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Granites from South West England: A Global Heritage Stone Resource

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Engineering Geology for Society and Territory - Volume 5
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Abstract

The counties of Cornwall and Devon, England, have several extensive exposures of parts of a large Variscan granite intrusion. Granites of several textural varieties have been worked extensively in the past at numerous quarries and used widely for dimension and ornamental stone and in major engineering works in the United Kingdom and internationally. Only a few extractive operations remain but there is a continuing demand for granite for repair and maintenance of structures. The resource is extensive despite major kaolinisation in some areas. However extensive areas of the outcrops are covered by conservation designations that can presume against future extraction. A brief summary of: the history of extraction; characteristics of the granite; and of some buildings, structures and monuments in which these have been used, is provided as a basis for considering whether these granites meet the criteria for designation as a Global Heritage Stone Resource.

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Correspondence to Marker Brian .

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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Brian, M. (2015). Granites from South West England: A Global Heritage Stone Resource. In: Lollino, G., Manconi, A., Guzzetti, F., Culshaw, M., Bobrowsky, P., Luino, F. (eds) Engineering Geology for Society and Territory - Volume 5. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09048-1_42

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