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Purbeck marble
Purbeck marble. A hard, shelly limestone from quarries in the Isle of Purbeck (a peninsula rather than an island), Dorset. It is the nearest approximation to a true marble quarried in England and can be cut to moderately fine detail. When quarried it is light grey in colour, often tinged with brown or green, but it polishes to a darker hue (sometimes almost black). It began to be used in English art and architecture in the 12th century and was widely employed in the 13th century—for architectural elements (particularly column shafts), fonts (superseding the black marble fonts imported from Tournai), and tombs, including the first royal tomb in England, that of King John (c.1230) in Worcester Cathedral. It went out of fashion in the early 14th century, replaced by cheaper and more easily worked freestone.
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IAN CHILVERS. "Purbeck marble." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. IAN CHILVERS. "Purbeck marble." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-Purbeckmarble.html IAN CHILVERS. "Purbeck marble." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-Purbeckmarble.html |
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Purbeck
Purbeck district (1991 pop. 42,600), Dorset, England. Purbeck is filled with the clays of the Hampshire Basin, and is therefore largely infertile. Some minor farming occurs on the chalk plateaus and ridges in the northern and southern extremities of the district. Purbeck is drained by the Trent and Frome rivers. Wareham and Swanage are the main towns of the area. Marble quarrying, oil-field work, and nuclear power plant operation comprise Purbeck's economic activities. The region was once thought to be infested with smugglers, who could easily hide in its forests and on its ridges. Poole Harbour attracts many boaters, while the district's varied strata appeals to geologists. Purbeck gets its name from the ancient Isle of Purbeck. |
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"Purbeck." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Purbeck." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Purbeck.html "Purbeck." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Purbeck.html |
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Purbeck
Purbeck. Dark-grey or grey-greenish hard limestone, called a marble, originating in the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, England, and almost entirely composed of univalve and bivalve remains fossilized and bound together. It was extensively employed by English medieval architects for colonnettes, shafts, monuments, effigies, and tombs because of its attractive properties, being capable of taking a spectacular polish. Patterned with fossils, the dark shiny marble shafts set against ordinary limestone contribute to the sumptuous richness of First Pointed Gothic interiors such as those of Lincoln, Salisbury, and Winchester Cathedrals, where clustered or compound piers may be found featuring the material.
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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Purbeck." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Purbeck." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-Purbeck.html JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Purbeck." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-Purbeck.html |
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Purbeck marble
Purbeck marble a hard limestone from Purbeck in Dorset, which is polished and used for decorative parts of buildings, fonts, and effigies.
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Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Purbeck marble." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Purbeck marble." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Purbeckmarble.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Purbeck marble." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Purbeckmarble.html |
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