Strategic stone study : a building stone atlas of North-East Yorkshire

The character of the landscape, towns and villages of North-east Yorkshire are reflected in its underlying geology, principally the Jurassic rocks. Locally quarried stone was used for vernacular buildings, monastic abbeys (e.g. Ampleforth, Byland, Mount Grace, Rievaulx,) municipal town buildings, churches and country houses, and in the construction of harbours and railway/road bridges over a wide area, but principally where good quality stone was readily available. Development of the railway network in the 19C and transport of building stone by ship from local ports such as Whitby allowed the higher quality building stones to be used in buildings over a wider area, including major cities such as London and the docks at Tangier.