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Hamstone is the colloquial name given to stone from Ham Hill, Somerset, England. Hamstone is a Jurassic limestone from the Toarcian, or Upper Lias, stage. It is a well cemented medium to coarse grained limestone characterised by its honey-gold colour and marked bedding planes. The stone contains thin beds of less well cemented material and some small clay inclusions. These areas weather differentially to give weathered hamstone its characteristic furrowed appearance. ==History== In the 19th century there were 24 small quarries operating on the hill employing some 200 men.〔Ham Hill Country Park -Medieval and Victorian History — Visit South Somerset ()〕 In later Victorian times industrial quarrying really took off with upwards of 200 small family run quarries and masonry businesses operating on site.〔Ham Hill Country Park — Victorians to More Recent Times — Visit South Somerset ()〕 ==Modern Quarrying== Today hamstone is only quarried in two areas on the top of Ham Hill. The North quarry, near the modern stone circle and war memorial, is the longest running hamstone quarry in existence〔(Ham Stone - Ham & Doulting Stone Ltd )〕 and extracts stone from just beneath the surface, it is quarried by Ham & Doulting Stone. The southern, Norton Quarry extracts its stone from some 20–30 metres below the surface and is quarried by Harvey Stone. This quarry was reopened around 15 years ago, having been the last quarry abandoned in the 1930s due to there being, according to the masons working the hill "no good quality stone left". Both quarries are owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. A study by South Somerset District Council’s Area Conservation Officer concluded that although Ham Hill South quarry is relatively close, the Hamstone that is quarried is ‘yellower’ in colour, less hard and less durable than the ‘greyer’ Hamstone quarried at the northern part of the hill. This makes stone from the northern part of Ham Hill more suitable for use in building restoration work and the stone is primarily used by local stonemasons for the repair of external features in historic buildings, such as mullion windows and ashlars stonework as well as for new developments in conservation areas.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=PROPOSED QUARRYING OF HAMSTONE )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hamstone」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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