Hearthstone

This is a short overview. For the background — history, value over time and notable mines — see Hearthstone →

A soft, calcareous sandstone of the Upper Greensand — a variety of the Reigate stone — cut in blocks and sold for scouring and whitening hearths, stone floors and doorsteps, the domestic trade that gave it its name. It had earlier served as a building stone, and the harder beds worked alongside it went as firestone for lining furnaces and ovens. It was mined by adit under the chalk of the North Downs between Brockham and Godstone, and the trade died away in the 20th century.