Field Stone

FJMC

We always reference vernacular buildings as being constructed using fieldstone - i.e. stones gathered from the fields. However, if you consider the amount of building - house, byre, dairy, stable, pig house, turf house, store, etc. - that is a lot of stone to gather, particularly if it is needed at any one time to undertake a building project. It was also used for boundary walls, floors, paving, lanes, etc. I appreciate that there are a lot of areas in the country where there is an abundance of stone and it could be just be a matter of gathering it - but we also have a lot of areas of the country where that is not the case - yet we still have the same types of buildings built in stone.

So, in areas where stone is not obviously available in such large quantities, where would stone have been obtained for these buildings - was it simply gathered from fields and accumulated until there was enough or would it have been brought in from elsewhere. Appreciate there will be some areas where there may have been small quarries worked locally but in many instances these do not appear to be obvious either.

F

10-10-20

In these locations where stone is not obviously available in such large quantities, are the field boundaries also a testament to this fact, or how were boundaries constructed? I wonder whether these areas lacking stone were in the region of glacial features such as eskers and sands?

FJMC

Yes - you will see parts of the country where it is predominantly stone walls - other areas where it is a mixture of stone and earth banks/ditches and other areas where it is native hedging.

It makes sense that there will be less stone in areas where eskers, etc. were formed. In such areas where and how was the building stone for vernacular building sourced?

F

mickdw

In my area in mayo, Its all earth fences between fields but the houses are built from locally gathered stone. I'd imagine alot of stone was gathered from simply improving the land in this area. While there are good soils, you will still gather a trailer load of stone if ploughing a 10 acre field.

The builds here were a rubble stone type of structure with alot of small stone used.

Markcheese

I think there are still some very old cob (earth and straw) cottages is the south east ,

In general people used what was easiest to obtain , including taking stone from ruins or old tombs ,

Often field stones would be piled at the side of a field ,over time . Piled up like that they become a resource

10-10-20

I had a look around N Cavan and S Fermanagh (on Google Earth), where you find drumlins and sure enough there isn't a stonewall to be seen. Barely even a ruin either - which brings in the possibility that scavenging and repurposing was a significant source for what's currently standing.

I had a look at the OSI Historic 6" B&W (between 1829 and 1842) online around the area of Donagh and within about 3kms of the town there are quite a number of quarry and gravel pits marked and when viewed on Google Earth you can see how these appear to have been rocky-outcrops at lower points within the undulating landscape.

Before the 19th century Ireland was more forested than it is now, so likely to have been wetter and more boggy, so did the deforestation and drainage of the land also open up sources of stone such as within river-beds?

https://dcenr.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=b7c4b0e763964070ad69bf8c1572c9f5

Edit: this could be the method for the dispersion of random rocks within a glacial lateral moraine:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacial_erratic

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058334790/field-stone

I think it's an error to refer to all vernacular stone buildings as fieldstone. Fieldstone was obviously common, and likely the oldest style of stone construction. Probably appear first as clochán as religious sites. Then to dwellings. As field boundaries, it served a dual purpose - clearing the field and marking the field. It was cheap and easy, so make sense for farm buildings to be match the field walls. As farms were more established, fields became larger, the stone needed to bound an area was relatively less. Which meant a surplus of stone was stockpiled for the stables and stores.

But at some point, with Norman's I believe. We introduced cut stone architecture. This meant stone was quarried. Initially this was reserved for castles and other fortifications, and was laid as dry stone (as field stone was). But over time they spread to lessor buildings and the use of mortar became wide spread. I would guess that quarries were found closer to towns (and castles/towers) and therefore cut stone vernacular would have been more likely to be the choice in these area with quarry access and fieldstone continuing in the less accessible area. I'd guess it wasn't a one or the other decision either. I can see a situation where a cut stone farmhouse sat alongside a fieldstone stable.

There are many walls that people might incorrectly refer to as fieldstone, that would be be more accurately described as rough cut stone. Today fieldstone is used by suppliers to describe rustic stone for walls. although its obviously not fieldstone. It's rough cut stone that might have been tumbled, but not always.

Markcheese

I'd noticed a few small quarries on farms , often in conjunction with large estate houses , often the estate house was on a rocky outcrop for the view , or to look more imposing ,

listermint

Small quarries. There's about 6 around me that are small in scale. You wouldn't know what they were if you didn't see the signs. Assumption would be natural. Usually covered in overgrowth or drowned in forestry.

Actually there's one with an 80s bungalow in it. You wouldn't even assume it was remotely a quarry but the ordinance survey maps from 1800s show quarry listed on the original estate.

looksee

The cottage and outbuilding on my house were built of field stone, the main house is a modern building, but there is a lot of stone in the area. What is interesting is that we have both shale, including largish pieces, just a short way down, but also large river/glacial rocks of (I think) sandstone. There are also other large stones of various types including white-ish quartz and some sort of pink conglomerate, whether they were brought in or found on the land I am not sure. Most of the local stone walls are built with smoothed river stones. If they are from the site, and I think they are, any river or glacier must have been pretty big as we are a kilometre from the nearest river valley and a good bit above it.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121734091#Comment_121734091

Here are two within 200m of each other, they are marked on the "OSI Historic 6" B&W" as such:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/rM8ddxoeze8cXQ1u6

https://maps.app.goo.gl/napT3V4dafQnxXBr7

Neither appear to be anything more than stone mounts in fields, from first appearance.

FJMC

Good points about the cut stone.

Although one of the definitions of a vernacular buildings is one designed/built without an architect or designer - would you then include cut stone buildings as vernacular as even at a rudimentary level they would have a designer of sorts?

The examples I am looking at would be a vernacular in the sense that they were built without a designer - and it would be a random rubble stone - suspect given the mixture of stone that this would be a field stone. Although given the quantities involved I'm still trying to get an understanding of how the stone was collected / obtained - notwithstanding points above. If I was to start collecting stones off the land now it seems like a very long laborious undertaking - and even a lot of cleaning of soil, etc. off the stones - and back then water probably had to be fetched and carried considerable distances.

I'm looking at possibly repairing / rebuilding some small stone buildings - former byre, single stable, etc. - but a lot of stone is missing that I believe was taken away and used to repair old lanes, field gaps, etc. in the past.

Thanks

F

looksee

'it seems like a very long laborious undertaking'

It would be, and it was then. Except in a society where things happened much more slowly no-one would be put off collecting stone because it would take a long time. It was just part of the essential, endless labour that we have lost touch with. Not disputing for a minute that people now work hard and have long days, but then there was always something to be done on the land, and if the alternative was an overly small cottage shared with half a dozen or more children and other relatives and only the fire to look at it wouldn't so hard to stay out working!

The cottage attached to my house had two parents and 13 children (though they would not have all been there at the same time, as they got to their early teens they went off to London). Still, its standard cottage of its time, an approx 13ft square room with two 6ft x 10ft bedrooms and a 'shelf' loft area. No bathroom, no kitchen. No foundations other than rocks. Freezing cold and tends to be damp around lower walls. Otherwise sound.

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121735186#Comment_121735186

The first cut stone buildings, definitely had architects. There were essentially the early stone castles. A good example is the oldest part of Dublin castle, The Medieval tower. 800 years old. The stones are cut, or rather split, to have a flat face. But it is still a very rough "rubble" wall, the low section here is especially rough. The upper parapet section is ashlar, and was obviously added much later.

Athenry Castle is another example from a few years later. As is Ballykine Castle from later that century. This is very worm on the left side, but the right shows it was originally cut stone.

Field stone walls bounding fields. Were originally just dry stacked as they were found. And these round rubble walls would have been used for houses and basis outbuildings. Maybe with mortar for stability and weather proofing.

Masonry skills from the cutstone castles and towers made their way into the vernacular. At first, it was probably just squaring of the fieldstone. Field dressed if you will.

But over time they would and developed in to rectified, cut stone from quarries, very much the same proces and source are the early basic castle. By that stage, large castles other important buildings would have been much more detailed. Coursed ashalar, fully dress stonework.