The Dentdale Story
Dent Marble
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A black crinoidial limestone found in certain areas of Dentdale has for long been much sought after because of its amazing quality of fossil remains. It appears most noticeable in rocks around Arten Gill, and during the late eighteenth century led to a boom in local quarrying there. The main quarry was owned by Richard Alderson whose mill at nearby Stonehouse was famed for producing beautifully polished fireplaces featuring the lovely white fossil patterns embedded in the background of dark natural rock, the material itself becoming known as 'Dent Marble'.

Click here to play a sample of the video footage that will be playing in the centre.
By the mid-nineteenth century these unique Stonehouse products were being exported worldwide, the most celebrated being a superb fireplace made in 1843 for the inter palace of the Tsar of Russia at St. Petersburg. Later however, as cheaper Italian marble began flooding the British Market, Stonehouse mill was forced gradually to close. Only a few traces of it now remain in Arten Gill, though many old houses in the Dale can still boast a genuine Dent Marble fireplace and a fine specimen can be seen on display at the Heritage Centre.
video footage by Jim Bownass

 

 

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Dent Village Heritage Centre
Dent, Nr. Sedbergh, Cumbria
LA10 5QJ
United Kingdom
Tel: 015396 25800
info@dentvillageheritagecentre.com
© 2005 | 2006 Copyright
Jim & Margaret Taylor
All Rights Reserved