Hopton Wood Stone (sometimes Hopton-Wood Stone or Hoptonwood Stone) is a type of limestone quarried north of Hopton and west of Middleton-by-Wirksworth, Derbyshire, England. [1]
Developed first by the Gell family, and then by The Hopton-Wood Stone Firms Ltd, it was called "England’s premier decorative stone", and described as "remarkably and exceptionally pure limestone, almost identical to marble" with impurities at an "extraordinarily low figure of 0.02%". [2] [3] [4]
In 1870–72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Hopton as having "Good building limestone, (which) is extensively quarried, and was the material of Chatsworth House and Belvoir Castle. Lead ore also occurs.". [5]
Following the Great War, Hopton Wood Stone was contracted by the Imperial War Graves Commission to supply headstones, with an excess of 120,000 being created and sent to war graveyards in France, Belgium, and Britain. [6] [7] [8] The limestone is said to have been laid in conjunction with a native black stone (now no longer available) to create the first chequerboard floor in England. [9] [10]
It has also been used for several decorative work projects, including the Houses of Parliament, the Bank of England, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Chatsworth House, Hopton Hall, the University of Oxford, several Cathedrals, and Oscar Wilde's tomb, among others. [11] [12] [13]
In 1947 the Hopton-Wood Stone Firms Ltd commissioned a book about Hopton Wood stone, published by Fanfare press. [14]
Long connected to Middleton Mine in nearby Middleton-by-Wirksworth, the two sites were in operation from the 18th century onwards, extracting up to 120,000 tonnes of limestone a year until eventually shutting down operations in 2005. [15]
Since the closure of Middleton Mine and Hopton Quarry, the Stone's reputation as a premier decorative mark has maintained. [11] Due to the nature of the stone, most examples are still of high-quality today. A reserve for heritage work and purchase is kept in Middleton, and the National Stone Centre. [7]