Sourcing local stone -south Shropshire

[Sam W]

Hi, roof repairs have inevitably uncovered bigger problems, our chimney stack is very unstable and needs rebuilding.
I think a major cause of the issue is the stone used, which is quite friable and tends to break apart, so now needs replacing. I want to replace like for like, but am struggling to find new stone, because it's not great quality, I don't think anyone quarries it any more.

Attached photos give an idea of what I'm looking for, stack isn't super high so don't need a huge volume either.

Interested to hear ideas on tracking replacement down.

 

[Feltwell]

Do bear in mind that it's taken many, many years to lose a bit of face off that stone so I wouldn't be too afraid to reuse what is there now, dressing the face and setting it out a little further if need be. You may be able to turn stones round as well - I've done that on spalled bricks when I couldn't get new ones to match.

As for matching stone - I very much suspect that would have been taken from very small quarry nearby, the only commercial building stone (as opposed to gravel/aggregate) quarry I know of in Shropshire now is Grinshill, and that's sandstone. Local reclamation yards are worth a go, there are a couple in Ludlow I believe.

 

[eezageeza]

Yep, I think Grinshill is the only working quarry left in Shropshire, but as Feltwell says, they only quarry sandstone (lovely stuff if you ever need any - we used it when rebuilding the front of our house).

There are a couple of houses near us built with local stone - very very local actually, as you can see the holes in the ground where the stone was dug up a few hundred yards away from each house. There's also a canal bridge near here with a suspiciously quarry like hole in the ground very nearby, so I suspect 'local' quarrying was very common back in the day.

Have a gander around your neighbourhood - there may be a source of stone nearer than you imagine!