1G8 SOME LOCAL STONE MARKS. 



Imt since that time (about 1610) it has been extensively employed 

 in many of the more important public buildinos of the Metropolis, 

 as it was found to have in addition to the usual qualities of a good 

 and beautiful freestone the advantage of being able to resist the 

 pernicious influence of the atmosphere of London. "We must 

 therefore not expect the stone marks used in the Island to date 

 back to a remote antiquity — tliey are not " wold as Aggern " — 

 though at first sight they seem to offer a field for antiquarian 

 research and look somewhat cabalistic. This is partly owing to the 

 fact that Roman numerals composed of straight lines are more 

 easily cut Avith the chisel than are the usual Arabic figures, more 

 or less curved in outline. 



The convenience, the necessity in fact, of marking blocks of stone, 

 so that the merchant and the builder might know by rapid inspec- 

 tion the weight, quality, and quarry source of each block is evident ; 

 the more so as the strata yielding stone are numerous, and the 

 quality often varies according to geographical position. 



The earliest marks that I have seen I copy from a manuscript 

 account book kindly lent me by our hon. member, Mr. Abraham 

 Wallis. They date from 1816 and refer to quarry marks only. 

 They are precisely similar to those in use now. They are as 

 follow : — 



Robert Attwooll, Vernyeats Quarry (4) 

 John Rod „ „ (5) 



William Attwooll „ „ (6) 



Edward Schollar, Tonge Quarry (7) 

 Newman Thomas ,, ,, (8) 



Thomas Read, Dungeness (2) (9) 



Henry Hind, Green Hole (2) (10) 



John Pearce ,, ,, „ (11) 



Jonathan Sweet ,, ,, ,, (12) 



At this time block stone was worth 22s. per ton. 



I may here explain that a merchantable block of Portland stone 

 is usually inscribed with 4 marks — 1st, the quarry owner's trade 

 mark ; 2nd, the number of the block ; 3rd, the quarry mark ; 4th, 



