenish grey tinge as do the Haslingden Flags. This could confuse the two but the Dyneley [NAME] also show many interbedded mudstone layers. | Differential weathering on fissile bedding | Quarries in the Tameside area supplied roofing flags for Stalybridge. Also quarried for flags around the Upholland area near Wigan where they are called Upholland Flags. | Outcrops between Oldham and Tameside but mainly quarried between [NAME] and Hazelhurst and south of Stalybridge, Tameside along the eastern margins of Greater Manchester, for use as roofing flags. Also exposed between Tottington and Side of the Moor, [NAME] but not as much exploited as along the eastern flanks of Greater Manchester. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area |  | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3335 | Milnrow Sandstone | 3325 |  | The rock was known as Chocolate Drop by some of the builders around the Stockport area as some quarries of this stone in the south of Stockport and just over the border into North Cheshire contain soft, chocolate brown masses within the sandstone. | GREY | Uniform | [NAME] | MILNROW SANDSTONE | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Current bedding, Can be flaggy but also have massive beds. | Shows variation in thickness and character over relatively short distances. Can range from coarse grained and massive to fine grained and flaggy. Often mica rich. Around Milnrow, New Hey in Rochdale and Austerlands in Oldham the Milnrow Sandstone displays a massive, course grained character. | Weathers ochreous. Can contain iron rich masses which weather out and are softer than the surrounding rock. | Quarried extensively around Milnrow area of Rochdale and used as building stone in the older buildings of that area and also in local drystone walls. Also well quarried around Romiley through to [NAME] in Stockport where it has been used for building stone and drystone walling. Rock from [NAME] between [NAME] and [NAME] is known to have been transported for use outside the area  into the 1930’s. Also quarried for stone for road production at Birks quarry. | Extensively quarried and used around the Milnrow area of Rochdale. Extends south east around New Hey, Rochdale and then further south it is well developed on the east and north of Oldham, notably at quarries at Birks Hill, [NAME]. Also well quarried between [NAME] and [NAME] and to the south of Stalybridge, Tameside. Between [NAME] and [NAME] in Stockport there are a cluster of quarries in this rock and quarrying extends further south through quarries passing into North Cheshire around Disley. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C.Johnson | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON ; Fieldwork , Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales).  [NAME], C E N et al 1933. The Geology of the Country around Holmfirth and [NAME]. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 86 (England and Wales). Conversation in October 2010 with [NAME] of Romiley, Stockport, whose father was a Stockport based stone mason. Conversations in October 2010 with [NAME], Stockport based builder since 1952. | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3336 | Crutchman Sandstone | 3325 |  | Sandstone, somewhat shaly, with subordinate coarse and more massive beds. | GREY | Uniform | [NAME] | CRUTCHMAN SANDSTONE [OBSOLETE NAME AND CODE: USE MLRS] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Coarse-grained | Even and well-marked bedding. Current bedding. | Characteristically rich in white mica along bedding planes. | Weathers ochreous, as for Milnrow Sandstone | Primarily valued for flagstones which is reflected in its alternative names as [NAME] and [NAME]. | Doffcocker, west of [NAME]; around Tottington near Bury | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | M Fletcher | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON; fieldwork; Tonks, L H et al 1931  The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of England & Wales (Sheet 85), HMSO; | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3337 | [NAME] | 3325 |  |  |  |  |  | DARWEN FLAGS | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Fine-grained | Often current bedded and ripple laminated. Interbedded with shales. |  |  | Used as flagstone. The current bedding and interbedded shales where they occur can limit its use as a building stone. Noted for being strong flags. | Well developed around the Milnrow area of Rochdale but they don’t extend much further south than Moorside. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | M Fletcher | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, [NAME], W B et al 1927. The Geology of the Rossendale Anticline. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Crofts R G et al 2010. Geology of the Rochdale district. Sheet Explanation of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3338 | Trough Edge End Sandstone | 3325 |  |  |  |  |  | TROUGH EDGE END SANDSTONE | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Fine-grained | Often current bedded and ripple laminated. Interbedded with shales. |  |  | Used as flagstone. The current bedding and interbedded shales where they occur can limit its use as a building stone. Noted for being strong flags. | Well developed around the Milnrow area of Rochdale but they don’t extend much further south than Moorside. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | M Fletcher | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, [NAME], W B et al 1927. The Geology of the Rossendale Anticline. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Crofts R G et al 2010. Geology of the Rochdale district. Sheet Explanation of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3339 | [NAME] | 3325 |  | Generally this rock is massive and coarse grained, particularly in the North East area of Greater Manchester around Rochdale and Oldham but towards the west it splits into two or more sandstone beds separated by shale. The grain size also tends to become fine to medium grained and beds becoming evenly bedded and flaggy. | GREY | Uniform | [NAME] | HELPET EDGE ROCK | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Coarse-grained | Generally massive but also shows cross bedding. Sometimes large scale cross bedding. | Generally a coarse grained, massive sandstone. Below the Helpet Edge Rock is a black shale  containing a marine band, characterised by ‘bullions’ containing uncrushed fossils of Goniatites. |  | In areas such as [NAME], near Oldham it tends to be hard, siliceous and flaggy and so was used for setts. Also used as road aggregate. Its hard siliceous character also made it suitable for reservoir construction. Quarried for building stone in settlements such as Crompton and [NAME], near Ashton under Lyne. | Exposed along Helpet Edge escarpment near New Hey, Rochdale, Crompton Fold and [NAME], Oldham. Also forms high ground on which [NAME] near Ashton under Lyne stands. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Fieldwork, Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3340 | Warmden Sandstone | 3325 |  |  |  |  |  | WARMDEN SANDSTONE | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  | Fine grained and well jointed |  |  | Quarried on small scale at Four Lane Ends, Tottington; no other information | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON; Tonks, L H et al 1931  The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3341 | Great Arc Sandstone | 3325 |  |  |  |  |  | GREAT ARC SANDSTONE | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  |  | Very limited exposures around Bury, no evidence for exploitation | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3342 | Bullion Mine Rock | 3341 | Great Arc Sandstone | Also known as [NAME] to the east of Greater Manchester, around Stalybridge area. | GREY | Uniform | [NAME] | GREAT ARC SANDSTONE | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Fine-grained | Contains drifted plant remains and variable amounts of shaly material. | The Bullion Rock is overlain by the [NAME] coal seam and above this is a marine band containing characteristic ‘bullions’ or calcareous concretions containing well preserved, uncrushed marine fossils. |  |  | Greatest thickness west of [NAME] where it reaches around 50 feet, normally being around 30 feet thick. Of economic value at Side of the Moor north east of [NAME]. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3343 | Woodhead Hill Rock | 3325 |  | Can contain shale partings and sometimes, as at  Compstall in Stockport, the rock is separated into two leafs of sandstone with a 30 foot bed of shale and mudstone inbetween. The Woodhead Hill Rock is known to be thin where the Ousel Nest Grit is known to exist below it. | PALE-GREY | Uniform | [NAME] | WOODHEAD HILL ROCK | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Well developed current bedding. Well jointed. Fresh exposures sometimes show pyrite along joints which soon weathers. Massive coarse grained exposures sometimes show pebbles of quartz. Current bedding can alternate with even bedding. | Can vary greatly in character and grain size within a relatively short distance. Can be massive coarse grained sandstone or fine grained flaggy sandstone. Colour of fresh rock can also vary. Light grey, [NAME] and yellow have been observed. Its base is usually characterised by bands of conglomerate, drifted plant remains and coaly streaks. |  | The well developed current bedding often limits its use as a freestone as it has a tendancy to split along the current bedding planes. Even so it has still been used in various quarries along its outcrop for building stone including ashlar, sills and flagstones. Also used as walling rock, as at Ludworth Moor, and crushed for sand. At quarries such as High Moor in Oldham the rock produces very fine, evenly bedded flagstones, used for building stone, roofing flags, paving flags and walling. | [NAME] east of Boardmans Edge near Brook Bottom. Extends as far west as Bury where, further west it starts to become a shaly sandstone.  Well exposed  south-east of Higher [NAME] where it caps the moors. Extensively quarried at Springhead, Oldham | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON; Fieldwork , Tonks, L H et al 1931  The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales).  [NAME]. Geology of the Country around Stockport and Knutsford. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 98 (England and Wales). Greater Manchester RIGS records, Plan of High Moor Quarries, Saddleworth, Earl of Stamford Estates records, Sept 1881 (Tameside Archives DDS/1745). BGS Photo Archive P204489 and P202560. | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3344 | Soft [NAME] | 3343 | Woodhead Hill Rock | Can contain shale partings and sometimes, as at  Compstall in Stockport, the rock is separated into two leafs of sandstone with a 30 foot bed of shale and mudstone inbetween. The Woodhead Hill Rock is known to be thin where the Ousel Nest Grit is known to exist below it. | PALE-GREY | Uniform | [NAME] | WOODHEAD HILL ROCK | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Well developed current bedding. Well jointed. Fresh exposures sometimes show pyrite along joints which soon weathers. Massive coarse grained exposures sometimes show pebbles of quartz. Current bedding can alternate with even bedding. | Can vary greatly in character and grain size within a relatively short distance. Can be massive coarse grained sandstone or fine grained flaggy sandstone. Colour of fresh rock can also vary. Light grey, [NAME] and yellow have been observed. Its base is usually characterised by bands of conglomerate, drifted plant remains and coaly streaks. |  | The well developed current bedding often limits its use as a freestone as it has a tendancy to split along the current bedding planes. Even so it has still been used in various quarries along its outcrop for building stone including ashlar, sills and flagstones. Also used as walling rock, as at Ludworth Moor, and crushed for sand. At quarries such as High Moor in Oldham the rock produces very fine, evenly bedded flagstones, used for building stone, roofing flags, paving flags and walling. | Woodhead Hill Rock was known as [NAME] in the Saddleworth area of Oldham and maybe beyond | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON; Fieldwork , Tonks, L H et al 1931  The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales).  [NAME]. Geology of the Country around Stockport and Knutsford. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 98 (England and Wales). Greater Manchester RIGS records, Plan of High Moor Quarries, Saddleworth, Earl of Stamford Estates records, Sept 1881 (Tameside Archives DDS/1745). BGS Photo Archive P204489 and P202560. | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3345 | Ousel Nest Grit | 3325 | [NAME] | Gritstone, feldspathic and current bedded, often includes small pebbles; top is finer and more flaggy | WHITE | Uniform | Grey | OUSEL NEST GRIT | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Coarse-grained | Localised planar cross-bedding. | Has a more feldspathic and less quartzose appearance than Rough Rock. Feldspars more opaque and less glassy, Ousel Nest is less vulnerable to weathering. |  | Ashlar, cuts, wallstone, rubble, broken stone, ballast, copings, scapplings, sandstone, washsand, setts, roadstone, pitching, quarry gravel, sills, and steps. | Extensive in [NAME], [NAME], [NAME] and [NAME] areas. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | M Fletcher | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON; fieldwork; Tonks, L H et al 1931  The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of England & Wales (Sheet 85), HMSO; Anderton, Daniel & Thomas, [NAME], Turton & Horrocks Fold, [NAME], Quarry Proprietors and Stone Merchants, Business accounts 1880-1913 (Bolton Archives, ZZ/478); Eagar, R M C & Broadhurst, F M  1991  Geology of the Manchester Area  Geologists’ Association Guide No.7 | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3346 | [NAME] | 3345 | Ousel Nest Grit | Gritstone, feldspathic and current bedded, often includes small pebbles; top is finer and more flaggy | WHITE | Uniform | Grey | OUSEL NEST GRIT | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Coarse-grained | Localised planar cross-bedding. | Has a more feldspathic and less quartzose appearance than Rough Rock. Feldspars more opaque and less glassy, Ousel Nest is less vulnerable to weathering. |  | Ashlar, cuts, wallstone, rubble, broken stone, ballast, copings, scapplings, sandstone, washsand, setts, roadstone, pitching, quarry gravel, sills, and steps. | Extensive in [NAME], [NAME], [NAME] and [NAME] areas. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | M Fletcher | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON; fieldwork; Tonks, L H et al 1931  The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of England & Wales (Sheet 85), HMSO; Anderton, Daniel & Thomas, [NAME], Turton & Horrocks Fold, [NAME], Quarry Proprietors and Stone Merchants, Business accounts 1880-1913 (Bolton Archives, ZZ/478); Eagar, R M C & Broadhurst, F M  1991  Geology of the Manchester Area  Geologists’ Association Guide No.7 | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3347 | [NAME] | 3325 |  | Shaly, rippled sandstones. Interbedded with sandy shales and grey mudstones. | WHITE | Uniform | Grey | MARGERY FLAGS | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Fine-grained | Ripple laminated. Thinly bedded. | The Margery Flags are slightly more sandy and more micaceous than the Haslingden Flags and without the characteristic greenish grey tinge of the Haslingden Flags. Often seen as two thin beds of fine grained flagstones. |  |  | Exposed around Barrow Bridge. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | M Fletcher | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Tonks, L H et al 1931 The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3348 | Millstone Grit | 1 |  |  |  |  |  | MILLSTONE GRIT GROUP [SEE ALSO MIGR] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | D Cameron | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3349 | Rough Rock | 3348 |  | Often caps escarpments and high ground such as [NAME] Low between Stockport and Tameside. Exposures can have a craggy, blocky nature. Rich in quartz, feldspar, mica and iron. Generally the grit below the Sand Rock Mine seam is more massive and coarse grained compared to the leaf of grit above the coal seam. This upper leaf of grit is usually finer grained and more flaggy. In general the Rough Rock is fairly consistent in its character throughout Greater Manchester though there are exceptions such as where instead of grit above the Sand Rock Mine seam there is shale. Sometimes contains ‘mareballs’, spherical, often ferruginous concretions. if these are numerous on a quarry face it can mean the face has to be abandoned. Beneath the Rough Rock there is sometimes a flaggy bed of sandstone called the Rough Rock Flags. | GREY | Uniform | Yellow | ROUGH ROCK | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Coarse-grained | Current bedding. Pebbles of white and pink quartz around 2.5 cm, 1 inch often seen. Larger pebbles often found at base of each current bedded unit which then fine upwards. Ferruginous concretions. | In the past Rough Rock has been mistaken for Ousel Nest Grit.  Rough Rock tends to break down more readily than Ousel Nest Grit when weathered, partly due to horizons where it is poorly cemented. It forms a coarse sand. Unlike the Ousel Nest Grit the Rough Rock sometimes has a coal seam in the middle of it called the Sand Rock Mine. This also has the name Feather edge coal due to its distinctive fracture pattern. Sometimes there is also a fireclay underneath the coal. Also the top of the Rough Rock is often overlain by a fireclay and the Six Inch Mine coal seam whereas the Ousel Nest Grit is overlain by barren mudstones. Also the Rough Rock is underlain by Rough Rock Flags or shales whereas the Ousel Nest Grit is underlain by the Margery coal seam. The Rough Rock also has characteristic jointing with two strong joint planes crossing each other at an angle of about 70 degrees, dividing the rock into angular blocks. The Rough Rock is also prone to lots of iron staining. | Weathers ochreous with quite marked iron staining often giving orange colour to rock. It is quite rich in feldspar, which, being prone to chemical weathering, can weather to clay, leaving voids and pit holes on exposed surfaces. The strength of the rock can vary as there are horizons where the grains are not well cemented. Poorly cemented areas and weathered out feldspars also make the rock more porous and together with the well developed joints allow water to penetrate deeper into the rock, increasing chances of freeze thaw and spheroidal weathering. | High quality building stone; waste crushed for building sand. Used in reservoir construction such as Higher Ogden Reservoir, Rochdale. Used in viaduct construction such as the Healey Dell viaduct, partly made with Rough Rock. Probably the source of setts along the Cotton Famine Road on Rooley Moor, Rochdale. In this area the Rough Rock often lies directly on or close to the Haslingden Flags which were much sought after. Removing the overburden of Rough Rock allows access to the exposed flags beneath. The Rough Rock was also crushed for building sand. Used as building stone as ashlar, lintels, sills and steps in settlements close to outcrop such as hamlets on Werneth Low and Gee Cross on the flanks of [NAME] Low. Also used as  kerbstones and for road construction. Crushed sand also spread on factory floors. Used as walling stone close to outcrop. Possible source of stones used on confirmed [NAME] on Werneth Low. | Limefield, north of Bury; and Birtle, east of Bury; also as ashlar in reservoirs of Higher Ogden, Milnrow. Widely exposed and quarried in areas of outcrop around Rochdale. Well developed along it’s outcrops on the western flanks of the Tame Valley above Mossley at Brown Edge. Also quarried at Grotton in Oldham. Exposed and quarried in the [NAME] valley gorge at Broadbottom where it was also quarried. Caps high ground of Werneth Low between Hyde and [NAME] where it has also been widely quarried. Quarrying extends further south to the exposures at Marple Ridge | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON; Fieldwork; Tonks, L H et al 1931  The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of England & Wales (Sheet 85). [NAME], W B et al 1927. The Geology of the Rossendale Anticline. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Crofts R G et al 2010. Geology of the Rochdale district. Sheet Explanation of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Bromehead C E N et al 1933. The Geology of the Country around Holmfirth and [NAME]. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 86 (England and Wales). [NAME], B J et al 1963. Geology of the Country around Stockport and Knutsford. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 98 (England and Wales). Hull, E et al 1864. Geology of the Country around Oldham. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Explanation of the One Inch Geological Map 88 SW Old Series (England and Wales). http: //www.cheshire.gov.uk , Cheshire Tithe Maps resource. accessed from October 2010, Greater Manchester RIGS records, Conversations in Dec 2010 with [NAME] and [NAME] investigating the Roman roads between Tameside and Stockport. | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3350 | Rough Rock Flags | 3348 |  | Mica rich flags with fine laminations. | GREY | Uniform | Yellow | ROUGH ROCK FLAGS | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Fine-grained | Finely laminated | Does not have the greenish grey tinge of the Haslingden Flags. | Can weather and crumble around the cut edges of the flagstone. | Used as flagstones locally where they outcrop. Possibly also as walling stone close to outcrop. | Not always present underneath the Rough Rock. Quarried for flags near Grotton, Oldham. Crosses river [NAME]  at Stalybridge then forming ridge of Early Bank Wood and exposed under the Rough Rock again at the gorge in the river [NAME] at Broadbottom. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Fieldwork, Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). Bromehead, C E N et al 1933. The Geology of the Country around Holmfirth and [NAME]. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 86 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3351 | [NAME] | 3348 |  | Flags are mica rich with fine laminations and have a greenish tinge. | GREY | Uniform | [NAME] | HELMSHORE GRIT | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Very fine to Fine-grained | Finely laminated Can contain thin silty mudstone and siltstone horizons. Irregular carbonaceous wisps. Scattered fossil plant remains. Soft sediment deformation of the sandstone into the underlying mudstone can be observed, for example at Thurn’s quarry. | Distinguihed from Rough Rock Flags by its characteristic greenish grey colouration. The Upper Haslingden Flags occur above the shale containing the marine band. | Differential weathering of the softer shales between the hard Upper and Lower Flags can be picked out in the landscape and topography. The colour of exposed flags in some disused quarries can be seen to vary greatly from varying shades between grey to pale brown. The colour can vary to a great deal along exposed rock  surfaces and is not stratiform, i.e. not confined to certain layers or laminations. | Sought after flagstone, widely exported both within the UK and abroad for use as paving flags. Smaller slabs used as roofing flags. Also used as building stone. Horizons of hard freestone, known locally as ‘Lonkey Stones’ were quarried for setts. Also used for sills and kerbs. | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3352 | Upper Haslingden Flags | 3351 |  | Flags are mica rich with fine laminations and have a greenish tinge. | GREY | Uniform | [NAME] | [NAME] FLAGS | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Very fine to Fine-grained | Finely laminated Can contain thin silty mudstone and siltstone horizons. Irregular carbonaceous wisps. Scattered fossil plant remains. Soft sediment deformation of the sandstone into the underlying mudstone can be observed, for example at Thurn’s quarry. | Distinguihed from Rough Rock Flags by its characteristic greenish grey colouration. The Upper Haslingden Flags occur above the shale containing the marine band. | Differential weathering of the softer shales between the hard Upper and Lower Flags can be picked out in the landscape and topography. The colour of exposed flags in some disused quarries can be seen to vary greatly from varying shades between grey to pale brown. The colour can vary to a great deal along exposed rock  surfaces and is not stratiform, i.e. not confined to certain layers or laminations. | Sought after flagstone, widely exported both within the UK and abroad for use as paving flags. Smaller slabs used as roofing flags. Also used as building stone. Horizons of hard freestone, known locally as ‘Lonkey Stones’ were quarried for setts. Also used for sills and kerbs. | Extensively worked on [NAME] and the south side of Scout Moor and Whitworth valley area, Rochdale. Also well worked around the Edge Fold  and [NAME] area but thin rapidly to the SW. The flags tend not to be as worked further east than the Whitworth area as the beds here also become thinner and with more shale partings. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Fieldwork, [NAME], W B et al 1927. The Geology of the Rossendale Anticline. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Crofts R G et al 2010. Geology of the Rochdale district. Sheet Explanation of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Greater Manchester RIGS records. Environmental Statement for [NAME], [NAME], Rochdale. Application for Determination of conditions for a Mineral site, [NAME] for D P Williams holdings Ltd.,2007. BGS [NAME] , | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3353 | Lower Haslingden Flags | 3351 |  | Flags are mica rich with fine laminations and have a greenish tinge. Generally the Lower Haslingden Flags contain a greater thickness of workable flags but the Upper Flags are widely exposed within Greater Manchester. | GREY | Uniform | [NAME] | LOWER HASLINGDEN FLAGS | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Very fine to Fine-grained | Finely laminated. Can contain thin silty mudstone and siltstone horizons. | Distinguished from Rough Rock Flags by its characteristic greenish grey colouration. The Lower Haslingden Flags occur below the shale containing the marine band. The shales below the Lower Haslingden Flags also have a green tinge. | Differential weathering of the softer shales between the hard Upper and Lower Flags can be picked out in the landscape and topography. | Sought after flagstone, widely exported both within the UK and abroad for use as paving flags. Smaller slabs used as roofing flags. Also used as a building stone. Horizons of hard, freestone, known locally as ‘Lonkey Stone’ were quarried for setts. Also used for sills and kerbs. | The Lower Flags are best developed in the western areas of the north of Greater Manchester, continuing in strength over into the border with Lancashire. East of Stacksteads the Lower Flags become unworkable. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, [NAME], W B et al 1927. The Geology of the Rossendale Anticline. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Crofts R G et al 2010. Geology of the Rochdale district. Sheet Explanation of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Greater Manchester RIGS records BGS [NAME] | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3354 | [NAME] | 3348 |  | Compared to the Lower Kinderscout Grit it  can have finer grained beds. | GREY | Uniform | [NAME] | KINDERSCOUT GRIT | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Coarse-grained | Can be massive but also shows cross bedding. | Occurs above the shale containing the fossils characteristic of the Butterley Marine Band. In general these rocks aren’t as massive as the Lower Kinderscout Grit and  can have flaggy horizons such as at Castleshaw Moor. A ganister can sometimes be seen at the top of the Upper Kinderscout Grit with a coal seam which is followed by a shale containing the Bilinguites gracilis marine band with it’s fossil Goniatites. | Contains many feldspar clasts which are prone to chemical weathering. These weather turning to clay, leaving pit marks and hollows on exposed surfaces. Potholes can develop on exposed top surfaces as weathered out loose quartz grains help to scour against the rock. Well developed joints allow water to infiltrate deeper into the rock, increasing damage from freeze-thaw. Weathers to give blocky crags and stacks. Spheroidal weathering often observed. Generally retains its colour and is not prone to discolouration from iron staining. | Used as a building stone and drystone walling close to outcrop. Within the Greater Manchester boundary the Lower Kinderscout Grit is more widely exposed and accessible. The Upper Kinderscout Grit tends to be largely blanketed by peat on the high moorland plateau. | Exposures above the Lower Kinderscout Grit on high ground around Castleshaw Moor and north of Denshaw in the Saddleworth area on the eastern flanks of Oldham, close to the [NAME] boundary.  Along the eastern flanks of Oldham and Tameside on the margins of the Greater Manchester border, the Pennine Anticline has folded the rocks so that the Upper Kinderscout Grit is largely blanketed by peat on the high moorland plateau. Forming high ground around the Blackstone Edge area of eastern Rochdale where as in Saddleworth it is largely overlain by peat. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Fieldwork,  Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). [NAME], W B et al 1927. The Geology of the Rossendale Anticline. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Crofts R G et al 2010. Geology of the Rochdale district. Sheet Explanation of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Bromehead, C E N et al 1933. The Geology of the Country around Holmfirth and [NAME]. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 86 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3355 | Lower Kinderscout Grit | 3348 |  | Between the erosive conglomeratic base of the Lower Kinderscout Grit and the shales containing the Butterley Marine Band, a number of shale horizons occur. In the Saddleworth area, where there is a great thickness of this rock, there are in places four grit layers recorded, separated by three shale bands as recorded in the geological memoir by [NAME]. The geological map for the area, Sheet 86, shows three grit layers. In the landscape the shales between the grit layers can be recognised as they tend to form ‘slacks’ where the differential weathering of the softer shales produces gentler slopes, marked by a line of springs as water passing down through the permeable grits meets the impermeable shale layers. | GREY | Uniform | [NAME] | LOWER KINDERSCOUT GRIT | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | [NAME]grained | Generally massive but with large scale cross bedding.  Large pebbles of quartz around 2.5 cm, 1 inch long and white plagioclase feldspars are common. Poorly sorted.  Much evidence of faulting and folding in this rock, associated with the Pennine Anticline around the eastern flanks of Oldham and Tameside. | Coarse, poorly sorted and massive. Rich in feldspar, quartz and mica. Large scale cross bedding sometimes exposed, as at Ladcastle and Den Quarries, Saddleworth. Well jointed and forming characteristic blocky crags and stacks, particularly on the moorland areas. Potholes often develop on exposed top surfaces. Separated from the Upper Kinderscout Grit by shales containing the Butterley Marine Band. The Upper Kinderscout Grit is in general less massive and more flaggy than the Lower Kinderscout Grit. | Contains many feldspar clasts which are prone to chemical weathering. These weather, turning to clay, leaving pit marks and hollows on exposed surfaces. Potholes can develop on exposed top surfaces as weathered out loose quartz grains help to scour against the rock. Good examples of potholes at Pots and Pans on Saddleworth Moor.  Well developed joints allow water to infiltrate deeper into the rock, increasing damage from freeze-thaw. Weathers to give blocky crags and stacks. Spheroidal weathering often observed. Generally retains its colour and is not prone to discolouration from iron staining. | Widely used as building stone and setts and drystone walling in the settlements such as [NAME], [NAME] and many of the Saddleworth villages along the edges of the moorland exposures. Ashlar, sills, lintels and steps have been made for domestic, commercial and industrial buildings with this stone. Finer beds used as gravestones and tombstone bases.  Also popular for industrial purposes, millstones and grindstones, engine beds and reservoir construction, aggregate. Used as large foundation stones. Also for bridges. Also some buildings in Manchester City Centre use this rock for the basal layers of the facade upon which other often more exotic building stones are built up. At Buckton Vale quarry a blue tinged horizon is known to have been popular with local builders in the later half of the 20th century, but only the usual grey stone is now available and this is now used for aggregate. This large quarry is still active and exports aggregate outside the area. Also notable quarry at Roe Cross, Harrop Edge where building stone and setts were produced. The source of ‘sclate’ or slate from quarry at Slatepit Moor, near Carr Brook, Staleybridge, Tameside. This quarry is marked on a sixteenth century map of the Staley Estates Here the grit is a flaggy sandstone, once quarried for roofing flags. | Exposed along much of the high ground of eastern Rochdale, notably along Blackstone Edge where it has been extensively quarried. Forming weathered crags north east of Denshaw and also on Castleshaw Moor. Thick exposures along Saddleworth Moor in Saddleworth Oldham and eastern flanks of Tameside, notably Buckton Vale and Harridge Pike and Hollingworthhall Moor are visible as weathered crags from the Tame Valley below. Along the Longdendale Valley at Hollingworth Moor and Roe Cross, Harrop Edge [NAME] forms high ground and has been extensively quarried. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON; Fieldwork; Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). Bromehead, C E N et al 1933. The Geology of the Country around Holmfirth and [NAME]. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 86 (England and Wales).  [NAME], W B et al 1927. The Geology of the Rossendale Anticline. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales).  [NAME] R G et al 2010. Geology of the Rochdale district. Sheet Explanation of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales).  Greater Manchester RIGS records , Conversations in October 2010 with [NAME], Stockport-based builder since 1952, [NAME] lease plans, DDS/1660, [NAME] Stamford Estate Records at Tameside Arcives. , BGS Photo Archives , Nevell, M and Walker, J . Tameside in Transition, The Archaeology of the Industrial Revolution in two North West Lordships, 1642-1870. Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council with Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit, 1999. Nevell, M D. A History and Archaeology of Tameside. Vol 2, Tameside 1066-1700. Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council with Greater Manchester Archaeology Unit, 1991. http://www.cheshire.gov.uk Cheshire Tithe Maps resource, accessed from October 2010. | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3356 | Shale Grit | 3348 |  | [NAME] rich grey, brown grit. | GREY | Uniform | [NAME] | SHALE GRIT | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Coarse-grained | Can be massive but also have flaggy layers. Also can have lenticular bands of sandy shale. Also contains fragments and wisps of sandy shale as well as many poorly preserved plant fragments. Quartz pebbles can also be seen. In the Saddleworth area the rock is disturbed by many faults as it is close to the Pennine Anticline. Considerable thicknesses in the Saddleworth area. | Characteristically contains fragments and wisps of sandy shale. Also contains thick shale partings and horizons of finer grained sandstones. | Shale Grit is rich in feldspar which is prone to chemical weathering. The feldspars weather to clay leaving pit marks in exposed surfaces. | Quarried within Tame Valley around the Saddleworth area for walling and possible local building stone in some Saddleworth farmsteads. Not regarded as a quality building stone. Localised use close to outcrop. | Exposed along a narrow stretch of the lower ground of the Tame Valley around Saddleworth, from Castleshaw  and further south including the lower stretches of [NAME]. down to the flanks of [NAME], south of Stalybridge. Also exposed along stretches of the Longdendale Valley at Hollingworth. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Fieldwork, Bromehead, C E N et al 1933. The Geology of the Country around Holmfirth and [NAME]. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 86 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3357 | [NAME] | 3348 |  | Previously thought to be contemporary with [NAME] | GREY | Uniform | [NAME] | HOLCOMBE BROOK GRIT | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Can be massive and thickly bedded or fine grained, flaggy and mica rich. Crossbedding can also be seen.Pillow structures and also ‘mareballs’ have also been seen in this rock. | The Holcombe Brook Grit can be very variable in character, depending on location. The lower part is often flaggy, fine grained and mica rich. The main mass is often thickly bedded. It is normally a medium to coarse grained thickly bedded sandstone. Towards the top there are often shale partings and the very top of the sandstone is marked with a ganister, often with a fireclay and then a coal seam above. The coal is known as the Upper Meltham Coal. Colour can be variable with white, grey, yellow and brown varieties seen at exposures. Therefore colour cannot be used to distinguish it from other sandstones. |  | Best known as a building stone outside this area, particularly in the Holme Valley. However there are  quarries within Greater Manchester such as those close to Littleborough, Rochdale, along stretches of Tame Valley such as at Grasscroft and also western Greater Manchester at [NAME], Elmer’s Delf and [NAME]. Uses as ashlar, sills, setts and kerbs are recorded. | Exposured and quarried along parts of the Tame Valley such as Summer Hill Quarries in [NAME] and at Grasscroft. Also quarried and used around the Littleborough area of Rochdale and also to the west of Greater Manchester at [NAME], Elmer’s Delf and [NAME]. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoirs of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). Bromehead, C E N et al 1933. The Geology of the Country around Holmfirth and [NAME]. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 86 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3358 | [NAME] | 3405 | [NAME] | Can be a fine grained, highly [NAME] rich, ganister-like rock. Often the top of the Hazel Greave Grit. is marked with a fireclay, coal and ganister. Can also have flaggy horizons | YELLOW | Uniform | [NAME] | HAZEL GREAVE GRIT | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Fine-grained | Fine laminations visible. Also current bedding can be observed at some locations. | Can be a fine grained, highly [NAME] rich, ganister-like rock. Often the top of the Hazel Greave Grit. is marked with a fireclay, coal and ganister. Can also have flaggy horizons. | Can form a very hard ganister-like rock with a high silica content which is resistant to weathering. | Between Ramsbottom and Helmshore, a thin very hard bed of [NAME], known locally as ‘Ironstone’ was quarried to use as ‘road metal’ , used for road construction. Have been used as flagstones. In areas where the flagstones are strongly current bedded this limits their use as flags as the rock can split along current bedding planes. In the Greater Manchester area this rock tend to be worked in small quarries for local use. | Quarried at exposures close to the river Tame between [NAME] and [NAME], in Saddleworth, Oldham. Halfway between Ramsbottom and Helmshore it is quarried for road construction. Well developed on eastern side of Rochdale. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON,  [NAME], C E N et al 1933. The Geology of the Country around Holmfirth and [NAME]. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 86 (England and Wales). Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). [NAME], W B et al 1927. The Geology of the Rossendale Anticline. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Crofts R G et al 2010. Geology of the Rochdale district. Sheet Explanation of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Greater Manchester RIGS records, BGS [NAME] | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3359 | Beacon Hill Flags | 3358 |  |  | YELLOW | Uniform | [NAME] | BEACON HILL FLAGS | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Fine-grained | Fine laminations visible. Also current bedding can be observed at some locations. | Can be a fine grained, highly [NAME] rich, ganister-like rock. Often the top of the Hazel Greave Grit. is marked with a fireclay, coal and ganister. Can also have flaggy horizons. | Can form a very hard ganister-like rock with a high silica content which is resistant to weathering. | Between Ramsbottom and Helmshore, a thin very hard bed of [NAME], known locally as ‘Ironstone’ was quarried to use as ‘road metal’ , used for road construction. Have been used as flagstones. In areas where the flagstones are strongly current bedded this limits their use as flags as the rock can split along current bedding planes. In the Greater Manchester area this rock tend to be worked in small quarries for local use. | Quarried at exposures close to the river Tame between [NAME] and [NAME], in Saddleworth, Oldham. Halfway between Ramsbottom and Helmshore it is quarried for road construction. Well developed on eastern side of Rochdale. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON,  [NAME], C E N et al 1933. The Geology of the Country around Holmfirth and [NAME]. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 86 (England and Wales). Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). [NAME], W B et al 1927. The Geology of the Rossendale Anticline. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Crofts R G et al 2010. Geology of the Rochdale district. Sheet Explanation of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Greater Manchester RIGS records, BGS [NAME] | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3360 | Helmshore Grit | 3348 |  | In the Rawtenstall area the top 15 feet are flags, a local development called the Balladen Flags. | WHITE | Uniform | Grey | HELMSHORE GRIT | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Fine-grained | Cross bedded. | Can be distinguished from the Fletcher Bank Grit which underlies it by it’s fine grained, close textured character. Generally a fine grained sandstone with occasional coarser beds. Mica rich in parts. |  | No evidence for use as a building stone within the County | Only exposed at Longworth Clough, north of [NAME] | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON; [NAME], W B et al 1927. The Geology of the Rossendale Anticline. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3361 | [NAME] | 3348 |  | Can be fine to medium grained. The rock is not always a white sandstone as it is in the Huddersfield area. It can also be grey. | WHITE | Variable | Grey | HUDDERSFIELD WHITE ROCK | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Can be massive but also has beds showing current bedding and also has flaggy layers. Ripple laminations can also be seen. | In the Huddersfield area this rock is characteristically a white sandstone but in exposures within Greater Manchester the colour tends to vary and is often grey. |  | The more massive, evenly bedded horizons are used for ashlar, sills and setts and kerbs. Also a source of flags. Unlike the [NAME] area it is not extensively used as building stone within Greater Manchester as there are relatively few exposures. | Exposed in the upper stretches of the Tame Valley  north of Denshaw and near Slackote in Delph. Extends into eastern Rochdale. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Wray, D A et al 1930. The Geology of the Country around Huddersfield and Halifax. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 77 (England and Wales). Bromehead, C E N et al 1933. The Geology of the Country around Holmfirth and [NAME]. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 86 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3362 | Brooksbottom Grit | 3348 | [NAME] |  |  |  |  | BROOKSBOTTOMS GRIT | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3363 | Fletcher Bank Stone | 3348 | [NAME] | Coarse grained, massive sandstone | WHITE | Uniform | Grey | FLETCHER BANK GRIT | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Coarse-grained | Massive and often pebbly, with iron concretions up to 8ft across | Coarse and often pebbly, thickly bedded rock. The upper part is often full of carbonaceous material or interbedded with coaly shales. | Very resistant to weathering, but good porosity renders it susceptible to frost-shattering. | Used to build Grant’s Tower, Bury and also parts of [NAME]. Quality building stone, used locally and further afield. Also crushed for sand. | Occurs as a fault-bounded inlier to north of Ramsbottom, where it is quarried on east slope of Irwell valley | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Greater Manchester RIGS Records, BGS Photo Archive of Fletcher Bank Quarry and also [NAME]. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales) | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3364 | Main Third Grit | 3363 | Fletcher Bank Stone | Coarse grained, massive sandstone | WHITE | Uniform | Grey | FLETCHER BANK GRIT | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Coarse-grained | Massive and often pebbly, with iron concretions up to 8ft across | Coarse and often pebbly, thickly bedded rock. The upper part is often full of carbonaceous material or interbedded with coaly shales. | Very resistant to weathering, but good porosity renders it susceptible to frost-shattering. | Used to build Grant’s Tower, Bury and also parts of [NAME]. Quality building stone, used locally and further afield. Also crushed for sand. | Occurs as a fault-bounded inlier to north of Ramsbottom, where it is quarried on east slope of Irwell valley | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Greater Manchester RIGS Records, BGS Photo Archive of Fletcher Bank Quarry and also [NAME]. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales) | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3365 | Pule Hill Grit | 3363 | Fletcher Bank Stone |  | GREY | Uniform | Grey | FLETCHER BANK GRIT | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Coarse-grained | Can be massive and thick bedded but flaggy horizons and also shale partings can also be found. | Often seen as a massive gritstone, particularly in exposures close to the [NAME] border in Saddleworth but can also show rapid variation, with the grain size ranging down to fine grained. [NAME] horizons can also occur. | Fairly resistant, hard rock. Can weather into rectangular-shaped series of blocks due to its jointing pattern. | Quarried for building stone at Copley, near Stalybridge and at Hollingworth. Also used for setts and monumental stone. | Isolated fault bound exposures along the Tame Valley at Denshaw and [NAME]. Extends along western flank of the Tame Valley down towards [NAME]. Also well developed on Hollingworthhall Moor and on the valley sides at Hollingworth. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, [NAME], C E N et al 1933. The Geology of the Country around Holmfirth and [NAME]. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 86 (England and Wales). Wray, D A et al 1930. The Geology of the Country around Huddersfield and Halifax. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 77 (England and Wales). http://www.cheshire.gov.uk Cheshire Tithe Maps resource, accessed from October 2010. | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3366 | [NAME] | 3363 | Fletcher Bank Stone |  |  |  |  | FLETCHER BANK GRIT | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | D Cameron | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3367 | Revidge Grit | 3363 |  |  |  |  |  | FLETCHER BANK GRIT | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Coarse-grained | Can be massive and thick bedded but also shows cross bedding. | Often seen as massive gritstone. | Fairly resistant, hard rock |  | Occurs as a fault-bounded inlier to north of Ramsbottom, where it is quarried on east slope of Irwell valley; seems to be an equivalent outcrpping just to north of County | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICAN; Tonks, L H et al 1931. The Geology of Manchester and the South-East Lancashire Coalfield. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 85 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3368 | [NAME] | 3348 | [NAME] |  | GREY | Uniform | Grey | MIDGLEY GRIT | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Coarse-grained | Can be massive and thick bedded but also shows cross bedding. Some exposures at Lead Mine Clough near Blackstone Edge the rock is cut by a prominent N/S trending fault rich in barytes. also small quantities of the lead ore galena. Other areas along Blackstone Edge in this rock also show thin veins of pink and white barytes. | Often seen as a massive gritstone. | Fairly resistant, hard rock, often forming escarpments and crags. Well jointed | Quarried for local building stone close to outcrop e.g. around Midgley. Ashlar, lintels, steps, sills. Under the name [NAME] the grit is quarried at Blackstone Edge. Quarried at Hurstwood for the construction of Hurstwood Reservoir. Suitable beds used for monumental stone. Also worked for building stone at Summit, Rochdale. Described in geological memoir as one of the best building stones in the Eastern district. | Extensively exposed on Midgley Moor on the edges of the Greater Manchester border. Also known as [NAME] which is quarried at Blackstone Edge, Littleborough, Rochdale. Also, under the name [NAME] is worked at Summit in Rochdale. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGS LEXICON, Wray, D A et al 1930. The Geology of the Country around Huddersfield and Halifax. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 77 (England and Wales). [NAME], W B et al 1927. The Geology of the Rossendale Anticline. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). Crofts R G et al 2010. Geology of the Rochdale district. Sheet Explanation of the British Geological Survey, Sheet 76 (England and Wales). | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3369 | Holts Town Sandstone | 1 |  |  | RED | Uniform |  | PARENT DATA NOT YET ENTERED [HIERARCHY CODE] |  | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Walling | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3370 | Red Newton Heath Sandstone | 3316 |  | Sandstone, cross-bedded, brown or yellow, rarely purplish, with subordinate beds of mudstone and sandy mudstone | RED | Uniform | Red | NEWTON HEATH SANDSTONE | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Described as Smedley Grit by Hull who also mentions that it has been quarried ‘opposite Mount House’ alongside the river Irk. | Geological memoir by Tonks et al. suggest that the Smedley Grit and the Newton Heath Sandstone are the same. If this is the case then the exposures of the Smedley Grit along the river Irk near Smedley, close to Collyhurst were recorded as being quarried. This is now part of Manchester city centre and largely built over. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3371 | Red Openshaw Sandstone | 3308 |  | Dark reddish brown sandstone and subordinate mudstone. On a geological map published in 1929 an exposure of Openshaw Sandstone close to Collyhurst is marked as a hard reddish sandstone. ? No longer exposures and not mentioned in records. | RED | Uniform | Red | OPENSHAW SANDSTONE | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  | Known from borehole data to be interbedded with chocolate coloured shales | Occurs above the Openshaw coal seam. The Openshaw Sandstone is associated with layers of red and grey shales above. Also interbedded with layers of chocolate coloured shales. |  | Described by [NAME] as outcropping along the river Medlock where the canal aqueduct crosses. This is possibly why the rock is also referred to by early geologists such as [NAME], who had earlier surveyed the river exposures, as Aqueduct Rock. At this location the Openshaw Sandstone was seen immediately overlying the Openshaw coal seam. As yet no direct reference to it being used as building stone has been found. | Historical records suggest it was exposed along the banks of the river Medlock, close to the canal aqueduct in what is now the Bradford district of East Manchester, close to the city centre. River and stream exposures such as this probably helped to direct the location of  early quarrying as the area is largely covered in Drift and the bedrock mostly obscured. | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3372 | Balmoral Red Granite | 1 |  | Red Finnish Granite | RED | Uniform |  | PARENT DATA NOT YET ENTERED [HIERARCHY CODE] |  | GRANITE |  |  |  |  | Decorative | Worldwide | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3373 | Coal Measures Flagstones | 3307 |  | Flaggy sandstone |  |  |  | PENNINE COAL MEASURES GROUP | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  | Flaggy |  | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3374 | Coal Measures sandstones, Catlow | 3325 |  | Sandstone |  |  |  | PENNINE LOWER COAL MEASURES [NAME] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3375 | Coal Measures sandstones, Saltersford | 3307 |  | Sandstone |  |  |  | PENNINE COAL MEASURES GROUP | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3376 | Coal Measures sandstones, Leeds | 3307 |  | Sandstone |  |  |  | PENNINE COAL MEASURES GROUP | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3377 | Cullingworth Sandstone | 3348 |  | Sandstone |  |  |  | MILLSTONE GRIT GROUP [SEE ALSO MIGR] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  | Flaggy |  | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3379 | [NAME] | 1 |  | Foreign grey limestone |  |  |  | PARENT DATA NOT YET ENTERED [HIERARCHY CODE] |  | LIMESTONE |  |  |  |  | Decorative | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3380 | [NAME] | 1 |  | Foreign dark gabbro |  |  |  | PARENT DATA NOT YET ENTERED [HIERARCHY CODE] |  | GABBRO |  |  |  |  | Decorative | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3381 | Longridge Stone | 1 |  |  |  |  |  | PARENT DATA NOT YET ENTERED [HIERARCHY CODE] |  | SANDSTONE | Coarse-grained |  |  |  | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3382 | Lower Coal Measures Red Sandstone | 3307 |  |  |  |  |  | PENNINE LOWER COAL MEASURES [NAME] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3383 | Millstone Grit (White) | 3348 |  |  | WHITE |  |  | MILLSTONE GRIT GROUP [SEE ALSO MIGR] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3384 | Rembrandt Stone | 1 | Otta Slate | Foreign schist |  |  |  | PARENT DATA NOT YET ENTERED [HIERARCHY CODE] |  | SCHIST |  |  |  |  | Decorative | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3386 | Sandstone | 1 |  |  |  |  |  | PARENT DATA NOT YET ENTERED [HIERARCHY CODE] |  | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3387 | Sandstone, coarse-grained | 1 |  |  |  |  |  | PARENT DATA NOT YET ENTERED [HIERARCHY CODE] |  | SANDSTONE | Coarse-grained |  |  |  | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3388 | Sandstone, medium-grained | 1 |  |  |  |  |  | PARENT DATA NOT YET ENTERED [HIERARCHY CODE] |  | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained |  |  |  | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3389 | Sandstone, fine-grained | 1 |  |  |  |  |  | PARENT DATA NOT YET ENTERED [HIERARCHY CODE] |  | SANDSTONE | Fine-grained |  |  |  | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3390 | Yorkshire Sandstone | 1 |  |  |  |  |  | PARENT DATA NOT YET ENTERED [HIERARCHY CODE] |  | SANDSTONE | Fine-grained |  |  |  | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3391 | Spinkwell Stone | 1 |  | Grey, micaceous sandstone | GREY |  |  | LOXLEY EDGE ROCK | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3392 | [NAME] | 3303 |  | Sandstone-dominated, with sporadic conglomerates, particularly towards the base, and siltstones. Typically coarse grained at base then fine to medium grained. Grains often angular to subangular. Abundant rounded ‘millet seed’ grains. Can contain lots of mica. | RED | Mottled | Red | HELSBY SANDSTONE FORMATION | TRIASSIC | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Current bedding | Strong red, cross bedded sandstone | Can be variation in the cementation of grains so that some horizons are softer and friable and not good for building stone yet at other horizons the grains are strongly cemented, in places by silica, and make good building stone. | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3393 | Lymm Sandstone | 3303 |  | Sandstone-dominated, with sporadic conglomerates, particularly towards the base, and siltstones. Typically coarse grained at base then fine to medium grained. Grains often angular to subangular. Abundant rounded ‘millet seed’ grains. Can contain lots of mica. | RED | Mottled | Red | HELSBY SANDSTONE FORMATION | TRIASSIC | SANDSTONE | Medium-grained | Current bedding | Strong red, cross bedded sandstone | Can be variation in the cementation of grains so that some horizons are softer and friable and not good for building stone yet at other horizons the grains are strongly cemented, in places by silica, and make good building stone. | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3394 | Carboniferous Sandstone | 1 |  | Sandstone |  |  |  | CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS (UNDIFFERENTIATED) | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3395 | Carboniferous Gritstone | 1 |  | Coarse sandstone |  |  |  | CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS (UNDIFFERENTIATED) | CARBONIFEROUS | GRITSTONE | Coarse-grained |  |  |  | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3396 | [NAME] | 1 |  | Marble |  |  |  | PARENT DATA NOT YET ENTERED [HIERARCHY CODE] |  | MARBLE |  |  |  |  | Monumental | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3397 | New Red Sandstone | 1 |  | Red sandstone | RED |  |  | PARENT DATA NOT YET ENTERED [HIERARCHY CODE] | PERMIAN | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Building stone | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3398 | Readycon [NAME] | 3348 |  | Flagstone |  |  |  | READYCON DEAN FLAGS | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Flagstones | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3399 | Sandstone Flags | 1 |  | Flagstone |  |  |  | PARENT DATA NOT YET ENTERED [HIERARCHY CODE] |  | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Flagstones | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3400 | Parbold Stone | 1 |  | Flagstone |  |  |  | PARENT DATA NOT YET ENTERED [HIERARCHY CODE] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Flagstones | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3401 | Crosland Moor Stone | 1 |  | Flagstone |  |  |  | ROUGH ROCK | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Flagstones | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3402 | Delph Bakestones | 3348 | [NAME] | Flaggy sandstones in shale sequence |  |  |  | MILLSTONE GRIT GROUP [SEE ALSO MIGR] | CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Flagstones and roofing | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3403 | Pennine Sandstone Flags | 1 |  | Flagstone |  |  |  | PARENT DATA NOT YET ENTERED [HIERARCHY CODE] |  | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | Rooofing | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3404 | Stone Flags | 1 |  | Flagstone |  |  |  | PARENT DATA NOT YET ENTERED [HIERARCHY CODE] |  | NOT ENTERED |  |  |  |  | Rooofing | Manchester usage | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 | C [NAME] | [NAME] Atlas Area | [NAME] Atlas Area | GM Buildings Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3405 | [NAME] | 3348 | Millstone Grit | Coarse sandstone |  | Uniform |  | [NAME] | CARBONIFEROUS to CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE |  |  |  |  | ? | Manchester usage |  | D Cameron | Bury Metropolitan Borough Council | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGSLEXICON, BGS Sheet 76, Rochdale | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3406 | [NAME] | 3405 | [NAME] | Can be a fine grained, highly [NAME] rich, ganister-like rock. Often the top of the Hazel Greave Grit. is marked with a fireclay, coal and ganister. Can also have flaggy horizons | YELLOW | Uniform | [NAME] | GUISELEY GRIT | CARBONIFEROUS to CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Fine-grained | Fine laminations visible. Also current bedding can be observed at some locations. | Can be a fine grained, highly [NAME] rich, ganister-like rock. Often the top of the Hazel Greave Grit. is marked with a fireclay, coal and ganister. Can also have flaggy horizons | Can form a very hard ganister-like rock with a high silica content which is resistant to weathering. | Between Ramsbottom and Helmshore, a thin very hard bed of [NAME], known locally as ‘Ironstone’ was quarried to use as ‘road metal’ , used for road construction. Have been used as flagstones. In areas where the flagstones are strongly current bedded this limits their use as flags as the rock can split along current bedding planes. In the Greater Manchester area this rock tend to be worked in small quarries for local use. | Manchester usage |  | D Cameron | Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council | [NAME] Atlas Area | BGSLEXICON, BGS Sheet 76, Rochdale | 2012-05-16 10:20:53
3407 | Old Mother Rock | 3349 | Rough Rock | Often caps escarpments and high ground such as [NAME] Low between Stockport and Tameside. Exposures can have a craggy, blocky nature. Rich in quartz, feldspar, mica and iron. Generally the grit below the Sand Rock Mine seam is more massive and coarse grained compared to the leaf of grit above the coal seam. This upper leaf of grit is usually finer grained and more flaggy. In general the Rough Rock is fairly consistent in its character throughout Greater Manchester though there are exceptions such as where instead of grit above the Sand Rock Mine seam there is shale. Sometimes contains ‘mareballs’, spherical, often ferruginous concretions. if these are numerous on a quarry face it can mean the face has to be abandoned. Beneath the Rough Rock there is sometimes a flaggy bed of sandstone called the Rough Rock Flags. | GREY | Uniform | Yellow | ROUGH ROCK | CARBONIFEROUS to CARBONIFEROUS | SANDSTONE | Coarse-grained | Current bedding. Pebbles of white and pink quartz around 2.5 cm, 1 inch often seen. Larger pebbles often found at base of each current bedded unit which then fine upwards. Ferruginous concretions. | In the past Rough Rock has been mistaken for Ousel Nest Grit.  Rough Rock tends to break down more readily than Ousel Nest Grit when weathered, partly due to horizons where it is poorly cemented. It forms a coarse sand. Unlike the Ousel Nest Grit the Rough Rock sometimes has a coal seam in the middle of it called the Sand Rock Mine. This also has the name Feather edge coal due to its distinctive fracture pattern. Sometimes there is also a fireclay underneath the coal. Also the top of the Rough Rock is often overlain by a fireclay and the Six Inch Mine coal seam whereas the Ousel Nest Grit is overlain by barren mudstones. Also the Rough Rock is underlain by Rough Rock Flags or shales whereas the Ousel Nest Grit is underlain by the Margery coal seam. The Rough Rock also has characteristic jointing with two strong joint planes crossing each other at an angle of about 70 degrees, dividing the rock into angular blocks. The Rough Rock is also prone to lots of iron staining. | Weathers ochreous with quite marked iron staining often giving orange colour to rock. It is quite rich in feldspar, which, being prone to chemical weathering, can weather to clay, leaving voids and pit holes on exposed surfaces. The strength of the rock can vary as there are horizons where the grains are not well cemented. Poorly cemented areas and weathered out feldspars also make the rock more porous and together with the well developed joints allow water to penetrate deeper into the rock, increasing chances of freeze thaw and spheroidal weathering. | High quality building stone; waste crushed for building sand. Used in reservoir construction such as Higher Ogden Reservoir, Rochdale. Used in viaduct construction such as the Healey Dell viaduct, partly made with Rough Rock. Probably the source of setts along the Cotton Famine Road on Rooley Moor, Rochdale. In this area the Rough Rock often lies directly on or close to the Haslingden Flags which were much sought after. Removing the overburden of Rough Rock allows access to the exposed flags beneath. The Rough Rock was also crushed for building sand. Used as building stone as ashlar, lintels, sills and steps in settlements close to outcrop such as hamlets on Werneth Low and Gee Cross on the flanks of [NAME] Low. Also used as  kerbstones and for road construction. Crushed sand also spread on factory floors. Used as walling stone close to outcrop. Possible source of stones used on confirmed [NAME] on Werneth Low. | Limefield, north of Bury; and Birtle, east of Bury; also as ashlar in reservoirs of Higher Ogden, Milnrow. Widely exposed and quarried in areas of outcrop around Rochdale. Well developed along it’s outcrops on the western flanks of the Tame Valley above Mossley at Brown Edge. Also quarried at Grotton in Oldham. Exposed and quarried in the [NAME] valley gorge at Broadbottom where it was also quarried. Caps high ground of Werneth Low between Hyde and [NAME] where it has also been widely quarried. Quarrying extends further south to the exposures at Marple Ridge |  | D Cameron | Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council | [NAME] Atlas Area | Manchester Sources Spreadsheet | 2012-05-16 10:20:53