Building Stones

The museum has a good collection of building stone samples, many of which were donated by stonefitters working on buildings in the town centre. As a result, the collection illustrates the rock-types that can be seen around Bolton.

The image here shows a small selection of these samples, mainly various Italian marbles. A granite specimen is seen in the centre of the picture.

In many ways, early builders experimenting with stone were the first geologists. They studied the different stones available, noted their properties, then selected the type best suited to the purpose.