The use of sedimentary ‘marbles’ for church monuments in pre-Reformation England

A variety of sedimentary ‘marbles' were used for carved effigies in the period up to the early 14th century and for other types of monument up to the Reformation and beyond. Tournai marble was an early high-status import. Purbeck marble from Dorset is the best known of our indigenous polishable limestones, but, there were also other stone types used in particular parts of the country. Frosterley marble has generally been regarded as being of equivalent importance in the north-east to Purbeck Marble, yet its employment was not extensive. Instead, the hitherto little-known Egglestone marble deserves that accolade.