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3.15. Of Quarries of ſtone for buylding. Cap. 15.

Of Quarries of ſtone for buylding. Cap. 15.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 2 3 4 QVarryes with vs are pittes or Mines out of which we digge our Stone to builde withall, and of theſe as we haue great plentie in Englande, ſo are they of diuers ſortes and thoſe very profitable for ſundrie neceſſary vſes. In times paſt ye vſe of ſtone was in maner dedicated to the buylding of churches religious houſes, princely pallaces Biſhoppes manours and holdes onely: but now that ſcrupulus obſeruatiõ is altogither infringed, and buylding with ſtone ſo com|monly taken vp that amongeſt noble men & gentlemen the timber frames are ſuppoſed to be not much better then paper worke, of little countinuaunce and leaſt countinuance of all. It farre paſſeth my cunning to ſet down how many ſortes of ſtone for buylding are to be founde in Englande; but much far|der to call each of thẽ by their proper names. Howbeit ſuch is the curioſity of our country men that notwithſtanding Almightie God hath ſo bleſſed our realme in moſt plentifull maner with ſuch and ſo many Quarries apt and meete for pyles of longeſt countinuance, yet we as lothſome of this aboundaunce, or not liking of the plenty, doe commonly leaue theſe naturall giftes to moulde and ſinder in the ground, and take vp an artificiall bricke, in burning whereof a great part of the word of this lande is dayly conſumed and ſpent to the no ſmall decay of that commoditie and hinderaunce of the poore that periſh oft for colde. Our elders haue from tyme to tyme following our naturall vice in miſlyking of our owne commodities at home, and deſiring thoſe of other countries abroade, moſt eſtée|med the Cane ſtone that is brought hyther out of Normandie, & many euen in theſe our dayes folowing the ſame vaine doe couet in their workes almoſt to vſe none other. How|beit experience on the one ſide and our ſkilful Maſons on the other (whoſe iudgment is no|thing inferiour of thoſe of other countries) do affirme that in the North partes of Englãd and certayne other places, there are ſome quarries which for hardeneſſe & beautie are equall vnto the outlandiſh gréete. This may alſo be confirmed by the kinges chappell at Cambridge, the greateſt part of the ſquared ſtone wherof was brought thyther out of the North. Some commend the vaine of white frée ſtone, flate, & méere ſtone which is be|twixt Pentowen and the black head in Cor|newall, for very fine ſtuffe. Other doe ſpeake much of the quarries at Hamden nine miles from Mylbery, & pauing ſtone of Burbecke. For Tophe ſtone not a few allow of ye quar|rey that is a Driſley, diuers miſlyke not of the vaine of harde ſtone that is at Oxforde and Burford. One prayſeth the frée ſtone at Mancheſter and Preſtburye in Gloceſter ſhyre. Another the quarryes of the lyke in Richemont. The third liketh wel of the hard|ſtone in Clée hill in Shropſhire. The fourth of that of Thorowbridge, Welden, & Ter|ringtõ. Where by it appeareth that we haue quarries ynough in Englande ſufficient for vs to buylde withall, if the peuiſh comtempt of our owne commodities and delectacions to enriche other countries dyd not catch ſuch fooliſhe holde vppon vs. Thereby it is alſo veryfied (as any other waye) that all Na|tions haue rather néede of Englande, then EEBO page image 124 Englande of any other. And thys I thincke may suffice for the ſubſtance of our works. Now if you haue regarde to their or [...]ature, how many Mines of ſundrie kindes of courſe and fine marble are then to be had in Eng|lãd. But chiefly one in Staffordſhyre, an o|ther néere to the Peke, the thirde at Vaul||dry, the fourth at Snothill, (longing to the Lord Chaindois) the fifth at Egleſtone, whi|che is of blacke Marble ſpotted with gray or white ſpottes, the ſixt not farre from Durhã. But what meane I to go about to recite all or the moſt excellent, ſith theſe which I haue named alreadie are not altogither of ye leaſt nor ſcarcely of any value in compariſon of thoſe whoſe places of growth are vtterly vn|knowne vnto me, & wherof the blacke mar|ble ſpotted with gréene is none of the vyleſt ſort, as may appeare by parcell of the paue|ment of the lower part of ye quire of Paules in London where ſome péeces thereof are yet to be ſéene and marked, yf any will looke for them. If marble will not ſerue then haue we the fineſt Alabaſter that may elſewhere be had, as about S. Dauides of Wales. Alſo néere to Bean Maner, which is about foure or fiue miles from Leiceſter, and taken to be the beſt, although there are diuers o|ther quarries hereof beyond ye Trent, whoſe names at this tyme are out of my remem|braunce. What ſhoulde I talke of the pla|ſter of Axeholme, (for of that which they dig out of the earth in ſundrie places of Lincolne & Darbyſhyres wherwith they blaũch their houſes in ſtéed of lime, I ſpeake not). Certes it is a very fine kinde of Alabaſter, but ſith it is ſolde commonly but after twelue pence the loade, we iudge it to be but vyle and courſe. For my part I cannot ſkill of ſtone, yet in my opiniõ it is not without great vſe for plaſter of pariſſe, and ſuch is the Mine of it that the ſtones lye in flakes one vppon an other like planckes or tables, and vnder the ſame is an harde ſtone verye profitable for building as hath oft tymes béene prooued. If neyther Alabaſter nor Marble doth ſuffice, we haue the Touche ſtone called in latin Ly|dius lapis, eyther to matche in ſockets with our pillers of Alabaſter or contrariwiſe: if it pleaſeth the worke man to ioyne pillers of Alabaſter or Touche with ſockets of braſſe, pewter, or copper, we want not theſe met|talles: So that I thincke no nation canne haue more excellent and greater diuerſitie of ſtuffe for buylding, then we may haue in Englande, yf our ſelfes coulde ſo like of it: but ſuch alas is our nature that not our own but other mens do moſt of all delite vs: and for deſire of noueltie we oft exchange our fi|neſt Cloth, Corne, Tinne and Woolles for halfe penny cockhorſes for children, dogges of were, two penny tabers, leaden ſwordes; painted feathers, gewgawes for fooles, dog [...] trickes for doltes, hawkes whoodes, and ſuch lyke, whereby we reape iuſte mockage any reproch. I might remember here our pitte [...] for Milſtones that are to be had in diuers places of our country as in Angleſey, alſo [...] Quene hope of blew gréete, of no leſſe value then the collein, yea then the French ſtones Our gryndſtones for hardware men. Our whetſtones and ſlate of ſundry coullours are euery where in maner to be had, as is ye flint and chalke, the ſhalder and the peble: How|beit for all this we muſt fetch them ſtil from farre, as dyd the hull men their ſtones out of Iſelande, wherwith they paued their towne for want of the like in Englande: or as Sir Thomas Greſham dyd, when he bought the ſtones in Flanders, wherewith he paued the Burſe, but as he will aunſwere that he har|gened for the whole moulde and ſubſtaunce of his workmanſhippe in Flaunders: ſo the Hullanders or Hull men will ſay, howe that ſtockefiſhe is light loding and therefore they dyd baiaſe their veſſels with theſe Iſelande ſtones to kéepe them from turning ouer in their ſo daungerous a voyage.

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5.9. Of quarries of stone for building. Chap. 9.

Of quarries of stone for building. Chap. 9.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 _QUarries with vs are pits or mines, out of which we dig our stone to build withall, & of these as we haue great plentie in England, so are they of diuerse sorts, and those verie profitable for sundrie necessarie vses. In times past the vse of stone was in maner dedicated to the building of churches, religious houses, princely pala|ces, bishops manours, and holds onlie: but now that scrupulous obseruation is altogither infringed, and building with stone so commonlie taken vp, that a|mongst noble men & gentlemen, the timber frames are supposed to be not much better than paper worke, of little continuance, and least continuance of all. It farre passeth my cunning to set downe how manie sorts of stone for building are to be found in Eng|land, but much further to call each of them by their proper names. Howbeit, such is the curiositie of our countrimen, that notwithstanding almightie God hath so blessed our realme in most plentifull maner, with such and so manie quarries apt and meet for piles of longest continuance, yet we as lothsome of this abundance, or not liking of the plentie, doo com|monlie leaue these naturall gifts to mould and cin|der in the ground, and take vp an artificiall bricke, in burning whereof a great part of the wood of this land is dailie consumed and spent, to the no small decaie of that commoditie, and hinderance of the poore that perish oft for cold.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 Our elders haue from time to time, following our naturall vice in misliking of our owne commo|dities at home, and desiring those of other countries abroad, most estéemed the cane stone that is brought hither out of Normandie: and manie euen in these our daies following the same veine, doo couet in their works almost to vse none other. Howbeit experience on the one side, and our skilfull masons on the other (whose iudgement is nothing inferiour to those of o|ther countries) doo affirme, that in the north and south parts of England, and certeine other places, there are some quarries, which for hardnesse and beautie are equall to the outlandish greet. This maie also be confirmed by the kings chappell at Cambridge, the greatest part of the square stone wherof was brought thither out of the north. Some commend the veine of white frée stone, slate, and méere stone, which is be|twéene EEBO page image 235 Pentowen, and the blacke head in Corne|wall, for verie fine stuffe. Other doo speake much of the quarries at Hamden, nine miles from Milberie, and pauing stone of Burbecke. For toph stone, not a few allow of the quarrie that is at Dresleie, diuerse mislike not of the veines of hard stone that are at Oxford, and Burford. One praiseth the free stone at Manchester, & Prestburie in Glocestershire; another the quarries of the like in Richmont. The third liketh well of the hard stone in Clee hill in Shropshire; the fourth of that of Thorowbridge, Welden, and Ter|rinton. Whereby it appeareth that we haue quarries inow, and good inough in England, sufficient for vs to build withall, if the péeuish contempt of our owne commodities, and delectations to inrich other coun|tries, did not catch such foolish hold vpon vs. It is al|so verified (as anie other waie) that all nations haue rather néed of England, than Eugland of anie other. And this I thinke may suffice for the substance of our works. Now if you haue regard to their ornature, how manie mines of sundrie kinds of course & fine marble are there to be had in England? But chieflie one in Staffordshire, an other neere to the Peke, the [...] to the lord Chaindois) the fift at Eglestone, which is o [...] blacke marble, spotted with graie or white spots, the sixt not farre from Durham. Of white marble also we haue store, and so faire as the Marpesian of Pa|ris Ile. But what meane I to go about to recite all, or the most excellent? sith these which I haue named alredie are not altogither of the best, nor scarselie of anie value in comparison of those, whose places of growth are vtterlie vnknowne vnto me, and where|of the blacke marble spotted with greene is none of the vilest sort, as maie appeare by parcell of the paue|ment of the lower part of the quire of Paules in London, and also in Westminster, where some pée|ces thereof are yet to be séene and marked, if anie will looke for them. If marble will not serue, then haue we the finest alabaster that maie elsewhere bée had, as about saint Dauids of Wales; also neere to Beau manour, which is about foure or fiue miles from Leicester, & taken to be the best, although there are diuerse other quarries hereof beyond the Trent, as in Yorkeshire, &c: and fullie so good as that, whose names at this time are out of my remembrance. What should I talke of the plaister of Axholme (for of that which they dig out of the earth in sundrie pla|ces of Lincolne and Darbishires, wherewith they blanch their houses in stead of lime, I speake not) certes it is a fine kind of alabaster. But sith it is sold commonlie but after twelue pence the load, we iudge it to be but vile and course. For my part I cannot skill of stone, yet in my opinion it is not without great vse for plaister of paris, and such is the mine of it, that the stones thereof lie in flakes on vpon an other like plankes or tables, and vnder the same is an excéeding hard stone verie profitable for building, as hath often times béene prooued. This is also to be marked further of our plaister white and graie, that not contented with the same, as God by the quarrie dooth send and yéeld it foorth, we haue now deuised to cast it in moulds for windowes and pillers of what forme and fashion we list, euen as alabaster it selfe: and with such stuffe sundrie houses in Yorkshire are furnished of late. But of what continuance this de|uise is like to proue, the time to come shall easilie be|wraie. In the meane time sir Rafe Burcher knight hath put the deuise in practise, and affirmeth that six men in six moneths shall trauell in that trade to sée greater profit to the owner, than twelue men in six yeares could before this tricke was inuented.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 If neither alabaster nor marble dooth suffice, we haue the touchstone, called in Latine Lydius lapis, shi|ning as glasse, either to match in sockets with our pillers of alabaster, or contrariwise: or if it please the workeman to ioine pillers of alabaster or touch with sockets of brasse, pewter, or copper, we want not al|so these mettals. So that I think no nation can haue more excellent & greater diuersitie of stuffe for buil|ding, than we maie haue in England, if our selues could so like of it. But such alas is our nature, that not our own but other mens do most of all delite vs; & for desire of noueltie, we oft exchange our finest cloth, corne, tin, and woolles, for halfe penie cockhorsses for children, dogs of wax or of chéese, two pennie tabers, leaden swords, painted feathers, gewgaws for fooles, dogtricks for disards, hawkeswhoods, and such like trumperie, whereby we reape iust mockage and re|proch in other countries. I might remember here our pits for milstones, that are to be had in diuerse places of our countrie, as in Angleseie, Kent, also at Queene hope of blew gréet, of no lesse value than the Colaine, yea than the French stones: our grind|stones for hardware men. Our whetstones are no lesse laudable than those of Creta & Lacedemonia, albeit we vse no oile with them, as they did in those parties, but onelie water, [...] the Italians and Naxi| [...] [...] th [...]irs: whereas they that grow in Cili|cia must haue both oile and water laid vpon them, or else they make no edge. These also are diuided either into the hard greet, as the common that shoomakers vse, or the soft gréet called hones, to be had among the barbars, and those either blacke or white, and the rub or brickle stone which husbandmen doo occupie in the whetting of their sithes.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 In like maner slate of sundrie colours is euerie where in maner to be had, as is the flint and chalke, the shalder and the peble. Howbeit for all this wée must fetch them still from farre, as did the Hull men their stones out of Iseland, wherewith they paued their towne for want of the like in England: or as sir Thomas Gresham did, when he bought the stones in Flanders, wherwith he paued the Burse. But as he will answer peraduenture, that he bargained for the whole mould and substance of his workemanship in Flanders: so the Hullanders or Hull men will saie, how that stockefish is light loding, and therfore they did balasse their vessels with these Iseland stones, to keepe them from turning ouer in their so tedious a voiage. And thus much brieflie of our quar|ries of stone for building, wherein oftentimes the workemen haue found strange things inclosed, I meane liuelie creatures shut up in the hard stones, and liuing there without respiration or breathing, as frogs, todes, &c: whereof you shall read more in the chronologie following: also in Caius Langius, Wil|liam of Newburie, Agricola, Cornelius of Amster|dam, Bellogius de a quatilibus, Albert the great, lib.19. cap. 9. De rebus metallicis, and Goropius in Nilosco|pio, pag. 237, &c. Sometime also they find pretious stones (though seldome) and some of them perfectlie squared by nature, and much like vnto the diamond, found of late in a quarrie of marble at Naples, which was so perfectlie pointed, as if all the workemen in the world had cõsulted about the performance of that workemanship. I know that these reports vnto some will séeme incredible, and therefore I stand the lon|ger vpon them; neuerthelesse omitting to speake par|ticularlie of such things as happen amongst vs, and rather séeking to confirme the same by the like in o|ther countries, I will deliuer a few more examples, whereby the truth hereof shall so much the better ap|peare. For in the middest of a stone not long since found at Chius, vpon the breaking vp thereof, there was seene Caput panisci inclosed therin, very perfectlie formed as the beholders doo remember. How come the grains of gold to be so fast inclosed in the stones EEBO page image 236 that are & haue béene found in the Spanish Baetis? But this is most maruellous, that a most delectable and sweet oile, comparable to the finest balme, or oile of spike in smell, was found naturallie included in a stone, which could not otherwise be broken but with a smiths hammer. Goropius dooth tell of a pearch per|fectlie formed to be found in Britaine: but as then committed into hard stone, vpon the top of a crag. Aristotle and Theophrast speake of fishes digged out of the earth, farre from the sea in Greece, which Sene|ca also confirmeth, but with addition that they are pe|rillous to be eaten. In pope Martins time, a serpent was found fast inclosed in a rocke, as the kernell is within the nut, so that no aire could come to it: and in my time another in a coffin of stone at Auignion, wherein a man had beene buried, which so filled the roome, and laie so close from aire, that all men woon|dered how it was possible for the same to liue and continue so long time there. Finallie I my selfe haue séene stones opened, and within them the substances of corrupted wormes like vnto adders (but far shor|ter) whose crests and wrinkles of bodie appeared al|so therein, as if they had bene ingraued in the stones by art and industrie of man. Wherefore to affirme [...] that as well liuing creatures, [...] stones, gold, &c: are now and then found in our quarries, shall not hereafter be a thing so incredible as manie talking philosophers, void of all experience, doo af|firme, and wilfullie mainteine against such as hold the contrarie.